Since I see my name in the papers again, I will make a comment on the
BMA system. First of all, I am biased toward Chelton Flight Systems since
I distribute that system, so my opinion is skewed (Chelton makes the finest
synthetic EFIS system on the market, bar none! – proof that I really am
biased.) However, not everyone can afford the higher price of the Chelton
system. With that said, anyone considering any EFIS (Blue Mountain,
Chelton, OP, Grand
Rapids, etc) should
verify the performance claims made on paper by contacting individuals that have
first-hand experience with the system in an aircraft environment. Anybody
can build a system that looks good on a tabletop (Microsoft builds an excellent
flight simulator!!) Frank Romeo is doing the right thing by asking if
anyone has experience with the system. None of the responses (so far)
have been from individuals that have flown the system to my knowledge.
The testing I did w/ BMA was specifically related to the dynamics of the AHRS
and whether or not Blue Mountain would be able to remove the errors we saw. The
errors were in fact removed in the Lancair installation by “gps aiding”
and other modifications to their algorithms. Malcom Thompson has told me
that their system is not dependant on the gps to work properly; the fact is - without
the gps aiding, we saw significant errors. Again, the only testing done
was regarding AHRS dynamics. Nothing was tested regarding environmental
or IFR capability, human factor, flight planning, re-routing, engine
monitoring, autopilot, lightning or static discharge, vibration, temperature, etc.
If an EFIS manufacturer is interested in demonstrating how well their
system works, it seems reasonable enough to expect a demonstration of that
system in the aircraft you are building. I’ve flown the BMA EFIS,
as well as the Dynon EFIS. I’ve never seen the OP Tech system fly
and Grand Rapids hasn’t shipped anything yet.
Finally, I’ve learned that Lancair has removed the Blue Mountain
system from their aircraft and permanently returned it to Blue Mountain.
In my opinion, the BMA system is a wonderful VFR-only platform. However,
I would never install the system as a primary flight instrument in my own
aircraft, put my friends or family in it, and fly into IMC conditions. I
am installing a dual screen Chelton system in my Lancair ES. If Chelton
were not available or if I couldn’t afford it, I would be installing
steam-gauges and a Garmin 530 or UPS CNX-80/MX-20. If ANYONE flying a Lancair
which includes the BMA or any other EFIS has any IFR experience to share, I
think it would be a valuable contribution to this list.
An interesting website to see how the Certified Chelton system is doing
in Alaska (Capstone), go to http://www.alaska.faa.gov/capstone/phase2/aircraft.htm
There you will see installations in some of the participating aircraft.
One Cessna has logged over 400 hours in 3 months. That’s a lot of flyin’!!
Anyone interested in more in-depth info regarding the Experimental or
Certified Chelton EFIS, you are welcome to email me off the list.
Kirk Hammersmith
Direct-To Avionics
kirk@direct2avionics.com