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Aspen Evolution Practical, Affordable

The aftermarket has waited for what seems an eternity for a reasonably priced glass alternative to primary steam-gauge flight instruments. With much fanfare and no small risk, Albuquerque-based Aspen Avionics fills the void with their EFD1000 series PFD at a cost thats easy on the budget. Its not a big-screen PFD and its still too early to call the product a universal slam-dunk winner, but in our view Aspen is off to a great start. Enjoying some sales success with the AT300 terrain awareness/mini MFD combo, Aspen brings its second product to the market in an impressively short time frame-less than a year since its introduction at EAA AirVenture 2007. Moreover, the new Aspen Evolution hardware design mimics no other existing product. This is refreshing from a young company living in an environment where successful products from Garmin and Avidyne have set a lofty standard.

Larry Anglisano
Verified

The aftermarket has waited for what seems an eternity for a reasonably priced glass alternative to primary steam-gauge flight instruments. With much fanfare and no small risk, Albuquerque-based Aspen Avionics fills the void with their EFD1000 series PFD at a cost thats easy on the budget. Its not a big-screen PFD and its still too early to call the product a universal slam-dunk winner, but in our view Aspen is off to a great start.

Smart Innovation

Aspen Evolution

Enjoying some sales success with the AT300 terrain awareness/mini MFD combo, Aspen brings its second product to the market in an impressively short time frame-less than a year since its introduction at EAA AirVenture 2007. Moreover, the new Aspen Evolution hardware design mimics no other existing product. This is refreshing from a young company living in an environment where successful products from Garmin and Avidyne have set a lofty standard.

Aspen seems to have aligned several factors for success: Acceptable price point, oodles of working capital and the cooperation of the FAAs certification branch are the top three. As we go to press, EFD1000 installations and product availability are off to a disappointingly slow start compared to the companys early delivery projections. Deliveries should pick up steam and were in the process of overseeing several installations. This shouldnt be a difficult task, as several thousand units have been ordered by Aspens dealer network.

For now, the approved model list of about 400 aircraft models is limited to those with a Vne of 210 knots IAS or less. Aspen used a single-engine Piper to obtain the initial STC, so it couldnt demonstrate the effects of higher speeds during flight test. This omits several common light twins from the approval list, but further certification is in the works.

Were already impressed with the level of high-quality field support for this new product, but in our view, Aspens seasoned field service engineers will have their work cut out for them as big numbers of installs hit hangar floors.

The Machine

The EFD1000 series PFD line is among several emerging products in the Evolution

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.