Flying Magazine Highlights Crossbow's Efforts

Excerpts from Flying Magazine 2009 Issue

Robert Goyer, Senior Editor at Flying magazine, recently flew up to Olathe, Kansas, home to Bendix/King's flight test development facility to fly the KFD840. In the current issue, Goyer relays the details of this experience:

A funny thing happened in the race to develop retrofit avionics systems for light airplanes: competition. Just a few years ago the price of a retrofit LCD primary flight display for your light single or twin was... well there was no such thing. What a difference a few years makes...With the introduction of the KFD840, Bendix/King (a division of Honeywell) has jumped into the fray, bringing to the game not only its legendary name but much of the expertise that has gone into its sister company Honeywell's Primus Epic flat-panel systems which are standard equipment in some of the most technologically advanced and expensive business jets in the world.

The KFD840 is Bendix/King's new Primary Flight Display (PFD) for piston powered aircraft and is the company's vision of what a flat-panel retrofit primary flight display should be. The display was installed in the company's Cessna 182 test bed (the same type of aircraft owned by Crossbow Technology and used for all of its development and validation flight tests) which was a great platform for the test as it represented the kind of mid-level single into which one of these new lower-priced retrofit PFDs are finding their way.

The philosophy behind the 840 is clear: to create a smart-sized, low-cost, elegant, easy-to-use, reliable and expandable system that many pilots will be able to afford to put in their panels.The most remarkable thing about retrofit flat-panel avionics systems is how competitive they are in terms of price. The suggested price for the KFD840 is $16,995 largely due to Crossbow Technology's internal ADAHRS. With solid-state ADAHRS, the mean time between failures is off the charts and the redundancy of the systems, especially with the optional battery backup is a huge improvement over most conventional vacuum powered systems.

“We see significant interest in the retrofit market for “glass cockpit” technology that makes flying easier and safer such as solid state sensors and a wide horizon. For many aircraft this will allow a pilot to add a second attitude, airspeed and altitude source, improving safety.” said Dan Barks, Business Director, GA Operators and Dealers at Honeywell. “And by working with Crossbow Technology Inc. we can allow the piston aircraft pilots to be able to have a certified glass cockpit for under $20,000, a breakthrough price point for that segment.”

Aesthetically, the 840 is clean and businesslike. There are relatively few buttons and knobs. A pair of dual concentric knobs one at either end, and five semisoft keys lined up along the bottom of the bezel are it. It represents a way to upgrade the panel with solid-state attitude and air data while being dirt simple to transition to and at a price that even a few years ago seemed simply impossible.

Crossbow is anticipating TSO approval at the end of Q3 2009. For more information on Crossbow's line of inertial systems, visit the site here.

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