Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 18:44:21 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-1684843@logan.com>
From: RWolf99@aol.com
Subject: Re:  High End vs Low End
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Brent Regan tells us that an EFIS must be eveluated in the air.  I agree 100%.

In my day job, we are developing a two-seat sport jet.  (And yes, we told 
people at Oshkosh that "the prototype will be flying in 18 months and you can 
have yours in 36 months".  What we did not say is that holding to that 
schedule requires zero delay for funding to arrive.  Since megabucks did not 
appear the day we returned to our offices, there will be a subsequent 
delay.... Does that qualify us for the Prevarication Award?  I dunno.)

Anyway, one of the things we are doing is evaluating the crop of EFIS out 
there.  Two years ago we decided on the Rockwell Collins ProLine 21 system 
found in many regional jets and little airliners, but many new competitors 
have evolved since then, including Sierra/Chelton.  (I need to point out that 
we are limited to certified systems.)

If you look at the displays, you will decide for yourself which look good and 
which don't.  You may even see a correlation with price.  However, far more 
important is the ability to use the thing to reduce your workload in the sky. 
 If you have to go heads-down for 30 seconds every time the approach 
controller gives you a new vector, the system is not only useless, it's 
dangerous.  I'm not saying which one was that bad, but I am agreeing with 
Brent that the "evaluate it in flight" approach should be considered 
essential.

Changing the subject slightly, I thought the Dynon EFIS (the little $2000 
gizmo) was absolutely outstanding, and even this cheapskate 360 builder is 
seriously considering buying one.  However, two things I didn't like:

1)  The scale of the turn needle changes when the turn rate gets high, and if 
you're not looking at it when it happens, you might not notice and think you 
need to bank even more.  A major annoyance, but not likely a fatal flaw.

2)  It takes forever and a day to change the heading bug setting.  I thought 
that this was a pilot fatality waiting to happen.

I could not for the life of me convince the pretty and personable lady at the 
booth that the heading bug selection was unacceptable.  It was clear that she 
had never flown approach vectors with a heading bug in her life.  But since 
she was so pretty and personable, this male-chauvinist-pig did not discuss 
the issue with her colleague at the booth.  However, in Dynon's defense, the 
admitted they had some more work to do before they released them to 
customers.  Hopefully they'll wake up and smell the coffee, because the unit 
is really nice in all other respects.

- Rob Wolf