Evolution of the World’s Best Flight Management Technology
Avidyne’s leadership in easy-to-use avionics takes the next step forward with the introduction of the IFD-Series FMS/GPS/NAV/COMs. As the newest members of Avidyne’s integrated flight display family, the IFD540 & IFD440 provide the same powerful navigation, communication, and multi-function display capability as found in our award-winning Entegra Release 9 systems in a touch screen, panel-mounted avionics form-factor.
Plug & Play Replacement for your Old 530 & 430 Navigators
The IFD540 & IFD440 are designed as plug & play replacements for the popular GNS530 & GNS430 navigators respectively, but with bigger glass, a much larger screen area, and a much easier to use hybrid touch screen interface. And because they're the same physical size, they use the same tray & antennas, and can be installed with no wiring changes, it makes it an incredibly easy and affordable retrofit for general aviation aircraft.
Built on a dual databus architecture, the IFD540 and IFD440 are key components in Avidyne's new panel-mounted avionics suite, which also includes the AMX240 Audio Panel and AXP340 ADS-B Extended Squitter Mode S Transponder.
The Power of Hybrid Touch
Hybrid Touch means virtually all functions performed via the touch-screen can also be accomplished with the knobs/buttons, except pinch-zoom, map panning, and graphical flight plan editing. Hybrid Touch gives you the choice.
The Easy Choice
Over the years, pilots have chosen Avidyne for our MFDs, PFDs, and safety sensors because we design great avionics products that make flying safer and more fun. It’s no secret that ‘Ease of Use’ is truly the hallmark of all Avidyne products, and now with the IFD540 & IFD440, Avidyne is setting a new standard in easy user interface for FMS/GPS/NAV/COMs.
Advancements in touch screen technology have enabled the design team at Avidyne—virtually all of whom are pilots—to optimize our user interface for the new IFD Series. The powerful new MultiTouch interface allows pilots to gesture using two fingers on the capacitive touch screens to easily scroll and zoom the map range setting in and out. In addition to touch screen, we have maintained familiar knob and button controls. This 'Hybrid Touch' user interface provides pilots the choice when interacting with the IFDs for such functions as flight planning, map control, and frequency management.
Leveraging the highly-intuitive Page & Tab user interface of our Entegra Release 9 system, the IFDs provide plainly-labeled tabs, bi-directional keys, on-screen touch-sensitive labels, and a flat menu structure that makes it much easier to access the information you want when you want it.
The IFD-Series represents the next generation in FMS/GPS/NAV/COM systems, and is capable of providing precision position information to support ADS-B as part of the NextGen airspace initiative.
When it comes to panel-mounted avionics, you now have a choice and the choice is easy. Avidyne.
Making Flying Simpler
Featuring a super bright high-resolution LED-backlit 5.7-inch (IFD540) and 4.8-inch (IFD440) diagonal color liquid crystal MultiTouch touch-screen display, the IFDs provide a simple user interface for full SBAS/LPV approach guidance capability, FMS Vectors™, advanced radio management including automated NAV frequency tuning and COM frequency nomination, automatic frequency identification, easy-to-modify graphical flight planning, and Avidyne’s exclusive GeoFill™ waypoint nomination.
Versatile dual-sided Line Select Keys provide easy control of the thumbnail Hazard Display and map overlay settings. Dual-concentric knobs, dedicated function buttons, and a highly-intuitive touch-sensitive display combine to give pilots a datalink-enabled, map-centric view of their flight situation, while providing quick access to all of the IFD’s powerful functions.
Hybrid Touch - It’s Your Choice
In addition to the dedicated knobs and buttons that
many pilots prefer for frequent pilot actions, the IFD's Hybrid Touch
capability allows pilots to perform virtually all of those same
functions via the touch-screen interface, as well as providing
additional MultiTouch functionality like pinch-zoom map panning and
graphical flight plan editing.
Touching any of the symbols on the IFDs map brings up a data box with all pertinent information including data on special use airspace, airports, VORs, NDBs, weather, etc.
Navigation made simple.
Easy Direct-To Navigation
For many flights, Direct-To provides the easiest and most efficient way to navigate to your destination or to a given waypoint. The IFDs provide Direct-To operation that will be familiar to anyone flying with previous generation GPS navigators, except now you also have the option of touch screen data entry.
Flight Planning Made Simple
In addition to basic Direct-To navigation, entering an IFR flight plan is easier than ever with the IFD-Series. Extensive testing and customer experience have proven that the IFDs user interface reduces button pushes and knob twists required with previous navigators by 50%-75% or more. Drop-down menus are logically placed to provide touch-to-select data entry of airways, exit waypoints, destinations, and approach procedures.
A pop-up QWERTY-style keyboard automatically appears when an alpha-numeric data field is highlighted, making data entry as familiar to you as your computer or smart phone. With GeoFill, the IFDs will virtually always guess accurately your next waypoint after only entering one or two letters.
Graphical Flight Plan Editing
With the IFD’s graphical flight planning capability, you can easily edit your flight plan with the touch of the screen. The IFD’s ‘rubber banding,’ feature allows you to stretch any leg in the flight plan to make a deviation for weather or to accommodate an amendment from ATC.
FMS Preview™
Avidyne’s exclusive FMS Preview™ is a powerful flight planning feature that makes it even more intuitive to load flight plans by showing you a real-time graphical depiction of each proposed modification in cyan prior to selection. FMS Preview makes it easy to visualize before selecting a desired waypoint, airway, hold or hold geometry, Direct-To, approach, approach transition and any other terminal procedures. In dual IFD installations, the dual-databus architecture allows pilots to enter the flightplan on one IFD while seeing the FMS Preview on the other.
Easy Loading of Approaches
The dedicated PROC (Procedure) button allows you to quickly load approaches at your destination airport by selecting from the pop-up list. FMS Preview allows you to view each of the available approaches graphically prior to selection. Unlike previous-generation navigators, the IFDs allows you to quickly load any destination airports and multiple approaches into your flight plan.
FMSVectors™ - Fly the Magenta Line
The unique Nav Source knob in the upper right corner allows you to select between GPS, VLOC (i.e. VHF NAV), or HDG as the output signal source from the IFDs to the moving map and to some autopilots. It is also used to slew and sync the course or heading.
GPS is the standard operating mode, providing roll steering commands to the autopilot, and VLOC is used when flying a VOR or ILS/Localizer. Heading mode (HDG), also known as FMS Vectors, is Avidyne’s powerful new guidance tool for GPS/FMS navigation.
In legacy navigators the Vectors-to-Final approach transition was a separate procedure that the pilot performed by suspending the flight plan sequencing. With the IFD-Series, the pilot remains flying the FMS while getting ATC vectors for the final. This is achieved by adjusting the Nav Source Heading with the autopilot remaining coupled to the FMS the whole time. The FMS uses this pilot-set heading and presents a dashed magenta line on the map that is the projected ground track compensated for winds. With this vectors line and the FMS, you can clearly visualize the final approach course and how the aircraft is going to intercept it. This line is drawn as a curved intercept to final if you are "Armed" to intercept and it is only a single button press to Disarm or Arm Intercept according to whether ATC has given approval to "intercept final" or not.
The easily-modified FMS Vectors line gives the pilot GPS/FMS guidance for the entire route of flight, from 200 AGL at departure to 200 AGL at arrival, without the need to suspend or interrupt guidance to the autopilot, enhancing safety and eliminating “modes’ confusion.
The pilot simply “flies the magenta line” all the time.
Powerful, yet simple.
Easy Radio Tuning
Managing your radios is easy with the IFD540. A numeric keypad automatically appears when editing a COM or NAV frequency. The IFD540’s quick-entry capability minimizes keystrokes by reducing the number of button pushes required. As an example, to enter the frequency 123.50, you need only enter 235. The leading one is always assumed, and it will auto fill the trailing zero for you.
The IFD540 is capable of simultaneously tuning both the active and standby frequencies, both of which can be easily monitored when coupled with Avidyne’s AMX240 Audio Panel.
The IFD540’s powerful FMS automatically nominates, auto-tunes, identifies, and monitors the NAV radio frequencies, so you may never have to tune another VOR or ILS frequency again! Should you choose to do so, manual tuning is easily completed with the pop-up numeric key pad or by simply typing the identifier for the VOR.
Station Readout
The IFD540 decodes the active and standby frequencies based on proximity in the database, and display the names of the stations in plain English, providing a handy reminder of the agency to which you will be transmitting when pressing the push-to-talk button.
Making Radio Tuning Even Easier
The preferred tuning method is by using the Frequency (FREQ) button. Pressing the Frequency button provides a list of the most likely frequencies you will need based on your current location in your flight plan. When close to your origin it will nominate the origin frequencies, when enroute it will provide the most likely center and flight service frequencies and when near your destination those frequencies will be provided for easy nomination. In fact, any frequency that is displayed can be touch-nominated to your radios.
Electronic Approach Charts & Airport Diagrams
The IFD540 includes CMax™ Approach Charts &
Airport Diagrams. Utilizing Jeppesen’s Jeppview® charts subscription
services, CMax provides Worldwide approach charts and a database of over
6,000 airport diagrams, most of which are geo-referenced, allowing for
the display of your ownship and flight plan position right on the chart
or airport diagram.
Easy NEAREST Function
Cycling through the NRST button provides easy access to a full list of airports nearest to your present position and airports nearest to your destination, along with nearest VORs, NDBs, Intersections, ARTCC, and Flight Service Stations (FSS). Frequencies can be loaded into the radio standby window with a single touch. Color METAR flags show a graphical presentation of the weather at each reporting airport.
Terrain Awareness & Alerting
The IFD540 includes Terrain Awareness and Alerting which can be displayed over the color-contoured terrain base map for easy pilot recognition of an imminent encounter with nearby terrain.
TAWS-B Option
In addition to its standard Terrain Alerting capability, the IFD540 also offers an affordable option for TAWS-B, which is mandated for business jets and turboprops with six or more passenger seats. It’s Forward Looking Terrain Alerting (FLTA) capability provides a solid yellow or red impact point based on flight path projection. Caution Alerts are provided when a collision with terrain is projected within approximately 60 seconds, and Warning Alerts are provided for terrain projected within approximately 30 seconds. FLTA provides aural alert messaging as well.
Dual IFD540 Configurations
Dual IFD540s provide powerful interaction and cross-sync’ing that enhances ease of use, redundancy, and safety.
Leveraging Avidyne’s Byteflight databus architecture, the dual IFD540
configuration allows a pilot to enter a flight plan using the
full-screen QWERTY keyboard on one of the touch-screen units, while
simultaneously viewing a synchronized full-screen moving map on the
other. In addition, flight plans stored or edited in one unit can be automatically synchronized to the other unit and vice versa. The dual configuration also makes it easy to view a
full screen Map and full-screen Approach Chart at the same time, or look
at Airport Information page and the Jeppesen Airport Diagram at the
same time. The inter-operability and ‘cross-sync’ capability of dual IFD540s enhances ease of use, redundancy, and safety.