Dear Santa,
What I want for Christmas this year is for you to be able to fly safer and a lot more aware of obstacles along your route. I know how hard it is to meet your one-day-a-year delivery schedule; always flying at night, down low and in all kinds of weather. You, my dear jolly ‘ol elf are no doubt the original “scud runner.”
But no more. The team here at Genesys Aerosystems would like to give you a few very special gifts to bring Sleigh One up to 21st century capabilities. We don’t want to do a complete rip-and-tear – the hot coco and chocolate chip cookie dispensers have to stay.
Anyway, under the tree in our installation hangar here at Mineral Wells, you’ll find a pair of our 6” x 8” IDU-680 EFIS integrated displays. We figure you have plenty of panel space in Sleigh One and the two large-format displays will give you optimum flexibility and situational awareness.
One capability that I’m especially happy for you to have is our 3D Synthetic Vision with Highway-In-The-Sky. It will give you a real-time, 3D picture of any traffic, terrain and obstacles along your route to Grandma’s house. Of course, the solid-state displays are perfect for your installation. They’re ruggedized for cold temperatures and vibration. No doubt those 32-tiny hooves kick up quite a bit of turbulence.
And, we’re also wrapping up our H-TAWS with a one-off, low-level database showing those extra tall chimneys. We can’t be too careful.
To improve your delivery efficiency we’re also gifting you a pair of new GPS-WAAS receivers. Everybody here loves your Rudolph Red Nose NAV sensor, but it’s time to upgrade. Imagine never again overflying a deserving child’s house.
Right next to the GPS-WAAS boxes, you’ll find a new Air Data and Solid State Attitude/Heading Reference System (ADAHRS). That, combined with the new HeliSAS Stability Augmentation System will mean you will finally be able to take your hands off the reigns without having to worry about rolling over and spilling toys. Yes, I heard about that little incident over the Atlantic in 1994.
So let me check my list: Dual EFIS displays – check. Dual GPS-WAAS – check. ADAHRS – check. Stability Augmentation System – check. That looks like a pretty good haul to me.
Our installers have all the drawings and wiring harnesses done and are ready to get you out by December 23rd. And since Sleigh One is “experimental” there’s no need to mess with any of those pesky forms. Not that we don’t want you to deliver great gifts to all our friends at the FAA and EASA. They’ve been pretty good this year.
Until we see you, the team here at Genesys Aerosystems would like to send along a very Merry Christmas to all. And to all, a good flight.
All the best,
Jamie Luster