When L-3 Aviation Products announced its Lynx MultiLink Surveillance System ADS-B transceivers at last year’s EAA AirVenture show, it provided few details beyond the system’s incorporating a rule-compliant GPS sensor in a single box. This makes the installation simpler and eliminates the need to wire a separate GPS source to the Lynx unit. For aircraft that don’t already have a rule-compliant GPS, Lynx saves having to purchase and install a new GPS sensor as part of an ADS-B out installation.

Now L-3 has revealed its full slate of Lynx ADS-B out avionics for Part 23 airplanes and smaller helicopters, and these include not only Lynx remote-mounted single-solution boxes but also the new all-inclusive NGT-9000 ADS-B out/in transceiver with built-in touchscreen display. A remote version, the NGT-9000R, is available without the touchscreen display. Lynx systems will be certified under an approved model list STC covering various airplane types. L-3 has already submitted for TSO authorization for the NGT-9000.

The NGT-9000 solves a problem for aircraft that haven’t been upgraded to modern displays: the built-in display works both as an ordinary transponder and also for display of ADS-B in traffic and weather. The NGT-9000 installation can also include a Wi-Fi module so information received by the unit can be shared and displayed on iPad and Android apps (currently Hilton Software’s WingX Pro7 and Radenna’s SkyRadar are supported, but L-3 is in discussion with other app makers). Up to seven users can tap into the Wi-Fi simultaneously.

The NGT-9000 is ideal for an aircraft owner faced with a recalcitrant old transponder that isn’t worth fixing, according to Todd Scholten, chief pilot for L-3 Aviation Products. Replacing the old transponder with the NGT-9000 meets the 2020 ADS-B out mandate and adds ADS-B in benefits. The GPS sensor in the Lynx units is for ADS-B purposes only and is not available to provide navigation information for other avionics, although it does provide a GPS signal to compatible iPad apps via the Wi-Fi module.

L-3 Aviation Products division ACSS (a joint venture between Thales and L-3 Communications) already serves the Part 25 market with the NXT-600 and NXT-800 ADS-B out transponders. The new Lynx systems add Part 23 aircraft to the company’s product mix. Helicopters can use the NXT-600 or the new Lynx units.

In addition to the NGT-9000, the Lynx product line includes three remote boxes, the NGT-1000, -2000 and -2500. The latter three include the GPS sensor and operate on the 978 MHz Universal Access Transceiver frequency, which meets the 2020 ADS-B out mandate for aircraft that fly below 18,000 feet. The 1000 through 2500 series are compatible with Garmin GTX 327 or 330 transponders, but L-3 also offers the CP-2500 control panel for control of the ADS-B system using other transponders.

For the lowest-cost ADS-B out installation, the Lynx NGT-1000 meets the mandate with ADS-B out and the GPS source, but has no added features such as Wi-Fi. To help aircraft owners who want to keep flying in ADS-B airspace after the 2020 mandate and want a low-cost solution, the NextGen GA Fund has ordered 10,000 NGT-1000s. This is part of the fund’s Jumpstart GA 2020 program, designed to help owners upgrade to meet the 2020 ADS-B out mandate. Dealers can order these units directly from L-3 Aviation or from the NextGen GA Fund.

The NGT-2000 adds ADS-B in on 978 MHz and Wi-Fi capability for display of traffic and weather information on portable devices such as the Apple iPad.

The NGT-2500 includes an Arinc 429 and RS-232 interface to cockpit displays, so weather and traffic can be shown on compatible panel displays as well as via Wi-Fi on the iPad. 

The NGT-9000 offers the most capability, with ADS-B out on the 1090 MHz Extended Squitter frequency required above 18,000 feet in the U.S. (but usable at any altitude in the U.S. and worldwide). The receiver uses both 978 and 1090 MHz frequencies for ADS-B in to maximize reception of traffic information (ADS-B, ADS-R and TIS-B), but it can also display L-3’s Traffic Advisory System (TAS) targets, for occasions when ADS-B coverage isn’t available or targets aren’t ADS-B out-equipped. This comes in handy, Scholten pointed out, because not all airspace will require ADS-B out, but most aircraft carry transponders and are visible to TAS-equipped aircraft. “I had a situation with two aircraft in the traffic pattern where there was no [ADS-B] coverage,” he said, and he could still see the TAS targets on the ATG-9000 display. L-3 calls this capability to combine TAS and ADS-B in traffic its NextGen Active Traffic system.

A Flight with the NGT-9000

I recently had an opportunity to fly with Scholten in L-3’s Beech Bonanza equipped with the NGT-9000. L-3 has also created a handy virtual simulation website that accurately replicates the functionality of the real NGT-9000, as well as an iPad and Android app that does the same and includes a configuration tool for all the Lynx products.

The NGT-9000 display is split into two halves; the left side of the screen has two pages and the right side four pages. Both halves are controlled via a resistive touchscreen, which L-3 engineers chose because it requires a more positive push to activate and helps prevent accidental touches that might occur with the capacitive-type touchscreen found on consumer devices.

The left screens provide a transponder settings view, which can be swapped (by touching and swiping) with a traffic page. Each transponder function can be changed by touching that function on the display. For example, touching the “1200” squawk code pops up a numeric keyboard. This page also displays the pressure altitude and includes a mode button and an ident button.

The traffic page has zoom in and out buttons and a button to change the displayed traffic volume. On the traffic page, touching any target pops up any available information about that target, such as N-number, groundspeed and aircraft type for true ADS-B traffic; TAS traffic shows altitude only, while TIS-B traffic shows groundspeed.

The right side screen includes the same traffic page, plus a graphical weather page, which shows Nexrad, Metars, Airmets, Sigmets and TFRs on a moving map. The winds and temperature aloft page is next, followed by a textual weather page where the pilot can type in any airport ID to pull up Metars, Tafs and Notams. The Metars and Tafs are shown in plain English, while Notams are not translated. On the graphical weather page, touching an Airmet or Sigmet or TFR pulls up the available information, although Airmets and Sigmets aren’t in plain English.

I found the NGT-9000 simple to use, with hardly any instruction needed from Scholten. The L-3 Bonanza is also equipped with L-3’s NextGen Active Traffic system. There was plenty of traffic viewable during our flight from Hawthorne Airport near Los Angeles International, and I was able to pull up information on the traffic just by touching a target on the screen. The other pages of information were useful, too, especially Notams, although there was no weather to provide a Nexrad picture in the area. The Wi-Fi module wired to the NGT-9000 allowed me to view the weather and traffic in the WingX Pro7 app running on my iPad mini. This was useful because the iPad’s screen provides a larger picture and thus supplements the NGT-9000 display, and the iPad also could provide a tool for passengers to watch for traffic.

The Lynx products can use existing wiring and antennas, although an additional directional antenna is required for TAS reception. Antenna diversity is also an option on the NGT-9000.

L-3 has released pricing, and the basic NGT-9000 retails for $6,800. The most expensive NGT-9000D+ with NextGen Active Traffic and antenna diversity is $11,933. The NGT-2000 retails for $3,200 and the NGT-2500 is $3,467. The NextGen GA Fund said the NGT-1000 introductory dealer pricing will be $1,599.