Story ID: 
UPS Aviation Technologies Introduces IFR WAAS-ready Navcom
By: Stephen Pope
Caption: The WAAS revolution appears set to begin.
Word Count: 220
The WAAS revolution appears set to begin. A new IFR WAAS-capable GPS/navcom, the Apollo CNX80 all-in-one navigator from UPS Aviation Technologies–introduced last month at the Sun ’n’ Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, Fla.–could give Garmin’s popular GNS 430 and 530 navigation units some serious competition. Similar in size and function to the Garmin GNS 430, the CNX80 is claimed to be the first such box to include an IFR WAAS GPS receiver. The Salem, Ore. avionics maker said the 15-channel WAAS box will soon be approved for IFR en route and terminal operations, as well as WAAS approaches. The FAA, meanwhile, could begin allowing IFR WAAS operations as early as July. The $11,995 (list price) CNX80, available through UPSAT dealers, also features a full-color LCD measuring 3.8 inches diagonally (compared with the GNS 430’s four-inch-diagonal display) and houses a VHF nav with VOR/LOC/GS and 760-channel com. In addition, the CNX80 includes some novel features that help differentiate it from the competition. For example, the unit anticipates upcoming leg changes, can navigate along a VOR radial or ILS localizer while digitally displaying intersecting radials from a second VOR and can automatically decode Morse-code station identifiers and display their full names. The unit can also serve as a controller for a remote-mounted Apollo transponder to help free panel space, according to UPSAT.