Duncan Aviation Pilot Michael Kussatz is back with another timely, informative video about your options for replacing aging aircraft components. Here, he fills you in on the details regarding aging electronic standby units and the many reasons you might consider upgrading to the Garmin GI 275.
In addition to Duncan Aviation’s three full-service facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Provo, Utah; we have dozens of Satellite facilities located at business aviation airports throughout the country. Our talented, experienced avionics technicians use an STC that allows them to install a new Garmin GI 275 in the following business jets with very little downtime:
The potential for 5G cell phone towers to interfere with an aircraft’s RadAlt (Radio Altimeter) during low visibility landings is a significant concern for the FAA and the safe operation around these locations. Aircraft landing in close proximity to towers broadcasting signals near the same frequency range as those used by cockpit devices raise concerns that 5G signals from cell-phone towers could prevent certain aircraft systems that rely on information from the RadAlt from performing correctly.
During the past year, the FAA and telecommunications companies have been evaluating the affect 5G has on aircraft operations in close proximity to these 5G towers and have provided guidance through Airworthiness Directives and NOTAMS. On June 30, 2023, the 5G towers will begin broadcasting at a higher power rate, which may affect the reliability of the information being received and communicated to the cockpit. At this point, much is still being done to define what impact the increase in power from the 5G towers will have on flight systems.
The FAA has initially focused on commercial transportation due to the volume and frequency of flights requiring low-visibility approaches in known areas of 5G interference. Business aviation will also be affected in these 5G areas, and we anticipate more information to be released from various governing agencies and aircraft manufacturers to provide guidance for safe operations.
Most recently, the FAA issued AD 2023-03-06, prohibiting autopilot and autothrottle operation below 400 feet when near 5G C-band interference in GLEX, GLXRS, GL5000, GL5500, GL6000, and GL6500 jets. It also prohibits dispatch with certain weight-on-wheels CAS messages.
We anticipate more Airworthiness Directives or service advisories to be issued by various governing agencies and/or aircraft manufacturers to provide additional guidance for operators. We don’t know the full extent of what systems will be affected as there are numerous systems on the aircraft that use the RadAlt data for safe operations, including terrain alerting, autopilot systems, and much more.
Duncan Aviation will continue to educate our customers about the potential affect 5G frequencies may have on business aircraft and the safety of air travel, and we will communicate the most current information available to us.
CMS (Cabin Management System) Innovations
Concern with obsolescence and interest in new, innovative features are driving a strong demand for upgrades to CMSes (Cabin Management Systems).
For those who face issues with obsolete switch panels, ALTO Aviation’s Cadence switching is an innovative option available in the market today. Designed as a direct replacement for many of the older, non-supported cabin switching systems, it is a cost-effective and simple upgrade, minimizing both installation labor and completion time.
For those seeking the latest in cabin technology, look to the Collins Aerospace Venue CMS upgrade options. Installed in more than 1,500 aircraft to date, Venue offers features such as HD/4K video display, intuitive touchscreen switching with a new GUI (graphical user interface), HD moving maps on cabin displays and on mobile devices, and wireless integration with passenger smartphones and tablet computers.
The CMS trend is moving away from installing traditional media players and toward allowing passengers to integrate their personal electronic devices and the content they bring with them to the cabin streaming devices.
Moving maps, such as Airshow, are still incredibly important to passengers who want to know flight details during their flight. The latest Airshow software packages are now available, setting a new bar in dynamic presentation and display resolution.