Avionics manufacturer Dynon has developed “The New SkyView,” a touchscreen-controlled integrated avionics system with touch-control primary and multifunction displays. “We’ve been keeping it a secret for quite a while,” said Dynon marketing manager Michael Schofield. The new SkyView Touch displays begin delivering in April, he said, and by the end of July when EAA AirVenture Oshkosh opens, he expects a number of experimental aircraft to be equipped with New SkyView systems, which also includes two new knob control panels and a major software upgrade for all SkyView systems.
The SkyView Touch displays use capacitive touchscreen technology, which allowed Dynon to retain its anti-glare filtering used in non-touch SkyView products. The touch displays are designed to allow pilots to use familiar multi-touch gestures when manipulating items on the screens and panning and zooming in and out. But Dynon designers also retained buttons and knobs for times when turbulence makes touching the screen troublesome. Labels on the screen above hard-buttons are also touch-active, leaving users plenty of choices about how to interact with the displays.
To add to the intuitive nature of the touch screens, certain areas are also active for selecting knob functions. For example, touching the airspeed tape makes the knob available to adjust airspeed bugs. Touching the altimeter tape assigns the knob to altitude preselect. When flying on autopilot, touching the vertical speed indication allows the pilot to set the desired vertical speed. “The neatest thing is it just works,” Schofield said. “There’s nothing magical about it.”
Dynon is also releasing the latest version of its SkyView software, version 10.0, which runs on both non-touch and touchscreen displays.
One of the new version 10.0 features is a “six-pack mode,” which superimposes traditional instrument faces over the background on the PFD. Pilots can quickly switch back and forth between the six-pack view and the normal glass display view. Another new feature is the ability to install two EMS engine-monitoring modules (one for each engine in a twin-engine aircraft) and display each EMS’s output on both Dynon displays. Alternatively, two EMS modules can be run together to monitor all EGT and CHT indications in an airplane with up to a 28-cylinder engine.
Upgrading to SkyView 10.0 also adds geo-referenced sectional charts and IFR en route charts, now included in the same $99 annual Seattle Avionics subscription fee. This feature adds the new charts to the existing geo-referenced approach plates, airport diagrams and Flight Guide diagrams at no extra charge. Other features include filtering of nearest-airport list (by runway length, surface, airport type); ADS-B winds aloft forecasts; audible landing-gear alerts based on aircraft configuration for retractable gear and amphibious aircraft; altitude intercept arc depicted on the screen to show location where aircraft will intercept the altitude bug based on current climb/descent rate; vertical speed required shown on map and VSI tape; optional colors for engine instruments; and display of flight plans from Arinc 429-based IFR GPS (including Garmin GNS and GTN series), including holds and procedure turns.
The move to touch screens wasn’t a simple decision, according to Schofield. “Inside Dynon we had a pretty big struggle as to whether we would do touch. The market was clearly going that way. We wanted something where touch works but with a good interface so you're not struggling to control the airplane in turbulence.”
In addition to the new touchscreens and software, Dynon has added two control panels to its lineup. The SV-Knob-Panel is used for altitude preselect, altimeter setting and heading/track bug. The SV-AP-Panel is for autopilot control, with individual buttons for all autopilot modes. A “level” mode button is also included for quick reversion to straight-and-level flight. Both new control panels can be mounted horizontally and vertically.
Dynon now offers a nearly complete integrated cockpit for the experimental marketplace, with the exception of an IFR-certified GPS receiver. The company’s ADS-B system employs both a 1090ES ADS-B OUT and 978UAT ADS-B IN transceiver, which ensures that the equipped aircraft receives the full traffic picture from not only other ADS-B OUT-equipped aircraft but also from the FAA’s TIS-B traffic feed.
Each New SkyView touchscreen display retails for $3,995. Owners of non-touch SkyView D1000s can have those upgraded to touch for $795 each. The SV-Knob-Panel sells for $250, and the SV-AP-Panel for $550. The ADS-B module is $995, and the remote transponder that meets the 2020 ADS-B mandate costs $2,200.
