At the AEA show in Las Vegas, Aspen Avionics unveiled a new, under-$5000 dual electronic flight instrument that combines an attitude indicator and a DG/CDI into a single display. The non-TSO’d E5 includes Aspen’s trademark backup battery and onboard GPS system, an air data computer and integrated ADAHRS. Aspen says the new instrument can be upgraded to a version that integrates with TruTrak’s emerging Vizion autopilot for an all-in price of under $10,000.
With the E5, Aspen has clearly declared its intent to compete with Garmin’s G5 EFI, a hot-selling self-contained display that evolved from the company’s experimental line. Aspen’s version, the company says, has redesigned electronics and new glass, providing faster processing speed and a more vivid and readable display. It’s intended to be a drop-in replacement for traditional vacuum instruments of the same size. It has hooks to interface with many legacy autopilots. The company says the E5 is upgradeable and customizable and can be upgraded to the TSO’d Evolution Pro series.
In addition to the backup battery, Aspen says the installations will not require a backup attitude indicator of any kind and all of the components are integrated into the display itself. Installations will provide a legal path to remove legacy vacuum system. The display is a bright 6-inch TFT active matrix LCD.
AVweb will have a video report on the E5 for our continuing coverage of the AEA Convention in Las Vegas.
