Gama Engineering News

Professional Air Training's Beech 76 Duchess G-BNUO is the first UK GA aeroplane to be updated to benefit from the introduction of EGNOS-LPV.

EGNOS-LPV is the acronym for European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, Localiser Performance with Vertical guidance.

It provides more efficient and reliable operations, including the potential to make precision-like-approaches at more airports. All this without having any adverse impact on safety.

Based in Bournemouth, Professional Air Training pride themselves on ensuring their students not only have the required skills for today's flying but are also well trained for the future. They have invested considerable time and effort to develop a CAA-approved GPS training programme and are now the exclusive UK-based Flight Training Organisation taking part in the validation of LPV in British skies this winter.

Gama Engineering Ltd have been selected to be the 145/DOA to not only update the avionics but certify the modifications to Regional and General Aviation aeroplanes to enable them to benefit from the advent of EGNOS-LPV operations.

Gama Engineering's Head of Airworthiness David Wyatt and MD/Head of Design Harry Lees admire Duchess G-BNUO fine lines as well as the enhanced avionics fit!

Gama Engineering's, Certification & Approvals Manager, David Wyatt (right) stops by ther EGNOS stand to catcnh up with Hans de With and Donna Reay at the European Regions Airlines Association (ERAA) General Assembly in Rome as a fully fledged member. With 500+ delegates attending, the ERAA is wothout doubt the most efficient way for operators, service providers and regulators to both netwrk and update themselves in all the latest happenings in Regional Aviation.

David and his team are set to install and certify the avionics update to the first ERAA aircraft (Channel Island based Aurigny's Trislander) to enable them to take advantage of the 'new' world of EGNOS-LPV over the coming winter.

EGNOS-LPV? Think of it as affording ERAA members significant opportunities to offer safer, more reliable and cost effective air services.

A delighted Group Captain Dave Lee, OC 1 EFTS, RAF Cranwell and Babcock Company Pilot, Captain Peter Gooding collect the 93rd and final MoD Tutor aircraft to recieves its major avionics upgrade.

Attending the delivery ceremony at the Gama Support Services facility at Farnborough's famous 'back shed', Dave and Peter were joined by members of the Babcock International Group team, who manage the initial flight training needs of of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army Air Corps.

Great teamwork all round.

Helitech 2011, what a perfect occasion to publicly showcase for the first time Gama Engineering.

MD, Harry Lees (facing us in the centre of the photo) relays the good news of our being able to offer clients access to the Garmin 500H and Cobham's HeliSAS autopilot products in particular.

To the right foreground can be seen the Gama Infant Safety Seat which someone wanted to buy and take away as soon as the show finished!

Gama Engineering's appointment today as the first European distributor of Cobham's HeliSAS Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System offers helicopter operators the benefit of a significant improvement in flight safety and reduced pilot work-load.

HeliSAS is FAA fully certified with EASA validation in progess and replaces old analogue systems with a significantly lighter autopilot that increases helicopter stability. It's light weight, low cost and is easy to install.

HeliSAS provides precise control during all modes of flight, regardless of wind conditions or any shifts in weight. It is designed to be engaged at all times-- "on" before takeoff and "off" after landing. If the helicopter is inadvertently flown to an extreme attitude, simply releasing the cyclic while HeliSAS is engaged, automatically returns the helicopter to a near-level attitude in hands-off flight. This is possible due to the HeliSAS attitude-command/attitude-hold SAS + full autopilot configuration.

HeliSAS is immediately available for retrofit in Bell 206B, 206L, and 407 fleets as well as operators of Europcopter AS.350 series. More helicopter types are being certified on an ongoing basis.

17th April 2012 : First EASA Approval now issued for the Bell 407.

Additional information is available from www.helisas.com

In partnership with Garmin, we are now offering installation of the Garmin G500H Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS).

The recently certified Garmin G500H, EFIS is the affordable all-glass avionics flight display designed specifically for the VFR Part 27 helicopters including the Bell 206, Bell 407, Eurocopter AS350B2, AS350B3 and EC130B.

The Garmin G500H (G500) is optimized for rotorcraft and offers features like helicopter synthetic vision technology (HSVT^TM)

It incorporates two individual displays - a PFD and MFD - in a customized package designed for easy retrofit installation. The G500 combines primary flight data including attitude and air data with navigation, weather, terrain and traffic data displayed in an intuitive pictorial format on dual LCD displays. This user friendly presentation allows pilots to quickly and efficiently scan the data so that they can stay ahead of the helicopter.  The G500 replaces traditional mechanical gyroscopic flight instruments with Garmin's solid state Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) that offers superior reliability and accuracy, and allows for rapid alignment and in-flight re starts.

Additional information is available from http://www8.garmin.com/helicopters/

Lees Avionics Ltd have had another successful exhibition at AeroExpo at Sywell aerodrome last weekend.

Our stand generated good footfall of customers, keen to see the latest offerings of GA glass cockpits. With several serious enquiries on both design and installation sides of the business, AeroExpo once again proved to be a good place to demonstrate what we can do.

The stand was staffed throughout the weekend by some of our technical staff, including licenced engineers, who were able to provide answers to customers queries, including a quick fix 'in the field' for a customer with a GPS antenna problem!

Press Release

Farnborough UK-based Lees Avionics Ltd, a Gama Group company, has been awarded a contract by Babcock (Air) to upgrade 93 Grob 115E training aircraft on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence.  The upgrade comprises installation of Avidyne TAS600 Traffic Advisory Systems and a Sandel Electronic H.S.I., which together add a significant improvement to situational awareness and collision avoidance.

Since commencing work in mid-January 2011, 30 aircraft have been delivered on time, with a target for the completion of all 93 aircraft by mid December 2011.

Lees are undertaking the work at Farnborough in conjunction with sister company Gama Support Services Ltd.

Lees Avionics Ltd is an EASA Part 21J design organisation and installation facility, and is the leading European design house for glass-cockpit upgrades for general and corporate aviation.  Lees holds full DOA approval for avionics, structures, interiors and special mission fits across all fixed wing and rotary platforms.

Garmin have launched 2 new GPS/Nav/Comm products. Both offer intuitive menu driven touch screen control, high resolution terrain mapping and faster processing / redraw capabilities than the equivalent GNS430 / 530 units.

The GTN650 is a GNS430 sized unit but offers a larger 4.9 inch diagonal TFT display. Most functions are available via no more than 2 taps of the screen while the edges of the unit provide space to grip the unit to steady your hand during use in turbulent conditions.

The GTN750 is a similar size to a GNS530 and audio panel combined, with a 6.9 inch diagonal TFT screen. This unit includes the ability to control a remote audio panel via its touch screen interface, allowing for aircraft with limited panel space to integrate a large screen MFD into the panel.

See a photo of the new equipment here

The new equipment is available and ready to install immediately on N-reg aircraft via a Garmin FAA AML STC and European ETSO approval is expected within a few weeks. Lees Avionics can offer approved design data for European aircraft and / or installations of this new equipment. Contact us for details.

STC update

Dual FMS installed on a Lear Jet 35; refer to full STC list for additional information