BendixKing, a business unit of Honeywell, has unveiled its new AeroVue Touch Integrated Flight Deck. The advanced Class III cockpit system includes three smart, high-resolution touchscreen displays that incorporate all required functions into one lightweight, panel-mounted flight deck. It is said to be easily customisable, allowing aircraft manufacturers to create their own unique interface that shows different information applicable to a variety of aircraft, including electric aircraft and future vehicles for urban air mobility. The price starts at $99,000.

By upgrading operators get a connected cockpit that enables live flight-data streaming to the ground in real time for enhanced search and rescue and flight analysis. It can also eliminate the need to return aircraft to maintenance centers to update navigation charts by allowing operators to update them wirelessly, wherever the aircraft is located.

AeroVue Touch employs smart display technology that eliminates multiple, separate computing modules by including the electronics into the display itself. This reduces the weight of the system by 30 to 50 per cent, reducing fuel consumption and increasing aircraft range, which lowers the cost of ownership by up to tens of thousands of dollars.

“We're taking a very different technical approach with the AeroVue Touch Integrated Flight Deck,” says president Gregg Cohen. “Using smart displays as the basis of our system architecture enables us to create the best possible advanced solution while reducing complexity, weight and cost.”

The new flight deck includes three smart displays that can each be used independently to fly the aircraft, increasing reliability and safety by providing double and triple redundancy. This eliminates the need for complicated electronics buses and wiring, and means additional standby equipment is not required, all of which reduces system weight and installation costs.

The AeroVue Touch Integrated Flight Deck is now available as an upgrade to operators of Part 23 Class III aircraft and as a forward fit to aircraft manufacturers. BendixKing is working to install this system on various Class III aircraft, with the first installation to be completed by the end of 2019.