Tag Archives: Dynon

684 Honeywell Advanced Air Mobility

A Honeywell senior director talks about advanced air mobility. Also, NOTAMs may be on the way for 5G cellular, PLAY airline comes to the U.S., airline executives speak before the U.S. Senate, local incentives draw Lufthansa to St. Louis, and Dynon suffers from component shortages. We also have an Australia Desk with military rotorcraft news.

Guest

Andrew Barker is the Senior Director, Sales Marketing, Urban Air Mobility and Unmanned Aerial Systems at Honeywell Aerospace. He describes the “advanced air mobility” concept that encompasses a scope larger than the “urban” notion normally associated with UAM. In fact, Andrew thinks of it as Aviation 2.0 and likens it to a new experimental aircraft world, but this time with more funding.

Advanced air mobility from Andrew Barker, Honeywell Aerospace.
Andrew Barker

Honeywell acts as a vehicle-agnostic supplier of avionics and propulsion components. Some of these, like fly-by-wire, are being brought down to the UAM market. Andrew talks about Honeywell detect-and-avoid technology and sensor fusion. We also consider the progression of steps being taken by the industry – starting with the pilot in the aircraft, then progressing to SVO (simple vehicle operation) lessening the onboard task, to pilot on the ground, and ultimately (perhaps) autonomous air transport.

Andrew also touches on some of the industry challenges, like regulatory standards and public acceptance. And of course safety, the overarching imperative.

Andrew spent his youth at the airport with his father and received his PPL at age 17. That same year he flew a Cessna 150 to EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI. You’ll find Andrew at Osh most years.

In 2000 he became the first employee of TruTrak Flight Systems, a company that designed and produced autopilots for the experimental aircraft market. After earning his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2004, Andrew was named general manager and he joined the board of directors for TruTrak.

Andrew and his wife eventually became the sole owners of TruTrak.  The company received FAA approval for the installation of an autopilot for the Cessna 172 in 2017, adding several more models in the following years.

In 2019, Honeywell acquired TruTrak and Andrew joined the Honeywell team as Sr. Director of Sales for BendixKing. In July of 2021, Andrew joined the UAM / UAS team and is now running sales and marketing.

Aviation News

Industry Awaiting NOTAMS on 5G Interference

The 5G cellular issue with possible interference to radar altimeters continues in the news. On the heels of two FAA ADs, we now see the possibility of an FAA NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) with more specific details.

Play Airlines Launches Service to the US

Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY is now booking tickets from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) with service starting April 20, 2022, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) with service from May 11, 2022. PLAY operates a fleet of Airbus A320neo family aircraft with a hub at Keflavík International Airport. Ex-WOW executives are among the leadership team at PLAY.

Airlines face shortage of pilots, other workers, execs say

Airline executives appearing before a Senate Commerce Committee hearing explained the recent flight delays and cancellations. Reasons given include:

  • Trouble hiring pilots, flight attendants and other staff
  • Weather causing aircraft and crews to be out of position
  • Difficulty getting employees to work extra shifts
  • The cost of training pilots, which is not covered by federal student loans

Financial commitment from area business leaders helped lure Lufthansa to St. Louis

It’s the first passenger airline service from St. Louis to the European continent in nearly 20 years, scheduled to start in June 2022. An incentive package was offered to Lufthansa that included up to $5 million in incentive payments over two years. To qualify, the airline must average three nonstop flights per week from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Frankfurt. Landing fees are also waived for 18 months. The package was put together by local businesses, the St. Louis County government, and the airport.

Dynon halts production on experimental displays

Dynon Avionics says they will be “unable to manufacture or ship experimental SkyView HDX, SkyView Classic, and SkyView SE displays” due to supply chain issues with components. Demand is up, supplies are down, and lead times are longer.

Australia News Desk

This week’s Australia Desk takes a look at the withdrawal from service of the Army’s S-70-A9 Blackhawk fleet, and the announcement by the government that the MRH-90 Taipan fleet will also be replaced in favour of up to 40 new-build UH-60M Blackhawks.

In airline news, Qantas has announced its intention to replace its 737-800 fleet over the next ten years with Airbus A321’s…but will they actually do it??

Australia dumps troubled European-designed Taipan helicopters for US Black Hawks and Seahawks

Qantas Selects Airbus as Preferred Aircraft for Domestic Fleet Renewal

Army Blackhawk A25-203 over Sydney Harbour, March 2012 (Photographer – Seth Jaworski)

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, David Vanderhoof, Max Trescott, and Rob Mark. Contributors: Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron.

440 Glass Cockpit Avionics

This episode, we talk to the president of Dynon Avionics, a company that designs, builds, and supports glass cockpit avionics for builders and pilots of small aircraft. In the news, we discuss a celebrity landing on a taxiway, the 2017 General Aviation Awards, a capacity cutback on commercial flights to Cuba, a town that took a man’s Cessna, and the union representation vote at Boeing’s South Carolina plant.

Robert Hamilton, president of glass cockpit avionics company Dynon

Robert Hamilton, president of glass cockpit avionics company Dynon Avionics

Guest

Robert Hamilton is the president of Dynon Avionics. The company was founded in 2000 and is a leader in glass cockpit avionics for light aircraft. Starting with inexpensive AOA indicators, Dynon expanded the line to affordable Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS) and a full range of glass cockpit avionics products for pilots.

Robert Hamilton in the Sportsman

Robert Hamilton in the Sportsman

Robert learned to fly as a teenager in the family J-3 Cub in the 1970s. More recently he owned a glass panel Diamond DA-40, and built a SkyView-equipped Glasair Sportsman. Last summer Robert earned his seaplane rating.

Robert began his career as a Flight Controls Engineer at Boeing working on the 747.  But to get more into the business side, he went to the Graduate Business School at Harvard then on to Fluke Corporation as a Senior Manager where he built their electrical power business and helped develop the unique Fluke brand.  But aviation called to Robert and he joined Dynon Avionics in 2008 as head of Marketing, and then became company President in 2012.

As a volunteer, Robert was the president of the Washington Pilots Association at Paine Field, and is a member of AOPA and EAA.

Dynon SkyView HDX glass cockpit avionics

Dynon SkyView HDX

Aviation News

Harrison Ford in Incident With Passenger Plane at California Airport

When a pilot lands on a taxiway instead of the runway, it might not get too much attention in the mainstream media. When Harrison Ford does that in his Husky, it makes the national news.

2017 National GA Award winners named

Each year, the General Aviation Awards program and the FAA recognize the contributions of aviation professionals to general aviation. Recipients of the 2017 National General Aviation Awards are:

  • Charles Gensler of Parker, Colorado — Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year
  • Brian Carpenter of Corning, California — Aviation Technician of the Year
  • Mark Ducorsky of Lakeland, Florida — FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year

The awards will be presented by the FAA during EAA AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh,Wisconsin.

EAA, Dynon Expand STC Program For GA Aircraft

Some Beechcraft, Grumman, Maule, and Mooney models are now eligible for the STC allowing installation of Dynon electronic flight information systems. The EFIS-D10A and EFIS-D100 can be installed in models on the Approved Model List, which EAA says will continue to expand.

JetBlue Follows American Airlines and Cuts Capacity in Cuba

When scheduled commercial service to Cuba was announced, we were pretty excited, and so were the airlines. Large numbers of flights were allocated to the airlines and some people wondered if the Cuban infrastructure would be strained under the influx of visitors. But it’s not turning out that way.

Elderly pilot’s Cessna dismantled in his driveway and hauled away by Long Island town

A 69-year old pilot gave up his pilot’s license in 2015 for health reasons. He had his Cessna 152 moved to his driveway in Long Island, but neighbors and the town of Oceanside didn’t think too much of that. When the man was out of the country, the town had the plane removed from the driveway, after disassembling the wings.

Workers at Boeing’s South Carolina plant reject union

According to the NLRB, 74 percent of the 2,828 voting workers at Boeing’s South Carolina plant turned down representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

Mentioned

Flights Above the Pacific Northwest is a closed Facebook group, originally created with the intent of sharing pictures and videos of local flights around the Pacific Northwest. FATPNW has grown to become an active online community.

Pima Air & Space Museum

Tattoos in Flight

Hey Techies show – Max Trescott was their guest on Hey Techies 84 talking about learning to fly.

What is additive manufacturing? – Published on May 22, 2013 by GE Aviation.

Austria to sue Airbus over Eurofighter contract

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

AirplaneGeeks 397 Airman Certification Standards

We talk with the Special Technical Assistant for the FAA Flight Standards Service and editor of FAA Safety Briefing magazine. Also, electrically powered planes, an important Approved Model List STC, the FAA teams up with the auto industry, airlines restricting fare bargains, a play about United Flight 232, Solar Impulse 2 returns to mission mode, and Aviation Geek Fest Seattle 2016.

Guest

Susan Parson

Susan Parson

Susan Parson is Special Technical Assistant with the FAA Flight Standards Service, and editor of FAA Safety Briefing magazine. She serves as the lead FAA representative for the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) project to improve airman testing and training.

Susan has authored over 90 GA safety articles and several online training documents and courses, including Conducting an Effective Flight Review, Instrument Proficiency Check Guidance, and Best Practices for Mentoring in Flight Instruction.

Susan holds an ATP certificate, as well as ground and flight instructor certificates with instrument, single-engine, and multi-engine land ratings. She repeatedly earned Master Flight Instructor and Master Ground Instructor designations from NAFI and Master Instructors LLC.  

As an active GA pilot, Susan instructs on weekends for her Cessna 182 flying club and the Civil Air Patrol. Susan created a number of advanced avionics training courses and modules, for the Civil Air Patrol, and she is the primary author of CAP’s National Check Pilot Standardization Course.

Susan Parson in SP-C182Susan has a BA in international relations and French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MA in Education (focused on e-Education and adult learning) from the University of Phoenix, and an Aviation Safety and Security Management certificate from the George Washington University’s Aviation Institute. Susan’s work experience includes serving in the United States Department of State’s diplomatic service.

Visit Susan’s personal webpage at www.avi8rix.aero and find her on Twitter as @avi8rix. The FAA Safety Briefing webpage is www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/.

News

Airbus, Siemens to work together on electrically-powered planes

Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders says, “We believe that by 2030 passenger aircraft below 100 seats could be propelled by hybrid propulsion systems and we are determined to explore this possibility together with world-class partners like Siemens.” Airbus signed a deal with Siemens to work on these hybrid electric propulsion systems.

Experimental Avionics For Certified Aircraft: EAA, Dynon Announce STC

At Sun ‘n Fun, the EAA and Dynon Avionics announced that they’ve developed an Approved Model List – Supplemental Type Certificate (AML-STC) that allows Dynon’s D10 EFIS to be installed in certified aircraft.

FAA and Auto Industry to Team Up on Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FAA plan to hold an event April 22 with chief executives from the major automakers and aviation industry leaders. The goal is to look at how aviation industry collaboration practices could benefit automakers, particularly safety data sharing.

Three Big Airlines Just Trashed Your Cheap Fares

American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., and United Continental Holdings Inc. have taken action to restrict multi-destination fare bargains, mostly affecting business travelers. Previously, purchasing individual tickets for each leg could cost less than purchasing one multi-leg ticket.

Surviving crew of doomed United Flight 232 reunites for play

On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232, a DC-10, experienced a fan disk failure in the tail-mounted engine. The plane lost hydraulics and crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 110 passengers and one flight attendant. 184 people survived.

Eight survivors from the 13-member crew reunited to watch the play “United Flight 232” by Vanessa Stalling. The play is based on the 2014 book Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival by Laurence Gonzales. The performance at The House Theatre of Chicago continues through May 1, 2016.

After a Long Delay, Solar Impulse 2 Is Ready to Finish Its Round-the-World Flight

On the 3rd of July 2015, Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii after having broken the record for flying non-stop for 5 days and 5 nights from Japan. Due to battery damage from overheating, the round-the-world journey was paused for repairs. However, the Solar Impulse 2 is now back in mission mode. Follow the flight at www.solarimpulse.com. We spoke with Solar Impulse 2 pilot André Borschberg in Airplane Geeks Episode 361.

The Aircraft of the Week

F-16CJ by David Vanderhoof

F-16CJ by David Vanderhoof

The Episode 400 History Segment Listener Challenge

David will select one aircraft from those submitted by listeners to be the Aircraft of the Week for Episode 400. Here are his rules:

  1. If you have hounded me to do a specific aircraft in the past, you’re automatically disqualified, and you all know who you are. I want someone to be rewarded.
  2. NO it will not be the C-130 nor a tanker!
  3. Not following directions might void your entry.***
  4. Pick your airplane.
  5. Send an email to theGeeks@Airplanegeeks.com with the Subject: David, please do this plane!
  6. Give me the full name of the plane.
  7. In 20 words or less tell me why I should do it. Creativity will be rewarded. Emoji’s won’t.
  8. Give me your name.
  9. How long have you listened to the show?
  10. What photo is associated with this post? It’s an  F-16CJ.
  11. Should you pick one I have already done, I will give you a second chance. I promise!
  12. You have until April 30, 2016 to get your entry in.

*** All decisions by the Historian are final!

Aviation Geek Fest Seattle 2016

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Max and Brian report on this year’s amazing Aviation Geek Fest where about 250 #AvGeeks assembled for a weekend of Boeing facility tours, time in the Future of Flight Aviation Center and the Museum of Flight, and other exciting activities. Find more event photos here.

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Mentioned

"Silver Wasp" Boeing PT-17 Stearman by John Mollison

“Silver Wasp” Boeing PT-17 Stearman flown by Women Airforce Service Pilot Bernice “Bee” Haydu, by John Mollison

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.