Aircraft
Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
NE-19-16
October 30, 2019
This is information only. Recommendations
aren’t mandatory.
Introduction
This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) informs owners
and operators of an issue with certain Avidyne SkyTrax6XXA (TAS6XXA)
series traffic advisory system flight software versions that may cause
traffic to not display on an interfaced display system.
This issue affects TAS6XXA, part number (P/N) 700-00185-(), with flight
software P/N 510-00296-000 Revision 00, Revision 01, and Revision 02,
commonly known as Release 2.0.0, 2.0.1, and 2.0.2. This issue is
corrected in flight software Revision 03 (Release 2.0.3).
At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that
would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.
Background
The Avidyne SkyTrax6XXA is a TSO-C147 traffic advisory system intended
for use on general aviation aircraft. A typical installation includes
the TAS6XXA unit installed with the required antennas and interface
wiring to an external display system and to an audio system. The
TAS6XXA unit transmits traffic target information to the display system
and provides audible alerts and traffic updates via the audio system.
In affected revisions of the TAS6XXA flight software, an output data
formatting anomaly may result in intermittent failure to show some or
all of the traffic when the system is interfaced to a display using
RS-232. The display system may or may not display an error message in
the presence of this issue. The pilot should suspect that the display
of targets is incomplete if multiple targets abruptly and
simultaneously disappear from the display or if an aural alert is given
for traffic without the expected display of the target. The issue, when
it occurs, will self-correct, but the timing and circumstances of its
correction are unpredictable.
The following Avidyne TAS6XXA functions and flight software are not affected:
The ability of the equipment to acquire or track traffic.
Audible alerts or audible traffic updates.
The ARINC-429 traffic
interface. Check with the installer to determine if the TAS6XXA unit is
installed using the RS-232 or ARINC-429 interface.
TAS6XXA units with flight software P/N 510-00285-000, commonly known as Release 1.
Avidyne has published Avidyne
Service Information Letter 606-00185-002, Revision 00, dated June 24,
2019, which advises owners and operators of this issue. Avidyne has
also published Avidyne Service Bulletin (SB) 601-00185-016, Revision
01, dated June 24, 2019, which provides instructions to install the
software fix.
Recommendations
The FAA recommends that
owners and operators of affected Avidyne TAS6XXA series traffic
advisory systems install flight software Revision 03 (Release 2.0.3).
Refer to Avidyne SB 601-00185-016, Revision 01, dated June 24, 2019,
for further information.
The FAA requests owners and operators to report any cases related to this issue directly to the FAA contact provided.
Paperwork Reduction Act Burden Statement
A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Number for this information collection is 2120-0731. Public
reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be
approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, completing and reviewing the collection of
information. All responses to this collection of information are
voluntary; the nature and extent of confidentiality to be provided, if
any. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect
of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing
this burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal
Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX
76177-1524.
For Further Information Contact
Min Zhang, Aerospace Engineer, Boston ACO Branch, FAA, 1200 District
Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 781- 238-7161; fax: 781-238-7199;
email: min.zhang@faa.gov.
For Related Service Information Contact