Esterline CMC Electronics has secured the launch customer for its SmartDeck avionics suite–the twin-turboprop EV-55 Outback utility airplane under development by Czech Republic-based aircraft manufacturer Evektor.

According to Evektor marketing manager Petr Grebenicek, Avidyne and Garmin avionics were under consideration, too.

“Thanks to conditions that we agreed with CMC, we selected to go directly into a fully integrated cockpit,” he said. Added Petr Sterba, Evektor’s chief designer, “We chose CMC SmartDeck because it’s a good class of avionics suite and it will be fully integrated with other aircraft systems. We also will receive engineering support from CMC, and this whole package will be for an affordable price.”

The EV-55 first flew last June. A second airframe is undergoing static testing, and S/N 0003 is under construction and will be equipped with CMC’s SmartDeck suite. S/N 0003 is slated to fly by the end of next year, with certification in late 2014 and service entry in early 2015.

In the EV-55, the SmartDeck installation will include an additional PFD for the right-seat pilot, multiple-redundancy ADAHRS, engine indicating and crew alerting system integrated with the EV-55’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines and optional synthetic vision.