Jetprop
Commander980

Pilatus PC12

DHC 2 "Beaver"

Mitsubishi MU2

Cheyenne II

JetPROP Mirage 

King Air 300

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Helicopters

Experimental Pilot Profiles

Name: Mark Turrentine

Profession: Executive Director of a Private Foundation

Pilot since: 1974

Aircraft: Pilatus PC-12, N417KC

Home base: St Louis - SUS

Use: Personal use 75%, Charitable use 25%

Mark first saw the Chelton FlightLogic EFIS in an ad in Flying Magazine. The IFR capabilities in particular caught his eye. "The combination of the synthetic horizon and the Highway-In-The-Sky is revolutionary," he said. "The contrast to the older avionics is absolutely fantastic."

The Pilatus install was finished in January 2004, and has a 4-screen system interfaced with a Bendix-King KFC325 autopilot, and Goodrich Skywatch and Stormscope. Chelton equipment includes an AIU, PFD, 3 MFD’s, dual WAAS GPS, integral FMS, Autopilot Roll steering, Voice warning System, Flight Performance Recorder, Class B Taws, and dual ADC’s. The EFIS connects directly to the factory-installed Litef AHRS (single or dual). The PC-12 also has Garmin 430 and 530 nav/com/gps, a Garmin GTX330 transponder, the WSI Nexrad weather system, and Avidyne 750 for radar.

Although Mark flies only about 30% of the time with a co-pilot, he wanted the full system for both pilot and co-pilot. "I purchased a four tube system and kept the Garmin too, for redundancy," he said. "I program flight plans into both."

Mark generally flies on the east coast, and likes the forward-looking terrain and traffic on the primary flight display. His favorite feature of the system is the Highway-In-The-Sky, especially for instrument approaches.

"You don’t need a Highway-In-The- Sky at 25,000 feet, you need it for cloud cover on approach," he said.

"I am very comfortable with the system. I would recommend it to everyone. It is not a cheap system, but it is worth every penny. There is a very high return on investment for a pilot’s comfort level."

Mark now has about 100 hours with the system and is finding it performs as promised. "There was a little bit of a learning curve," he said, "but you can’t be afraid of avionics, they all have buttons. It’s certainly no more difficult than learning a Garmin 530."

Back to top

Name: Jim Wright

Profession: Pilot, Director of Operations, Alaska Seaplane Service

Pilot since: 1979

Aircraft: DHC-2s, Cessna 180

Home base: Juneau, Alaska, JNU

Use: Part 135 - Scheduled and Charter; Passengers, Cargo, Mail

Alaska Seaplane Service applied to the Capstone Program to put Chelton Flight Systems EFIS first in a Cessna 180 in June 2003 (this was the first float plane installation ever), and then in their Beavers in November and December 2003. Jim has basically had the winter to learn the system and become familiar with the features. Though there are a few issues to work out with the Capstone program and the Chelton system, Jim said, "The big picture is, this works great, and has improved the situation up here a million times from what it was before."

"If I had to pick one thing about the Chelton system that has changed our lives completely," Jim said, "I would pick the moving map. It is the best thing possible for Alaska planes, because we are flying in the channels and straights all the time. The moving map means you know exactly where you are, even when flying in 2 miles visibility, over water that is 6 miles wide. Our legs are an hour long, and with no landmarks, and you lose track of your exact position."

"Another very useful feature of the Chelton Flight System is the ‘nrst’ function," he said. "With it you can bring up a list and quickly select one of the 20 nearest airports, VORs, NDBs or User Waypoints and the Chelton system will plot a direct path from your present position to the selected location. While this path does not guarantee terrain clearance (this would be the pilot’s responsibility) it does give you a direct path to that location quickly and easily."

"I also really like this equipment’s ability to store user-defined flight plans. You can create multiple waypoints at all the positions that you want and then use these waypoints to create your own flight plans. Once these flight plans are stored they are there for you any time you need them. This is particularly helpful here in Southeast Alaska where we routinely operate through mountainous terrain. At Alaska Seaplane Service we have flight plans stored for most of our regular routes. It is very comforting to use these flight plans to help us reach our destinations when the weather is marginal, which is often. We recently made a flight plan from Juneau to Pelican. It took about three weeks to get it just the way we wanted it. The whole thing took 30 way points. We fly at about 500 ft. for 85 miles or so. You can be IMC the whole way and avoid terrain."

When other pilots ask about the system, Jim shows them a few of the top line features. "I show them how to create a waypoint where we are right then. I show them how to scroll the map in and out. I show them the instrument approaches into Juneau. They can see it all on the screen. The approaches and flying holding patterns are completely simplified. If you have the Chelton system, you just have to fly the boxes and you’ll end up in the hold."

Capstone is a technology focused safety program, operating in partnership with the Alaskan Aviation Industry. For more information on Alaska Seaplane Service or the Capstone Program:

http://www.akseaplanes.com

http://www.alaska.faa.gov/capstone

Back to top

Name: Dave Slivka

Profession: Aircraft Sales

Pilot since: 1973

Aircraft: MU-2 Solitaire

Home base: Ft. Lauderdale, FXE

Use: Personal, Company Demonstrator

David Slivka has been buying and selling airplanes for 30 years, 10 as a sales manager for Mitsubishi and the last 20 with Anaconda Aviation in Florida. He keeps an eye on the market, for both professional and personal reasons, and is always reading about breakthroughs in avionics systems. "Breakthroughs" always turned out to be a waste of money before, and not worth the time and trouble of retrofitting a perfectly good (if a little older) panel. Dave said, "I just didn’t see the need. The old round primary flight instruments gauges are fine. Why would you need a digital picture of them? And why spend $80,000 on it?"

Dave recently decided to upgrade his MU-2 Solitaire’s engine, paint, and interior, and considered enhancing the panel, beginning with the latest GPS/MFD system. As he researched systems, he said, "I put a lot of thought into NAV, COM, traffic, satellite weather and everything that had to integrate."

After 30 years in aviation, Dave has come to know a lot of the area avionics shops. In the middle of the decision-making process, he happened to drive by a local hangar and saw a Mitsubishi Marquise in for some work. "I went in for a look around, and asked what was going on. It turns out they were installing the latest generation EFIS from Chelton Flight Systems. I walked into the shop a total believer in round primary flight instruments and walked out with an understanding that Chelton with ‘Highway-In-The-Sky’ was a new generation of EFIS -- totally cutting edge. After a demo of the Chelton system, I was extremely impressed at the very large amount of information displayed right in front of the pilot. It actually displays multiple hazards on the primary flight display (PFD), which was revolutionary to me."

Dave started tracking the Marquise install informally, and then took a demo flight in a Chelton-equipped jetprop Malibu conversion. He also wound up on a four hour repositioning night flight to Baltimore, where he was able to continue asking questions and clarify exactly what the PFD and the MFD were providing, and where they were getting the information. "My prior conclusion of Chelton as ‘cutting edge’ was totally confirmed; round gauges and the digital depiction of them, were not going to be enough any more," Dave said.

He got a quote for a side-by-side two screen system (which just fits in an MU-2 pilot panel), including an AIU (Analog Interface Unit), WAAS GPS, Digital ADC (Air Data Computer), AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System), traffic, WSI weather and TAWS B. This system is completely TSO’d and STC’d for the Mitsubishi and over 400 other aircraft. In addition to EFIS-functionality, Dave is gaining roll steering for the Bendix autopilot, a capability formerly only available on new high-end autopilots. According to Dave, the real selling points of the system are the next generation multi-hazard displays including traffic, weather and terrain, right in front of the pilot and not in the middle panel. "You don’t just have the usual MFD top-down view of the map display. You have forward-looking hazards such as traffic and terrain on the PFD, and no one has ever provided that before," he said.

The target date to begin work was the beginning of Feb. 2004. The schedule for install was 8 weeks.  Dave has now flown the Solitaire on test flights. "I’m at the beginning of the learning curve, but it doesn’t look too bad. My plan for the next 10-20 hours of flight is to take a safety pilot along, so I can press all the buttons and figure out how to use my new toys while someone else is flying."

Dave said, "My advice to other pilots is: Don’t take the demo flight unless you have the money to spend. Once you see it, you won’t be able to live without it."

For more information on Anaconda Aviation please visit: www.anacondaaviation.com

Back to top

Name: Dave Garbo

Profession: Owner, Garbo Lobster, Wholesale Lobster Company

Pilot since: 1979

Aircraft: Cheyenne II, N159DG

Home base: Groton, CT -- KGON

Use: 200 hours a year, 90% business - visiting four facilities, 10% personal

Dave Garbo owns and operates Garbo Lobster, a wholesale lobster distribution company based in Connecticut. He owns a 1979 Cheyenne II, which he flies about 200 hours a year. "I first saw the Chelton EFIS System advertised in Twin and Turbine magazine last summer. I called my avionics dealer, Jack Shields at Columbia Air. He arranged a demo flight in a Cessna 421. During the demo, I saw the Highway-In-The Sky boxes, and the 3-D terrain on the Primary Flight Display. It combined all the important information into one place. The altitude and the airspeed go up the sides. The horizon is built in front of you." The Highway-In-The-Sky peaked Dave’s interest, but TAWS closed the deal. Dave’s Cheyenne II is subject to the 2005 FAA TAWS mandate, and he was happy to find out that the Chelton system would satisfy it. "I have a brand new panel," he said, "and the TAWS is totally integrated."

Dave took his Cheyenne II to Columbia Air in Connecticut. The Chelton EFIS is integrated with a KFC-300 autopilot. He left a Garmin 530, KX155A, KMA 26 audio panel, dual KT76 transponder WX 1000 plus Stormscope and WSI AV-200. They moved the pilot’s HSI, and the flight director over to the copilot’s side. Switching is possible between the Chelton EFIS and the original 4 inch instruments to fly. Everything is mounted in a custom instrument panel, and the cockpit is outfitted with new rams horn yokes.

Dave regularly flies into Canadian Maritime, Nova Scotia, Stevensland, New Brunswick and Newfoundland visiting lobster warehouses for the business. Besides the weather, and the terrain, the airstrips are also challenges for a pilot in that area because there’s no services, no hangars and sometimes no fuel. "One thing is, there’s not a lot of other traffic," he said. "When I fly to Nova Scotia, 210 miles of it is over water. I keep track of exactly where I am with the map display."

Dave said his favorite feature after the map display was the Highway-In-The-Sky. "It’s so useful. The horizon, the terrain, everything on one display, on the PDF, in front of you. It takes a little time to get used to, but then it’s a piece of cake. In fact, the GPS WAAS went out once, I got a GPS integrity flag and the boxes went out. It’s funny how much I missed them." Dave uses Highway-In-The-Sky for approaches; "On ILS or VFR approach, the runway is on the PFD. You put your dot on the end of the runway, and follow it down. It is completely accurate, and you have to learn to make very small corrections, because it’s so precise."

Dave’s advice to other pilots: "I love it. It takes a little bit to get used to. I think I needed about 50 hours to get really comfortable."

http://www.columbiaairservices.com/avionics.html

Back to top

Name: Chad Menne

Profession: Professional Pilot

Pilot since: 1994

Aircraft: JetPROP Mirage

Home base: Minneapolis , MN - KMIC

Aircraft use: 600+ Hours per year, 100% Business travel

Kurt Schendel of Modern Avionics in Minneapolis has been maintaining our avionics on both of our aircraft since they were new. He has done large upgrades for us in the past and has a good feel for what we want and need, knowing that we fly in all kinds of weather and need reliable avionics that won’t cause down time, (we have only had delays on two flights in the last 4,000 flight hours due to maintenance).  He called me and told me that I should come over for a demonstration flight in a Chelton equipped Cessna 421. 

I was only slightly familiar with the Chelton EFIS and hadn’t really looked closely at it, prior to my flight.  On the flight, I sat in the back of the plane and watched as Randy Shimon, (the Chelton Field Engineering Manager), demonstrated the system to a new VFR pilot that owned a Extra 400.  I was amazed at how simple the system was to operate, yet how advanced many of the features were.  I saw features that no one else in the avionics industry had to offer and things that I hadn’t even imagined.  It did everything I would want and more.  Needless to say, I was hooked. My next hurdle would be to convince the our company that it would be money well spent.

Since we use the JetPROP as a corporate aircraft with a professional pilot, payload is always a consideration.  Our aircraft had a Bendix/King EFIS EHI-40, which was nice and worked well, but was nothing more than an electronic representation of an HSI and RMI that weighed 60 pounds in all.  I started looking at the possibilities of a weight reduction with Chelton’s EFIS system, as it turns out, by installing 3 EFIS screens and pulling out all of our co-pilot instruments; only leaving and airspeed, attitude and altimeter as backup instruments, we had a weight savings of over 50 pounds and a whole lot less rotating unreliability, (spinning gyros).  Of course 50 pounds isn’t going to allow me to take another passenger, it does allow for another 15 minutes of fuel.  When you are trading people for fuel, (and the resulting reduction in range), every little bit helps.  

From a reliability standpoint, the reduction of all the older “rotating” equipment was a plus and the failure modes / reliability of the Chelton system is amazing.  Since all of their sensors and components are separate and external, losing one would be merely an inconvenience, especially with the backup instruments.  In fact, if you lose the AHRS, the autopilot doesn’t even flinch.  Same goes for losing a screen, nothing happens.  If you lose the GPS there is an inertial / dead-reckoning backup system that works amazingly well, you can navigate with no GPS signal!  

When I started putting all of the benefits together, the only reason not to install a Chelton EFIS was the price.  For a 3 screen system, installed with all the options, it was well over $100k, not easy to justify for a professionally flown aircraft.  Then comes Uncle Sam, fortunately for me, the company needed to spend some money, or lose it in taxes.  I had a perfect proposal to upgrade to JetPROP’s new, larger, engine and install the Chelton EFIS system with the biggest benefit of added safety.  Even though our JetPROP doesn’t meet the requirement criteria of mandatory TAWS, the FAA mandating it tells you that they see a clear benefit in reducing CFIT accidents.  The fact is, the terrain and obstructions don’t care what kind of aircraft you are flying.  Since I am almost always flying into unfamiliar airports, I was happy to have something to reduce my workload and increase my situational awareness.

When it came time to do the installation, Modern Avionics went above and beyond to exceed our expectations.  Since the JetPROP is our primary long distance aircraft, down-time was exceptionally harsh.  Kurt and his crew worked overtime to get it done in only four weeks time.  Not only did they get it done quickly, they didn’t miss even the smallest detail.  They were communicating with me almost daily with detail options to make the installation not only perfect in appearance, but in function and future planning as well.  Their top installer, Jerry, is the most detailed avionics technician I have ever seen.  When he finished the installation, the plane looked like it just came from the factory and everything worked perfectly.  I think a good avionics shop makes all the difference in being satisfied with a large upgrade, it takes a shop that knows what pilots really want and how they intend to use the avionics to maximize functionality and safety.  I would highly recommend for anyone to put their trust in Modern Avionics, they won’t be disappointed.

Now that we have had our Chelton system installed for nearly a year, we have not had any problems with the quality of the installation and only minor deficiencies in early GPS hardware that has been handled exceptionally well by Chelton and subsequently upgraded under warranty.  I continue to be amazed at the pace in which Chelton continues to upgrade and enhance their product.  I have seen improvements in both hardware and software that not only improve on existing features, but also add features and capabilities that I had not expected, such as remote-tuning radios and what I like to call, “smart” DP’s and missed approaches that make it impossible to get yourself into trouble.  All you have to do is fly the highway-in-the-sky,(HITS), which will guarantee terrain clearance on any published procedure.  Even complicated procedures like the DP in Aspen are flown automatically and perfectly by following the HITS.  If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are unsure if you can out-climb the surrounding terrain, the Flight Path Marker, (FPM), is always telling you if you will impact terrain or be safely above it, even when you are not flying any procedure.  If it is in the Brown, you will hit the terrain, if it is in the blue, you are safe.  So you will no longer have that “white knuckle” departure out of the remote mountain strip that only the “locals” use, you can impress the locals with your safety and confidence.  Due to the ability of the FPM to show your immediate performance and predicted path, I would have to say that this is my favorite feature, simply because of the ability to know if you will impact terrain well before you get to it.  The simplicity and advanced functionality of the Flight Management Software would be a close second.  Together, they do more advanced functions, easier, than the high-end FMS’ do with a keyboard. 

Since the Chelton EFIS was installed in our company aircraft at my recommendation, I have been watching the rest of the avionics market closely to make sure that my choice and my reputation stay on top and I have to say, the newest Chelton 5.0A software closes the door on any other competition.  Chelton is so far ahead of everyone else in the market that I can’t imagine they will ever catch up.  I am proud to stake my reputation as a safety minded professional pilot on Chelton’s EFIS system.

Chad Menne has nearly 6,000 hours, is Chief Pilot for Uni-Systems, an engineering company in Minneapolis , specializing in transport aircraft maintenance systems and retractable roofs for professional sports stadiums.  He is also the Malibu Program Manager for Roger Aviation, an insurance- approved recurrent training facility in Minneapolis and has been awarded several STC’s for the PA46 aircraft, on behalf of a company that he co-founded, Malibu Power & Propeller, a Minneapolis based aerospace engineering company specializing in PA46 aircraft.


www.maibumods.com

Back to top

Name: Jack Steffen 

Profession: Pilot 

Pilot since: 1966 

Aircraft: Citation Ultra, King Air 300, King Air B200, King Air 200, Citation II, Cessna 182 

Home base: Portland (PDX) 

Aircraft use: Corporate 

Jack Steffen is a contract pilot for a corporation with a King Air 300 which flies about 1,000 hours a year. Jack flies about 40% of those hours as pilot. The plane had a 4 screen EFIS from Chelton Flight Systems installed in early 2003. Although he had seen ads for various EFIS, he’d never really studied them. Jack was introduced to the system by an out-going pilot, who spent about 1 month flying with Jack before he left. Upon first seeing the system Jack said “Interesting. I’d never seen it before. I read the pilot’s manual cover to cover, and then got hands-on experience from the pilot who was leaving.” Jack started flying the King Air in September 2004 with an open mind and an open book: “With every new plane, and new instrumentation, you have got to get into the books to know what a system does. If you don’t get in and learn all the capabilities and limitations, you’re not safe. A manual is required to be on board the aircraft, and if I don’t fully understand a feature, I get out the book! If I need more information, I call Chelton Flight Systems.” 

Jack has about 500 hours using the Chelton EFIS. There is one other line captain for the King Air and three reserve captains. King Air flights are always a two-pilot operation, normally with a captain and a copilot who is not type-rated in the aircraft. They have four line copilots and one reserve copilot. Jack gives both ground and flight training to all captains and copilots. “Every pilot can operate the Chelton system at a very high comfort level,” Jack said. 

In comparing with the other planes he flies, Jack said “The three dimensional presentation of terrain on the PFD is the most notable difference between the Chelton EFIS and the other systems. The MFD has color shading for terrain awareness.” Every pilot who flies the King Air has commented that one of their favorite features is the VFR approach mode to any runway at any airport. They count on the pseudo-glideslope into the requested runway: “Especially flying into uncontrolled airports, with no instrument approach. When the miniature runway and green boxes appear in the PFD after programming both IFR and VFR approaches, it gives the pilot three-dimensional awareness. Once in the boxes, it’s easy to stay in the boxes,“ Jack said. “During the execution of VFR approaches, we have trained everyone not to depend on the green boxes for terrain clearance, but the TAWS voice alerts are always active.” 

The upgrade to software version 5.0 was finished in September. Jack has flown with version 4.1 long enough to critique the upgrade. “The ability to program low altitude Victor airways and high altitude Jet routes is a welcome feature of software version 5.0 since the King Air flies in both environments routinely, often with a combination of both in the same flight plan. We also like the ability of all the MFDs to be set at different ranges. It is very convenient for the copilot to be looking longer range while the pilot is looking at more detail. The ability to make multiple flight plans between the same two points has been great. One feature we’d like to see is the ability to store more than 100 flight plans.” 

Jack’s advice to other pilots: “If you are a professional pilot, keeping up on new systems and instrumentation is part of the job. The bottom line is training – you must be fully qualified in all the equipment you have at your disposal.”

Back to top