TAS6XXA Status

I'd plan for the spring of 2015.   Internal targets are this winter but I'm counting on the spring.

Steve, during the long months / years of waiting for the IFD540 certification, I watched you handle this community beautifully. I also saw you facilitate more than one depot refund. For reasons unrelated to your product, I have had to ask for a refund on my IFD 440s. I have now waited two months and am very frustrated with your organization. It feels mean-spirited and petty to withhold the money for so long.. especially after having had its use for years. Any help you can provide would be most appreciated.

Steve,

Can you please advise whether the Garmin GMX200 MFD will display full ADSB functionality from a TAS605A?

I am worried as to whether the MFD will need a software upgrade and if so, they may design the upgrade so it works with only a Garmin TAS system, given their belligerent proprietory track record.

Also if this is the case then can your software engineers do a reverse engineering job on the 605A, as they did between the IFD and MapMx.

Victor
Mooney M20J
Sydney, Australia

Edited by Victor - 20 Nov 2014 at 8:02pm

OK, been 3 months since last update.

Realize you are busy - but burden of announcing "coming soons" is moving in that direction.

Status of 6XXA ADS-B upgrades?

Thanks

What about the TAS605 I bought 3 months ago?

Some transparency needed here.

Many of us bought TAS boxes very recently. Now you are announcing NEW hardware?

Should be a straight across exchange.

Edited by ddgates - 26 Feb 2015 at 8:26pm

Thank you, but I am looking for Avidyne's comments.

To wit: you buy a new unit a few months ago thinking you are buying the latest and greatest; today appears an announcement "shipping soon, new technology, field upgradable, etc."

Since they were planning a changeover, would it have not been customer friendly to say "hold off a few, better stuff coming?"



Edited by ddgates - 26 Feb 2015 at 10:22pm

The TAS-A is indeed a new product with a new hardware design.  It has been improved in many ways, but primarily to provide the capacity to support both active surveillance and the next generation ADS-B surveillance environment.  The TAS-A is designed to be a drop-in replacement for the TAS.

We recently made the TAS-A product available for purchase, which included a TAS unit for installation now and a free upgrade to a TAS-A when available.  It is very possible that your purchase included the upgrade.  To determine whether your TAS purchase qualifies for the free upgrade, please contact Avidyne sales (1-800-Avidyne).

Correct.

My Avidyne Installer today tells me the long awaited TAS6XXA upgrade will include FIS-B Wx (980 Mhz IN) in addition to 1090ES IN.

n7ifr wrote: My Avidyne Installer today tells me the long awaited TAS6XXA upgrade will include FIS-B Wx (980 Mhz IN) in addition to 1090ES IN.

The TAS-A is a 1090MHz only solution, so it will not be able to receive the 978MHz FIS-B Wx.  First customer shipments of the TAS-A is expected in May.

Although Avidyne can't guarantee that any particular third-party display will work unmodified with the TAS-A, we have purposely avoided changes to the existing traffic interfaces that might cause problems.  It is our intention that all displays that work with the current TAS product will continue to work with the TAS-A.  We truly desire a smooth upgrade for our customers, which includes maintaining the display capabilities you currently enjoy.  As you anticipate, this means that ADS-B traffic presented on the legacy interface will gain the benefit of improved accuracy.

Our current plan is to perform upgrades as a unit swap.

We have it internally queued up right behind Rel 10.1.  Now that 10.1 is in the hands of the FAA, our internal FAA designee (DER) is reviewing the submission data and when he's happy AND the FAA has granted us 10.1 TSO/STC, this submission package goes in.

If we use the 10.1 program as a "new normal", we may get a 90-day letter from the FAA.  If that happens and if they use all of their allotted 90 days, it could be as late as Sep.   If they go as fast as has normally happened up until 10.1, it could be as early as June.

Just spoke by phone with Avidyne Rep in Boston, who says "A" upgrade will be available "by end of Summer" - 

David,

Slippery certification timelines are not unique to Avidyne.  I have observed similar on every certification program when I had an inside view of the goings on.  Just look at Cessna with their diesel powered 182.