Avionics News April 2021 - 50

UNIVERSAL FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Continued from page 49

that makes it work reduced the Citation's weight
and balance by just over 108 pounds. " Trying to
save weight by avionics upgrades is usually very
expensive, " said Arsenault, " but you have a 21st
century airplane. "
To prepare pilots to make full, efficient and safe use
of the system capabilities in concert with the InSight
system, Universal produced a video and on-site training
program, Arsenault noted. " During the pandemic,
no one was really excited about traveling, so they
developed an online training course. It was supposed
to be ready in late 2020, but they accelerated it so
this customer could get his pilots
the necessary training to satisfy
Transport Canada requirements. "

airframe's value. As the B-52 exemplifies, mission
capabilities put a significant thumb on that scale. And
given the engineering investment involved, having a
number of customers amortizes the expense.
" Typically, we look at fleet size when considering a
launch STC, " said Arsenault, but this project came in a
roundabout way, with an assist from COVID-19. Before
the virus, " we quoted a number of items, one of which
was a Gogo (AVANCE) L3 Wi-Fi installation, " Arsenault
said. " I added an unsolicited proposal
for the Universal InSight system we
ended up installing. There was no
WHEN ESSENTIAL
interest in pursuing any of it at the
COMPONENTS NO
STC Harmony
time. Following the pandemic and
While this airplane was Canada's
ensuing lockdowns, I took another
LONGER PERFORM
first InSight install, it wasn't a
run at the customer. With Gogo and
THEIR REQUIRED
first for the Citation VII. Universal
UA coming to the party with some
TASKS WITH
developed that STC some years ago,
attractive pricing, the customer
UNQUESTIONED
but that airplane had Honeywell
decided to get serious this time. "
DEPENDABILITY,
avionics and MC2's had a suite of
The Citation VII owner likes the
THE
AIRCRAFT
IS
Collins equipment. Getting a Federal
airplane and plans to keep it, and
OPERATIONALLY
Aviation Administration amendment
he wanted the crew to have the
to modernize the Universal STC and
maximum safety in the cockpit,
OBSOLETE.
include the Collins system would
according to Arsenault. The upgrade
take too long for the Canadian
also deals with the obsolescence
project to be completed on time.
issues of the legacy avionics and
And
then
there
was
the necessary regulatory
simplifies future upgrades, not that it will need any in the
harmony, Arsenault added. Canada's civil aviation
foreseeable future.
regulations are close to the U.S. federal aviation
After gutting the cockpit, MC2 installed the UA 10.4regulations, " but there are some subtle differences that
inch EFI-1040 displays, touch EFIS control display
need
to be dealt with. "
unit, alphanumeric keyboard and reference select panel,
Collaborating with Universal, MC2 imported
Data Concentrator Unit II, engine interface unit, and
the
STC to Canada as it was. The Avionics Design
Class A TAWS.
Services engineering team led by Bob Gou approved
The system offers LPV, ADS-B Out, and CPDLC/
the software changes and other nuances, including
CPDLC DCL capabilities, plus a growth path to EFVS.
an electronic standby instrument (Mid-Continent
Top features include embedded 3D SVS, advanced
Instruments and Avionics' MD302). The UA STC only
mapping, electronic charts, and the ability to customize
covered an electromechanical standby instrument.
displays for different phases of flight. Additionally,
" There was no Gogo L3 STC, so we had to do one
the FMS installation includes the UA FlexPerf Trip
from ground zero, " said Arsenault, and added some
Performance option. This provides advanced fuel-saving
software changes to accommodate the Citation's
predictions for aircraft performance in climb, cruise and
TCAS. As MC2 earned Transport Canada approval
descent phases of flight.
for the installation, it shared the approved data on the
Embodied by the software, the expanded
software so UA could use it to amend its FAA STC to
capabilities weigh nothing, but the InSight hardware
50

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2021

Avionics News April 2021

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