Press Release

Issued by Duncan Aviation.

October 22, 2014

Duncan Aviation today received FAA supplemental type certification (STC) for the installation of a Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A+ solution for a Falcon 900B with Universal Avionics EFI-890R Advanced Flight Displays.

Since the announcement of the Universal Avionics EFI-890R Falcon 900B avionics retrofit option last fall, Duncan Aviation has completed two of the Falcon 900B avionics upgrades. The company is now pleased to announce completion of the FANS 1/A+ certification, which will allow aircraft wanting to fly the most efficient path to Europe to do so. As other aircraft continue to wait for a solution to meet the 2017 guidelines, the Falcon 900B owners now have a pathway.

“The benefits of FANS 1/A+ to the Falcon 900B are huge,” explains Gary Harpster, a Duncan Aviation Avionics sales representative. “It improves safety, reduces operating costs and flight time to Europe and gives crew and passengers access to the most efficient routing for the current conditions.

“The Falcon 900B has always been a good aircraft, but the avionics had become the weakest link in its future capabilities. The Universal Avionics solution replaces the items that cause those limitations as well as provides the operator with additional capabilities. Synthetic Vision allows the pilot the best in situational awareness throughout each aspect of the flight regime. The Application Server Units (ASU) provide the crew with a higher level of guidance when taxiing at unfamiliar airports, as well as weather and a user-definable checklist. This system also offers the ability for camera input on the Primary Flight Displays, WAAS with LPV, RNP 0.3 for approaches, the foundation for ADS-B, RNP 4 for flight within the NAT Tracks, UniLink® UL-801 CMU weather, displayed Jepp charts and winds aloft, and more.”

“The Duncan Aviation FANS 1/A+ STC solution completes the Falcon 900B upgrade by integrating Universal Avionics UniLink UL-801 CMU,” said Bruce Bunevich, Universal Avionics Great Lakes regional sales manager. “Falcon 900B operators gain the most cost effective time management and operational efficiency for international operations while gaining substantial return on investment for both operations and aircraft market value,” he added.

The EFI-890R flight deck upgrade replaces 25 older instruments and significantly improves reliability and situational awareness. The flight deck upgrade presents a simple concept: Replace only the most critical components to maximize upgrade efficiency. This straightforward solution provides weight and power savings, increases reliability and reduces maintenance costs. The operator will realize less downtime and experience maintenance cost savings while receiving the benefits of the latest advancements in avionics technology comparable to current production OEM aircraft.

The avionics suite includes five high-resolution Universal Avionics EFI-890R 8.9” Advanced Flight Displays, with Engine Interface Units (EIU) that replace the analog gauges. Dual Universal Avionics UNS-1Fw SBAS-Flight Management Systems (FMS) provide Wide Area Augmentation System/Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (WAAS/LPV) capability. Dual Vision-1® computers provide Synthetic Vision and dual Application Server Units (ASU) support procedural checklists, electronic documents (EDOCS), Present Position (depiction) of aircraft on approach plate overlays and an Enhanced Vision Infrared Camera System (EVS-1500).

FANS 1/A+ replaces verbal position reports using HF radio communications with satellite-based automatic position reports that are delivered by the aircraft's FMS and data link system directly to air traffic controllers. This increases safety by improving accuracy of the reports, reducing the possibility of human errors in the transmission and lessening pilot workload.

Falcon 900B operators that are interested in learning more can stop by Duncan Aviation booth 208, or Universal Avionics Booth 273 for a FANS/CPDLC demonstration during the NBAA2014 Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida.