News

Virtual Press Briefing - Sandel Avionics

October, 2000

2401 Dogwood Way
Vista, CA 92083

The following are notes from a recent press briefing. Any portion of these notes may be quoted or published as long as attribution is made to Gerry Block, founder and CEO, Sandel Avionics.

Gerry Block: Sandel Avionics is announcing our new ST3400 TAWS/RMI, also know as Terrain Awareness and Warning System. The FAA is requiring that most commercial turbine passenger carrying aircraft must have a TAWS installed by March 2005, and the industry has been concerned that this is going to be expensive and extraordinarily time consuming.

Gerry Block: Sandel has designed a three-inch Class A TAWS with an integrated display and RMI, which we believe will be the lowest cost, fastest-to-install and easiest to use Class A TAWS solution. We think it will really solve a lot of problems for the airlines, corporate flight departments and charter operators that are required to make these installations.

Gerry Block: Just like our earlier products, the Sandel TAWS is a three-inch instrument that fits in a standard 3ATI instrument cutout in the panel. It's based on our patent-pending display technology which has been proven in thousands of installations. Since it includes an integrated RMI it can be used to replace an existing RMI, and that dramatically speeds up the installation process.

Q: What is the most unique aspect of this product?

GB: The Sandel TAWS is the only unit that has its own integrated display and doesn't timeshare another critical display in the cockpit. The Honeywell product, for example, timeshares the radar display, which we think is very undesirable. And since Honeywell is not compatible with many radar systems, you have to install a multi-function display. The Universal unit timeshares the FMS display. Other TAWS use the weather display or the EFIS. We think it's better to have a display dedicated to TAWS, and that's what we have done with our product.

Q: What exactly is included in this product and how big is it?

GB: It's a single three-inch by three-inch unit that installs about ten inches deep into the panel. It includes a class-A TAWS computer with RMI functions, a TAWS terrain mapping database with the required warning features, and an ultra-high-brightness three-inch color display. As you know, Sandel's three-inch rear-projection display projects an image to the very edge of the bezel and that gives us a full nine square inches of viewing area, which is the same size as a four-inch EFIS screen. So the screen quite large and easy for the crew to see.

Q: What other special features have you included?

GB: It includes an RMI, so it can be used to replace an existing RMI. You can leave it on full time with the compass rose and the bearing pointers on. It's very simple to use and learn and doesn't require a lot of training for the flight crew.

Q: How do you manage to fit the database in such a small panel-mount device?

GB: The size of the semiconductor packages are shrinking and the memory capacities are increasing at the same time. So Sandel is able get more memory in one chip and more chips in a smaller space.

Q: How do you update the database?

GB: This is done through a high-speed USB port in the front of the unit. The USB port is over 100 times faster than a standard serial port, so even though the database is larger, the load time is manageable. A laptop PC plugs into the USB port and loads the database.

Q: How long does it take to install your TAWS unit, on average?

GB: We have indications from the installation centers that the unit can be installed in one night using a multi-person crew, while the aircraft is in the hangar for maintenance. We are estimating 30-50 hours for a full installation. This can be done in two stages, if desired. During one maintenance cycle, the installer can pull out the existing RMI and install our product as a replacement RMI. Then the plane can be put back in service with our unit operating as an RMI. During the next maintenance cycle, the avionics tech can finish installing and enabling the TAWS capabilities. After that, the aircraft can be flown with an operational Class A TAWS. This minimizes the time that the aircraft has to sit in the shop and thereby reduces the non-revenue downtime. For operators such as regional airlines that want to get their aircraft in and out overnight, we think this will be an easy swap over during one or two regular maintenance shifts.

Q: 30-50 hours of installation time is pretty short.

GB: Yes, and that was our design goal. We wanted our TAWS product to have an installed cost less than all other Class A TAWS. What makes this possible is our one-piece integrated computer/display technology and the complete installation kits that we supply with the units.

Q: So what is the total cost of your unit with installation?

GB: The product has a suggested selling price of $34,500 and the installation cost is based on the number of hours required for the individual aircraft in question. As we said, we believe we'll need between 30 and 50 hours to install Sandel TAWS in most aircraft.

Q: How does your installation cost compare with other TAWS products?

GB: We think it will cost one half to one-fifth as much to install our product because of the way we have designed the installation. As I said, our device is a fully-integrated one-piece computer and display that comes complete with all the interface cables and installation accessories. We supply it in kit form so that the harness required to make the installation is included. This significantly reduces the number of installer hours.

Q: Some of your competitors need 100-200 hours for a complete installation, don't they?

GB: That's what we hear from some of the installation shops. Remember, they are often installing separate components, a remote-mounted computer and a panel-mounted display.

Q: How is this product different from the TAWS system made by Universal Avionics?

GB: The Universal system is intended for users of their FMS so it displays the TAWS functions on the Universal FMS screen. If you choose to interface to an Arinc radar, then you can either view the radar display or the TAWS display, but not both at the same time. Our system allows you to see TAWS full time. You don't have to timeshare the display with another instrument.

Q: How is TAWS different from enhanced ground prox?

GB: I believe that "enhanced ground prox" is a trademark of Allied Signal, and it is another way to comply with the FAA's TAWS requirements.

Q: Do you expect to install a lot of these in regional airliners?

GB: Yes. It depends on the age of the airplane whether the Sandel ST3400 is a good solution. If the airplane is brand new and is completely glass, it might not be the best choice. But for everyone with a mechanical RMI, the Sandel TAWS is a good solution.

Q: Is the three-inch display big enough for jet operators?

GB: Since it's an edge-to-edge rear projector, it's a full nine square inches, which is the same surface area as a four-inch EFIS display with a margin around it. The screen on the Sandel TAWS is surprisingly large and has phenomenal optical resolution.

Q: If you're replacing an existing RMI, can you still use the RMI and the TAWS display at the same time?

GB: Yes, you can view the RMI and the TAWS simultaneously, so it doesn't change the operation of the airplane at all. In fact you can even have two of these installed for the pilot and co-pilot to allow for both easier viewing and redundancy.

Q: How reliable is this device?

GB: The MTBF and MTBS numbers are intended for airline applications, so reliability is quite good.

Q: What were the challenges in designing this product?

GB: The challenges were many but less for us than others because of our existing experience with this display technology. Class A TAWS systems require a terrain display for the pilot. Where do you put that display? Where do you mount the display? Do you have to timeshare an existing display? Do you have to replace an existing display with new a multi-function display? The farther you go down this route the more complex it gets. We think the best solution is a very large three-inch display that is integrated right into the computer enclosure.

Q: How long have you been working on this and when will this be available for customer installation?

GB: We've been under development for about two years and we're now booking shipments for July, 2001.

Q: What is the cost again?

GB: As I mentioned earlier, our suggested list price for the Sandel ST3400 is $34,500, including the wiring harness and installation kit.

Q: Where do you expect Sandel to be in two years from now?

GB: We expect to be a major force in cockpit avionics, in all aspects of avionics from commercial airplanes, airlines, corporate aviation and general aviation.

Sandel Contact:
Ken Kochi
760-727-4900
kkochi@sandel.com