Newly taken under Elbit’s wing, Universal Avionics expands its product line.

Observant and regular visitors to booth N89 at EBACE 2018 will note a slight difference in the name presentation of Universal Avionics (UA) this year, for it is now subtitled “an company.” The acquisition, in April, by the Israeli firm holds promise for both entities – especially in the field of new products based on the integration of their different skill sets.

For now, however, Universal finds the European enthusiasm for its products well worthwhile the annual journey from Arizona, and this time it is highlighting new and newsworthy products, including the AHS-525 attitude heading reference system and B1 communications management module.

AIEC Switzerland’s program to install AHS-525 on at least two target facilities 35s of GFD GmbH is now in hand at Schleswig, Germany, under an / STC. “We are excited to bring this cost effective technology to the Lear 35 series aircraft,” said sales director Robert Clare.

“The AHS-525,” he says, “offers a significant and economical replacement for the existing heavy iron gyros, [and the] operator can look forward to reduced operating costs.”

Other STCs in development for the UA AHS-525 AHRS involve the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and Falcon 20. UA is actively looking for more participants for STC development, with first-of-type incentive programs on offer.

A further STC announcement concerns Chicago Jet Group’s amendment authorizing the ATN B1 Module for the UniLink UL-800/801 CMU/communications management unit. This approval paves the way for , Dassault and Gulfstream operators to upgrade for Aeronautical Telecommunications Network Baseline 1 (ATN B1) CPDLC and Context Management functions required for the February 2020 European mandate, formerly known as Link 2000+.

UA’s European sales manager, Christian Zumkeller, stresses that helicopter operators are equally able to take advantage of replacement avionics. In conjunction with Heli-One of Norway, it has participated in programmes to enhance the Federal German Police’s fleet of Super Pumas and an undisclosed number of S-61 Sea Kings. Smaller helicopters, such as Dauphin and EC155 have also been catered for, using the InSight modular flight deck, combining embedded synthetic vision with advanced mapping capability, electronic charts, radio control, and broadcast weather.