Customer focus groups told Textron Aviation that the flat floor was more important to passenger comfort than the 8 inches extra height afforded by the dropped aisle. Leaner sidewalls provide more usable leg and hip width for seated passengers.
and building images. A few years ago this feature only was available on $50-million-plus jets equipped with Honeywell Primus Epic avionics. Garmin’s plans call for upgrading the 3D airport diagram system to display ADS-B In imagery of proximate aircraft, fuel trucks, and service vehicles. No longer will taxiing safely between the ramp and runway in low visibility conditions be more challenging than flying from takeoff to touchdown in solid IFR. ACARS, CPDLC, and FANS-1/A are available with the purchase of an optional second Iridium SATCOM data radio and VDL Mode 2 data link radio. An HF transceiver and ADF receiver also are options. Scheduled maintenance inspection intervals have been extended to 18 months/800 hours. There are longer warranties on the engines, paint, and interior warranty. Troubleshooting will be expedited by automatic or manual wireless or thumb drive downloading of comprehensive maintenance data. Textron Aviation’s premium pay-per-hour PowerAdvantage+ could be well worth the extra cost for high utilization operators. PW545 series engines reach the end of their economic lives at 12,500 hours because of a laundry list of time-limited components that must be replaced. The eye-watering cost of said inspection potentially can torpedo the resale value of high time aircraft. However, the entire cost of that complete rebuild is covered
charging ports, including at least one for each seat, and six wireless PDA charging stations, along with electric push- button release of seat movement mechanisms that make for easier adjustment and a cell phone or PDA app to control the Clairity cabin management system. Options include a higher speed GoGo L5 internet transceiver, “luxury vinyl” or stone flooring for the galley and lavatory, adjustable lumbar supports for seat backs, and choice of soft, medium, or firm bottom seat cushions. Available illuminated cabin window frames create soft halos around the transparencies that make them appear even larger than they are. For customers needing 8 inches more headroom in the main cabin, the previous dropped center aisle configuration is available in place of the flat floor. The Ascend will reduce pilot workload in many ways. The APU now is approved for unattended operation, so one pilot can attend to passengers while the other focuses on preflight preparations. There’s a new light on the bottom of the left engine pylon to illuminate the aft baggage compartment loading zone at night. Up front, the flight deck includes the latest version of Garmin G5000 avionics, including autothrottles (all-engine only), four touchscreen control units, and high-resolution synthetic vision. The G5000 avionics package will be the first to offer Garmin’s 3D exocentric view airport diagrams on PFDs, including runway and taxiway signs, obstacle symbols,
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