Story ID: 361
EIT Avionics Matches FDR with Display Device
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: EIT's data recorder and Esaid display combine to add more safety to the Robinson R44. 
Word Count: 296
Leesburg, Virginia-based electronics manufacturer EIT (Booth 116) has opened EIT Avionics, a division that is bringing new safety and efficiency products to the rotorcraft market.

The EIT Avionics Flight Operational Data Recorder (FODR) received FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval in October, for installation in the Robinson R44. The FODR meets Part 135.607 helicopter flight data monitoring requirements, according to EIT, and it can capture 21 channels at five times per second, storing up to 2,200 hours of data. The unit weighs just one pound, and data is downloaded via connection to a computer’s USB port. Data can be used for safety management systems, flight operational quality assurance, warranty repair, exceedance tracking, and accident/incident investigation.

To make the FODR even more useful, it can be integrated with EIT’s Esaid, a touchscreen display and annunciator device that helps pilots use the FODR data while flying. Esaid displays density altitude, power, hover, and airspeed performance limitations, with updates every half second, according to EIT, “giving the pilot unprecedented situational awareness.” The half-pound Esaid is also STC approved for the R44, and its power consumption is just 0.2 amps at 28 volts. In addition to graphical display of performance information based on the pilot’s operating handbook, the Esaid gives aural alerts for critical conditions.

“EIT Avionics was founded to develop products that promote aviation safety and efficiency using technology,” said EIT Avionics chief technology officer Joe May.

“The FAA and NTSB have great interest in promoting greater usage of data recorders like our FODR,” added avionics product manager Jeff Byrd, “and we don’t want to just be a crash recorder or another display—we want you to use data from our system proactively to prevent crashes, breaking the accident chain.”