OK, here is a quick quiz. What airplane has the following characteristics?

Cruises at 275 KIAS.

Carries three passengers in addition to the pilot(s).

Features a Chelton Flight Systems FMS.

Has an operational ceiling of FL270 (non RVSM limited).

Is not certified for operation into known icing.

Cannot be used for Part 135 operations.

Could this plane be:

A) My 12 year old Lancair IV-P?

OR

B)  The brand new ($1.5M) Eclipse 500 (EA-500)???????

OR

C) Either???

The answer is C. The March 19/26 Aviation Week (p.109) announces that Avidyne (and presumably Crossbow) is out and CFS is in. Of course, if you really want the EA-500 you also get:

No credit towards type rating for jet time in any other aircraft.

Recurrent training required every 12 months as part of the type rating.

A personality test and psych evaluation a prerequisite of the type rating.

Jet upset training required in a L-39.

And last but most interestingly (per Eclipse): "It is recommended that examiners not pull ECBs during the administration of a practical test since pulling certain ECBs on the EA-500 may induce the unwanted loss of other equipment due to the complexity of systems integration on the EA-500" .

I'll stick with my IV-P.

Thanks to Hamid Wasti for providing the synopsis of the FAA Flight Standardization Board report for training for an Eclipse 500 type rating, the source for some of the EA-500 facts listed above.

Regards
Brent Regan