Story ID: 4070512alerts
Avidyne Completes Plug-and-play Panel with IFD440
By: Matt Thurber
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Word Count: 208
Avidyne introduced a new integrated FMS/GPS/navcom today–the touchscreen IFD440, a slide-in, plug-and-play replacement for Garmin GNS 430 GPS/navcoms. The $14,995 IFD440 has a 5.4-inch-diagonal screen and will be available at the end of next year.

The unveiling of the IFD440 follows by a year the launch of the larger IFD540, a slide-in replacement for the Garmin GNS 530 that Avidyne will begin delivering in the first half of next year.

Like the IFD540, the IFD440’s functions can be controlled using the touchscreen or with dedicated buttons if that is preferable during turbulence. Both units feature a 10-watt, 8.33-kHz, two-channel VHF radio (16-watt is also available) and four-channel VHF nav.

The FMS in the IFD540 and 440 meets TSO-C146c SBAS/LPV approach guidance standards, as well as AC 20-165 criteria for ADS-B out position-reporting accuracy. For installation ease, both units are the same size as the Garmin units that they replace and can use the same trays and antennas with no wiring changes.

Dual IFD systems allow pilots to synchronize flight plans between units or enter a flight plan in one and view it on the moving map of the other, via Avidyne’s Byteflight data bus.