Astronautics Corporation of America’s AFI4700 RoadRunner Electronic Flight Instrument (EFI) has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Standard Order (TSO) authorization and a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Leonardo A109/119 helicopters. It has also secured STC bilateral agreements with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil. STC bilateral agreement from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation are expected in the near future.

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Astronautics is working with certification agencies for additional STCs by platform, with Bell 212/412 targeted for approval by January 2020.

RoadRunner EFI provides rotary- and fixed-wing operators an affordable, modern, and reliable EFI display upgrade that reduces maintenance costs and the liability of legacy display systems. Its “two in one,” next-generation, 4×7-inch display quickly and easily replaces five-inch electromechanical attitude director and horizontal situation indicators, as well as legacy cathode-ray tube EFI systems.

With the continual erosion of factory support for legacy display systems, the RoadRunner eliminates unscheduled maintenance and removal of aging aircraft systems from flight decks, while also providing enhanced capabilities, safety features, and a path for future growth.

“Astronautics’ RoadRunner EFI is a unique retrofit product with nearly ‘plug and play’ installation available for multiple platforms and provisioned to accommodate future aircraft system renovations,” said Astronautics president Chad Cundiff. “The EFI is designed as an incremental value-added update providing operators enhanced capabilities without the expense and downtime of a complete modernization.”

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The RoadRunner EFI is a cost-effective way for fielded aircraft to upgrade quickly while expanding avionics capabilities:

• Supports VOR and GPS navigation, GPS map, RNAV approaches, including LPV, radar altimeter, flight director cues and annunciation (including collective cue), rate of turn, weather radar and TCAS.
• Supports digital AHRS and digital VOR when upgrading from older analog gyros.
• Features high resolution, high reliability, NVIS capable, color-rich AMLCD.
• Features DAL-A IFR capability, approved for single pilot IFR operations on A109.
• Installs in less than a day, using an adapter harness, with no modification of existing sensors or rewiring of the aircraft.
• Consolidates the display of safety sensors like HTAWS, TCAS, and Weather Radar overlaid on the HSI. Internal synthetic vision and HTAWS available via field loadable software in the next 18-24 months.

Astronautics’ RoadRunner EFI is currently flying worldwide on A109s. In addition, the Ventura County Fire Department is equipping three Sikorsky HH-60Ls with the RoadRunner as part of the Firehawk upgrade program.

A global network of authorized dealers sells and services Astronautics’ RoadRunner EFI.