Aspen Avionics, manufacturer of the Evolution Flight Display system, today announced it has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its Evolution VFR PFD. It is the industry’s first glass panel display designed specifically for pilots flying in the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) environment. Deliveries begin this month.

Aspen’s market research concluded VFR pilots and non-current IFR pilots represent over 50 percent of the flying population. “From the very beginning, Aspen has been committed to developing general aviation solutions that are innovative, safe, affordable, and contribute to the future growth of the pilot community. This is a segment of the flying public that has been underserved with an affordable glass panel solution,” said John Uczekaj, Aspen president and CEO.

Priced at $4,995, the VFR PFD will meet the needs of the VFR pilot as well as meet their future IFR rating* goals through a simple software upgrade. Additionally, Aspen’s unique hardware form factor and open software architecture greatly reduce the overall installation costs over other systems.

The upgrade, priced at $4,690, enables the VFR PFD to function as a Pro PFD and supports the following functions:

•Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI)
•RMI bearing pointers
•Lateral and vertical deviation indicators (ILS, localizer, VOR, GPS, vertical guidance)
•Minimums
•Decision Height (with compatible radar altimeters)
•Radio altimeter (with compatible radar altimeters)
•Flight director (with Aircraft Control Unit (ACU)

Options include:

•XM weather
•Traffic (TAS)
•Lightning (Stormscope)
•Synthetic Vision (must first be upgraded to EFD1000 Pro)
•ADS-B capability