"How safe is it?" Along with "How much does
it cost?" this is a question we often hear
when someone is considering flight training
as an option for depleting his or her discretionary
income. Our industry has experienced a marked
reduction in overall accidents and statistically,
a 27.8% reduction in the most recent 7 years!
During this same time period General Aviation
fatal accidents dropped 32.6% to just over
1 fatality for every 100,000-flight hours.
Of these accidents, 80% are either partially
or completely pilot induced, with weather
related accidents and controlled flight
into terrain (CFIT) accounting for the majority
of fatalities.
So what is the industry doing to address
the issue of pilot errors?
Bendix/King has taken the bull by the
horns and addressed this challenge with
several new avionics products, and Cessna
has taken the next step by including the
Bendix/King advanced avionics package
in their aircraft.
Situational Awareness: With its moving
map and IFR approach capability, the KLN94
GPS provides added safety through increased
situational awareness. This GPS with its
full color screen is as easy to operate,
as it is to view.
Weather: Bendix/King Data Link Weather
features a state-of-the-art data link
system to bring textual and graphical
weather to your cockpit with a high speed,
high bandwidth system. With the KDR 510,
weather information (including METARs,
TAFs, and PIREPs) is automatically updated
and displayed on your KMD 550 (multi-function
display) in your cockpit. For a small
monthly fee, you can also receive NEXRAD
radar and additional weather products
that promote additional weather avoidance
capability.
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT):
The KMH 880 Multi-Hazard Awareness System
combines traffic and terrain avoidance
features in one unit. Combined with the
KDR 510 and displayed on the KMD 550,
you can have all the situational awareness
available to ensure an up-to-the-second
picture of your flight situation.
Workload Reduction: The KMD 550 Multi-Function
Display (MFD) lets you spend less time
looking at your instruments and more time
flying your aircraft. The system gives
you the information you need without added
clutter, all while reducing the time required
to manage each safety system. Along with
its capability to display traffic, weather,
terrain and moving map information, the
KMD 550 also provides a wealth of reference
information to the pilot including airports,
NDBs, intersections, VORs, special-use
airspace, victor airways, rivers, roads,
lakes, cities and towers. When interfaced
to the KLN 94, the KMD 550 can also display
holding patterns, procedure turns and
DME arcs for even greater situational
awareness. Most importantly, this MFD
is simple to use and sports a bright,
razor-sharp display!
So, how much safer can General Aviation
become? It seems to me that the sky's
the limit! Who would have guessed that
today's General Aviation aircraft would
have these capabilities? And I suppose
the question follows . . . “What else
is possible?” Link: http://bendixking.com
About the Author Pat Redmond, Brighton,
Mi usa airplanenoise@airplanenoise.com
http://www.airplanenoise.com
Pat Redmond, helps business owners who
are tired of long lines and baggage claims,
fly their way to freedom! Enjoy dinner
with your family tonight! To learn more
about the General Aviation Business, sign
up for more FREE tips like these, visit
her site at http://www.airplanenoise.com
