Cessna 441

King Air 200

Bonanza 36TC 

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Helicopters


Experimental Pilot Profiles

Name: Ryan Woehler

Profession: Pilot, Bering Air, Inc

Pilot since: 1989

Aircraft: Beech 1900D, King Air 200, Cessna Caravan, Piper Navaho,
Cessna 207

Home base: Nome, Alaska, PAOME

Use: Charter, MedEvac, Transport

Jim Rowe of Bering Air in Nome, Alaska, was looking for solutions to meet the FAA TAWS mandate. He was looking at all the products with EGPWS capabilities and the Chelton TAWS features were very compelling. He asked Ryan Woehler to research the product and determine if it was a feasible solution. "I started with the website, and then called Steve Thompson, Chelton's rep in Juneau. I invited him to Nome to give us a desktop demonstration. There's a lot of information presented in a new format. We didn't really need to schedule a demo ride, the desktop demonstration convinced us that the features were there."

Bering Air chose Emery Air, in Illinois to do the installation. "They had just finished refurbishing our Beech 1900Ds and did a really nice job, so we continued working with them. We picked it up at the end of December, and began developing a training program to get all six pilots comfortable with the system. Because we fly the King Air single pilot, it is a thorough program including in-flight training and a check ride."

Ryan said the Chelton EFIS makes the King Air a safer, easier single pilot plane. "We fly instruments all the time, and are highly experienced with them. I have never felt disadvantaged by having round gauges, but having flown the Chelton, I can definitely say that it increases the safety level for a single pilot operation. All the navigation, terrain, air speed, heading and altitude information is readily available in one place. However, I think the biggest contribution is the 3-D aspect of the presentation. It really increases situational awareness."

Ryan's favorite feature is the VFR approach capability. "Probably the biggest improvement the Chelton EFIS brought to our operation is the VFR approach feature. Initially, I asked the same question that everyone does 'Why would you even need a VFR approach feature?' However, after using the system for a while, I quickly realized that the accuracy it provides is equivalent to having a VASI at every airport. This is invaluable when operating at night in and out of remote airports. It also includes the ability to create a customized profile to any waypoint. One example of its usefulness is in serving the village of Diomede. During the winter, after the ocean is sufficiently frozen, a portion of the ice is cleared and used as a runway. On a good VFR day, with a solid overcast, it can be difficult to see a white runway against a white background because of the resulting 'flat' lighting. Also the position of the runway changes from day to day as it drifts over or the ice breaks and they have to get out there with a loader and make a new one. With Chelton's VFR approach feature we can set up a stabilized approach to what ever coordinates are current for that day."

"We also fly internationally. We operate charter flights to Provideniya, Russia, about once a week. The Russian approach is challenging. There's a narrow valley about two miles wide, with 2000ft peaks on either side. That approach is based off of an NDB with radar assistance. With the Chelton system we have been able to add another level of precision to that. The terrain on the Chelton actually covers this part of Russia, so we're glad it's included."

Ryan has had some interesting feedback from other pilots. "From time to time, we have pilots from major airlines jumpseating with us. They are amazed at the 'glass cockpit.' What we're hearing from them is that we have more advanced avionics than they do. Bering Air has a 26-year safety record. One of the contributing factors is our willingness to invest in the best possible technology. The Chelton system's 3-D terrain presentation is like nothing else out there."

With the new software upgrade to version 5.0B, the King Air 200 will have even more advanced capabilities. "The new V-NAV settings will be great," Ryan said. "It will help us establish a better precision profile. By not having to level off at each segment of an approach, we save time, fuel, and it's more comfortable for passengers."

Ryan's advice to others…
"I encourage people to look at Chelton, this is the future of avionics. It's time to get on board."

For more information on Bering Air please visit: www.beringair.com
Photos at Diomede by Mike Evans.

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Name: Edward Kessler

Profession: Member of the Chicago Board  of Trade

Pilot since: 11976

Aircraft: Beech B36TC

Home base: Waukegan, IL & Aspen, CO

Aircraft use: Business, Personal

About three and a half years ago I bought a B36TC with the intention of using the airplane to fly into high altitude airports in the Rockies. Some of the features that I liked about the "B" model beginning in 1984 were the longer wing, different panel configuration, and of course the turbocharged engine. After completion of the Whirlwind II TCP conversion, I began looking at glass cockpit options. It didn't take long to settle in on one product that I thought was head and shoulders above all the competition, and would stay there for quite some time: Chelton Flight Systems EFIS

So what's the difference in the glass cockpit products? The Garmin G1000 and Avidyne are 2 dimensional. Both have done a great job in packaging their products. They look beautiful. Put aside the fact that neither unit is STC'd for the aftermarket yet, and not expected to certify for many years. The Chelton PFD is a full 3-D presentation that increases your situational awareness. As I see it, Garmin and Avidyne have re-packaged the attitude indicator, as well as the rest of the flight instruments including the nav-coms and transponder into a beautiful product. Chelton, has taken the EFIS display in a different direction.

Chelton Flight Systems offers a complete package that consists of two flight displays: the PFD, and the MFD (additional MFD's are an option if desired). The FlightLogic EFIS combines advanced Heads up Display (HUD) symbology with real-time forward-looking 3-D terrain that is WAAS certified to create a Primary Flight Display. The result is tremendously enhanced awareness, and dramatically reduced pilot workload. Imagine for a moment, you're in the clouds, on a step-down descent into a mountain destination and the EFIS displays the ridges in front of you in 3-D. In addition, the HITS presented in the EFIS give descent guidance as though you were on an ILS approach. The MFD depicts the course line as well as the terrain, as though you were looking down from above, giving the pilot the ability to "see around the next bend", and behind the peak in front of the airplane as viewed on the PFD. The 3-D Synthetic Vision EFIS enables you to always "see" the terrain (including the airport environment) ahead of and around your aircraft for remarkable situational awareness, command awareness, control and safety. In fact, NASA documented that over the course of 945 flights there was an 85% reduction in Flight Training Errors (FTE). This, according to NASA, translates into a sevenfold improvement in safety.

The Highway-In-The-Sky feature creates a virtual 3-D skyway "tunnel" for all enroute and instrument procedures. You simply fly your aircraft through the boxes which makes executing flight plans and procedures almost effortless. Chelton has also added the capability to designate precision VFR approaches to any landing area. It is a different presentation of the CDI and HSI. These "boxes" give course guidance and vertical navigation that is overlayed on the EFIS. There is an artificial horizon line on the EFIS that indicates the aircraft's altitude extended ahead.

The MFD can show a variety of functions including a moving map, traffic, weather (singly or in combination), a conventional HSI, and a reversionary flight display. The vector moving map displays color-coded terrain, Jeppesen NavData, and water, (traffic is also shown on the PFD). A horizontal projected path extending from the nose of the aircraft symbol shows the turning ground track of the aircraft one minute into the future. The map can be viewed in radar-sweep or position-centered (full compass-rose) format in either heading-up or North-up orientation. Map scale ranges from 0.5 to 400 miles. The dead-stick glide area- corrected for turns, wind, terrain, airspeed, altitude, and descent rate is shown as a blue line around the aircraft.

The transition from steam gauges to the EFIS did not take as long as I thought it would. After a few hours of flying with the Chelton I became quite comfortable with both the airspeed and altitude tape. My old instrument panel consisted of a Garmin 530 and 430, which I used to its design capabilities, always programming a flight plan into the computer instead of selecting "direct to". So using the flight planning function of the Chelton was SOP (standard operation procedure) to me. While the two products are not the same, they are similar in concept in regard to the flight planning option. There are some procedures regarding data input that do take some time to become proficient at, and should not be treated lightly.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, incorporated in the EFIS is the "forward looking synthetic vision" feature. The visual depiction includes full ground mapping which includes buildings, towers, mountains, and the runways. So imagine this scenario. The ATIS is reporting: "sky overcast, ceiling 200 ft, visibility one quarter mile in fog", you are in the center of the HITS, you are right on the glideslope, and centered on the localizer. And from inside the FAF, you "see" the runway on the EFIS right in front of the airplane. Remember the "HITS" boxes continue to give course and descent guidance on non-precision approaches as well.

The installation is not to be taken lightly. Consider this. The entire panel should be reconfigured. The pilot has the opportunity to create his own panel, placing instruments where he or she would like them (as I did). My installation and new panel were done at O&N Aircraft in Factoryville Pa. Bill Miller was extremely competent. When my installation was completed everything worked as advertised. And was delivered on budget, as quoted.

Just a note here. If you're flying a Super King Air, Lear Jet, Citation 10, Challenger, or a B36TC, the equipment would be the same. Even the GlobalFlyer used the Chelton EFIS as the primary source for flight instrumentation.

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