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Upcoming Events
Northwest Aviation Conference & Tradeshow
Feb. 22 – 23, 2014
Puyallup, Washington
Helicopter Association
International
March 2 – 5
Orlando
Western Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association
March 18 – 20
Calgary, Alberta
Aircraft Electronics Association Convention & Tradeshow
April 8 -11
Dallas, Texas
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Customer Comments
Reference for Maxcraft Avionics Ltd
Like most Canadian GA owners, I’ve taken the hit from Transport Canada with respect to 406 MHz ELT’s and am being forced to install one in each of my aircraft regardless of how well they work, the cost of the things or whatever other alternatives might be available. So much for living in a democracy.
Since I think the chances of successfully fighting this bit of bureaucratic high-handedness are basically zero, I’ve now ordered two Kannad 406 Compact models from you.
The first I picked up last Tuesday when I was in Vancouver and the second I’m in the process of buying right now, since we unenlightened souls north of 55 degrees get no grace period whatsoever for installing the damn things.
In both cases, Elizabeth and Alex have been courteous, very capable and have delivered as promised and on time.
Please pass along my thanks for jobs well done. If I ever decide to upgrade the garbage audio panel setup in my 172, I’ll call your company first.
Many thanks,
Richard Corbet
More Successes
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Avionic Humour
Tower: “…and for your information, you were slightly to the left of the centreline on that approach.”
Speedbird: “That’s correct; and, my First Officer was slightly to the right”
Controller: “USA353 (sic) contact Cleveland Centre 135.60.
(pause)
Controller: “USA353 contact Cleveland Centre 135.60!”
(pause)
Controller: “USA353 you’re just like my wife you never listen!”
Pilot: “Centre, this is USA553, maybe if you called her by the right name you’d get a better response!”
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L-3 Lynx, Garmin, Gogo, King Air and dual helicopter projects
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Greetings
In this issue of Maxnews: exciting new product announcements from L-3, Garmin and Gogo Inflight Internet. We’ve also got new rebates, details on our recent King Air and Airbus/Eurocopter projects and a quick summary on IFR training for certain members of the Maxcraft team.
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New Products
L-3 Officially Launches Its Lynx® Line of ADS-B
L-3 Aviation Products officially launched its Lynx® MultiLink Surveillance System (MSS) line of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) products. The company also announced that it has submitted for Technical Standard Order (TSO) authorization for the Lynx® NGT-9000, one of several models in the new line. Complete details on the Lynx family of products, including models and specifications, as well as an interactive simulator and downloadable app, can be found at L-3Lynx.com. 
“The Lynx NGT-9000 is unlike anything in the marketplace and delivers a unique set of features for General Aviation pilots,” said Larry Riddle, L-3 Aviation Products’ vice president of marketing and sales for business, regional and general aviation. “In addition to getting ahead of ADS-B compliance, the unique benefits of a single-box solution, straightforward installation and the reasonable cost of the NGT-9000 make it an ideal product.”
The Lynx family comprises four models, including an ADS-B In/Out model with a Wi-Fi display option for Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs), as well as models for the display of ADS-B information on dedicated cockpit multifunction displays (MFDs). All Lynx models provide ADS-B Out compliance to FAA 14 CFR 91.227.
The most notable model, the Lynx NGT-9000, has an intuitive touchscreen display that is a form-factor replacement for existing transponders. The NGT-9000 offers a wide array of features and is the most logical choice for pilots looking to take full advantage of the ADS-B NextGen flight environment. The unit also supports 1090ES (Mode S Extended Squitter) ADS-B Out, as well as 1090 MHz and 978 MHz (UAT) ADS-B In. This provides ADS-B traffic (ADS-B, ADS-R and TIS-B), as well as FIS-B input.
Garmin announces Solid State Radar for Helicopters 
Garmin is pleased to announce the helicopter-optimized GWX 70H weather radar combining range and adjustable scanning profiles with precision target definition for accurate, real-time weather analysis in the cockpit. Also offering horizontal scan angles of up to 120 degrees and pilot adjustable sector scanning form 20 degrees to 120 degrees.
The GWX 70H offers significant improvements in capability, reliability, and cost of ownership. The GXW 70H adds industry standard environmental features that provide protection from the elements, further aiding in reliability.
Advanced features for compatible displays including Turbulence Detection and Ground Clutter Suppression.
All models are compatible with Garmin multifunction displays including the GTN 750, GTN 725 G500H and certain configurations of the G1000H integrated flight deck.
Gogo to Bring Its ATG-4 In-flight Connectivity Technology to Business Aviation
Gogo Inc. a leading provider of in-flight connectivity and entertainment solutions to the global aero market, announced that it will bring its next generation ATG-4 air-to-ground connectivity technology to business aviation. ATG-4 will be available for business aircraft via a new equipment package called ATG 8000. First shipments are expected in April 2015.
Particularly well-suited for large business aircraft in corporate shuttle configurations, ATG 8000 will help passengers realize a significant increase in connectivity speed and capacity when compared to the company’s other Gogo Biz equipment packages, which currently include ATG 2000, ATG 4000 and ATG 5000.
Garmin updates G1000 for King Air C90 with
ADS-B Out, Baro-VNAV, RNAV and more
Garmin has announced new capabilities and enhanced operational benefits for King Air C90 aircraft. The latest update includes NextGen components such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) compliance, user-defined holding patterns and the approval of optional equipment, which expands global operational capability.
- NextGen-Ready – which includes Barometric Vertical Navigation, ADS-B Out Compliance, Area Navigation (RNAV) capability that includes the ability to fly procedures with Radius-to-fix (RF) segments
- User-Defined Holds – pilots can quickly build user defined holding patterns
- Search and Rescue (SAR) Options – auto generate flight plans for three search patterns: Parallel Line Search, Expanding Square
- Industry-Leading Solid State Radar
- Access More Airports, Remote Locations
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In the Hangar: Beech King Air
When publicly showing our work to owners and operators, there’s a strong case for panel pictures, and lots of them. However, while theses are often very nice to look at, without context they have the potential to mislead. A photo of some GPS/NAV/COMs and a primary flight display tell you very little about what is lurking behind the panel or how that equipment is integrated and configured. Read more here.
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In the Hangar: EC120B and EC130B4
The two helicopters you see here belong to two different clients. The black EC-130 is privately owned but operated by Blackcomb/Omega Aviation, a regular commercial client of ours. The EC-120, is also privately owned but is managed by Chinook Helicopters. Despite differences in ownership, management and use intended use, Maxcraft’s technicians have fitted these aircraft with nearly identical avionics packages.
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Glass Panel Upgrades Now Routine
Upgrading aircraft with glass panel technology has now moved well beyond the early adopter stage. These types of upgrade used to be considered somewhat exotic but now, with the passage of time and the experience gained from many installations, they have become routine.
It’s been over thirty years since EFIS became the standard fit in larger business and commercial aircraft. Many of those aircraft have since been upgraded to newer technology systems which utilize LCD displays to replace original CRT displays. The Universal Avionics EFI-890R flight display system and the Rockwell Collins Pro-Line 21 flight display system are both very capable products which are commonly retrofitted into this category of aircraft. The Garmin G1000 has been a common retrofit for the King Air series of turbo props since 2007.
The Sandel Avionics SN3308 electronic horizontal situation indicator (EHSI) was the first affordable EFIS technology for general aviation and was considered revolutionary when introduced in 1998. By 2005, various general aviation manufacturers were delivering new aircraft with full glass panel cockpits. In 2008 the EFIS retrofit market really began to take off with Aspen Avionics introducing their EFD1000 primary flight display system and Garmin Avionics releasing their G600 primary flight display system. Installation of these products was greatly facilitated by the FAA approved model list supplementary type certificates (AML STCs) that these manufacturers provided.
Today we’ve reached a point where the technology offered by these systems is considered mainstream rather than new and novel. These products have continued to evolve with the addition of many new features but the core functionality remains unchanged. Today an experienced installer is better able to devote time to optimizing the configuration of each system where in the early days more effort was required to just meet the minimum functional requirements. As I look into the future, it seems likely that most legacy aircraft will eventually receive some form of a glass panel upgrade or they will slowly lose the ability to operate in modern airspace.
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Vendor Profile: SPOT LLC.
SPOT LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. and is the leader in satellite messaging and emergency notification technologies. Globalstar LP was founded in 1991 and then incorporated into Globalstar Inc. in 2006. In 2007 they introduced Spot Satellite Messenger, a handheld satellite messaging and tracking personal safety device, through their latest subsidiary SPOT Inc., later renamed SPOT LLC.
SPOT LLC announced that its SPOT products have been used to initiate over 600 rescues in 2014 and over 500 in North America. Since the technology’s launch in 2007, over 3,500 rescues have been initiated due to the SPOT product family. SPOT is approaching their 1000th life save in Canada; most of which are in BC. With hundreds of thousands of SPOT units in service globally averaging a rescue a day, SPOT delivers affordable and reliable satellite-based connectivity and real-time GPS tracking, completely independent of cellular coverage.
“SPOT products are crucial for the outdoor recreation market and aviation, as well as a critical government and enterprise solution,” said Jay Monroe, CEO and Chairman of Globalstar. “We receive reports almost daily from individuals who have thankfully had our products when they needed them most. Continuously saving lives drives us to keep innovating satellite communications solutions that reach a market well beyond traditional mobile satellite users.”
SPOT LLC announced that its SPOT products have been used to initiate over 600 rescues in 2014 and over 500 in North America. Since the technology’s launch in 2007, over 3,500 rescues have been initiated due to the SPOT product family. SPOT is approaching their 1000th life save in Canada; most of which are in BC. With hundreds of thousands of SPOT units in service globally averaging a rescue a day, SPOT delivers affordable and reliable satellite-based connectivity and real-time GPS tracking, completely independent of cellular coverage.
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Need to know more about the SPOT?
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