Story ID: 
Avionics Update Extends Life of Beech 1900
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: A Beech 1900D with a new Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated display system (IDS) made its first flight on August 12.
Word Count: 208
A Beech 1900D with a new Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated display system (IDS) made its first flight on August 12. Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (GCS) is leading the supplemental type certification effort for the 1900D, replacing the original Rockwell Collins Pro Line II EFIS 84 system with the Pro Line 21. The EFIS 84 featured EFD-84 four-inch by four-inch cathode-ray-tube displays. Pro Line 21 represents a substantial upgrade for the 1900D, with three ten-inch by eight-inch liquid crystal displays and the ability to interface with Garmin’s GNS400W navigator or Universal Avionics’ UNS1-LW FMS. The new IDS system can also be interfaced with the Rockwell Collins APS-65 autopilot and third-party Tcas, Taws and lightning-detection systems, according to Hawker Beechcraft GCS.
“As the Pro Line II system becomes obsolete, 1900D operators and their maintenance crews are facing the challenge of locating a viable retrofit solution for the aircraft,” said Christi Tannahill, Hawker Beechcraft vice president, GCS. “In most cases there are few, if any, alternative aircraft platforms that provide the capabilities of the 1900D in environments in which these operators fly. The Pro Line 21 IDS retrofit system was designed to provide a solution for these operators.” Former Beechcraft owner Raytheon Aircraft built 439 examples of the 1900D.