Avionics News Update: Avidyne unveils Iridium transceiver

Avidyne introduced at EBACE in Geneva last month an Iridium-based satellite data transceiver that the company said can provide to customers in Europe in-flight weather graphics and text similar to those the XM and WSI services provide to users in the U.S. The MLX770 datalink weather transceiver will sell for around $12,000 and, in addition to providing weather data to aircraft flying over Western Europe, will allow pilots to send and receive text messages and e-mail after takeoff. Weather graphics supplied by WSI will be delivered to the airplane in a swath around the planned route of flight, with updates occurring about once every 15 minutes. Service pricing will vary from about $75 to $125 for 10 hours of flying per month, depending on how much data is transmitted, a spokesman said.