MD Helicopters chairman and CEO Lynn Tilton explained the company's move back to the Universal Avionics InSight flight deck for its twin-engine MD 900/902 Explorer on Tuesday morning at Heli-Expo 2020. Essentially, she said it's about keeping the MD 900/902 program on schedule and avionics capability.
The move back to InSight surprised industry observers. MDHI originally selected Universal’s next-gen flight deck in 2013 to replace the MD900’s aging Bendix/King EFIS CRT displays. But in March 2017, MDHI switched to Genesys Aerosystems for the MD900/902 flight deck. And now it's going back to the InSight system for the light twin.
Pressed about why MDHI switched once again, Tilton told AIN, “We were struggling the last time around. I think part of it had to do with us, as well, but we didn’t think [Genesys] was moving quickly enough. Elbit purchased Universal [last year]…and we had a long-term relationship. We were able to work together on some of the technology that needed to be built, as well as with their improvements.
"We realized that [InSight] was ahead of where we were going. And given the time it was taking for us to get there, and the fact that we had a new military helicopter coming up at the same time, we needed to go with just the best. And so, given the new technology, the new ownership, the new leadership, [then] sometimes you just have to know you made a mistake and correct it.
"And that’s what I did. So, as you see this system [Insight], it will take us to the next level. We’re spending a fortune, not only on the technology but bringing the line back, building the airframe in-house. When you’re going to invest $70 million to $100 million, you want to make sure that you catapult the technology that’s out there. And that’s what [InSight] helps us to do.”