Page 20 - Volume 15 Number 3

The IS&S AdViz flight deck system replaces outdated avionics on Cessna Citation 500-series aircraft, bringing new capabilities, such as WAAS, to older platforms.Innovators InterveneIn stepped the innovators (as a stray thought, Warren Buffet speaks of Innovators, Imitators and Idiots) like Garmin, Avidyne, L3, Sandel, IS&S and several others. These companies developed stand-alone displays, RVSM/TAWS solutions, and GPS technology at a price that the older airframes and their owners could support. From the foothold of updating outdated cockpits, the capabilities of these stand- alone systems now in many cases now exceed those of the high-end cockpits they were developed to compete with.As an example, during the normalized market of the early 2000s, the market gave the CJ1 a $1 million premium over the CJ. For any and all real reasons, the only difference was the cockpit technology. The CJ1 with its fully integrated PFDs, electronic engine instrumentation, and moving map display versus the CJ’s pieced- together cockpit with small EFIS displays, electro-mechanical stand- by instruments, and clunky radio stack made the CJ cockpit look complex and outdated.That $1 million differential is now down to about $200,000 partly because of market forces, but also because even better technology is available. For example, Cessna will retrofit the CJ cockpit with Garmin equipment found in the Mustang that outshines the CJ1 in appearance and capability at a cost of about $300,000. A 1980s 500 Series Citation can now be retrofitted with stand-alone, after-market cockpit systems that offer reliability, functionality, and operating cost improvements over the 21st century models that replaced them.Advancements ContinueThere is reason to believe that cockpit technology will continue the advancements we have experienced over the past 10 years. That brings me back to dilemma that my clientquality, and not a word about gas mileage. Options such as rear speakers, carpet, seatbelts and full wheel covers were the enticements used to set the hook.Today all of the basic attributes of the car platform itself are moot since they are all assumed to be there. All new cars are smooth riding, quiet, reliable, and impossible to work on at home, and by comparison, sip fuel. They all have flowing lines that are easy to look at. Can you even imagine a rear speaker being offered as optional equipment on a new car of today?About the TechnologyIt’s no longer about the platform; it’s about the technology in the platform. It’s about how technology makes the car safer, more comfortable and more efficient in operating costs and day-to-day use. The options are now all high tech such as parking sensors, rear cameras, lane change warnings, and 32-speaker, multi- media entertainment systems. Ford’s SYNC is an integrated communications and entertainment system that allows users to make hands-free telephone calls, control music and navigation functions with simple voice commands. And performance...many of today’s luxury cars will out perform all but18 • ­TWIN & TURBINEthe most radical muscle cars of the 1960s and get 25 mpg while doing it.As my mind wandered through all of this, it naturally stopped on the thought of how am I going to pay for all of the goodies that are put on the table. So, it was back to airplanes.I recalled a recent conversation with a very knowledgeable client who owns a 1986 model year Citation. I called him for his advice about a GPS installation because another client wanted to put the same GPS in his 2008 Citation but had been told it wouldn’t work. Apparently, due to the integrated avionics of the modern system, there was no way to display the second GPS information on the existing tubes. As we talked about the issue, my always-savvy client offered some thought-provoking ideas.When RVSM and TAWS became mandated at the same time EFIS tubes migrated to PFDs and MFDs were commonplace in new airplanes, there were thoughts (mine included) that the older airplanes would slowly fade away. The cost of the mandates and the widening gap in cockpit technology would simply be too much for the electro-mechanical airplanes to overcome. A bright red line began to develop in the resale market that distinguished the old from the new.Wrong!MARCH 2011