L-3’s Next Generation Electronic Standby Instrument System — the ESI-500 — is one of the most advanced standby instruments designed specifically for piston and turboprop aircraft and helicopters. The compact unit is scalable and comes standard with altitude, attitude, slip/skid, vertical speed and aircraft track. Options are available for the display of navigation information and Synthetic Vision (SynVis), including terrain and obstacles. Magnetic heading is an available option when coupled with the low cost and compact MAG-500 magnetometer. The ESI-500 is compatible with existing NAV radios and GPS hardware. An internal lithium-ion battery pack automatically powers the system without interruption upon loss of main input power.

KEY FEATURES

High-resolution, full color display

The scalable ESI-500 has numerous display configurations, including navigation, metric altitude, vertical speed and heading. The navigation function can be configured for VOR/ILS or GPS single-source or both. In the absence of a Heading source, the ESI can display aircraft “Track” from a GPS source.

Built-in back-up battery

The ESI-500 also features an internal lithium-ion battery, which will automatically power the unit without interruption should the system lose the aircraft power. This ensures that pilots will have the critical attitude, altitude and airspeed information they need to fly to a suitable airport.

Optional Synthetic Vision display capabilities

The ESI-500 is compatible with a variety of Synthetic Vision Systems enabling it to display color representations of critical information about terrain and known obstacles along the aircraft’s flight path. SynVis depicts three-dimensional terrain and obstacles to reflect topography and hazards, and terrain and obstacle impact alerts are shaded to increase situational awareness. In addition, the unit can also display magnetic heading when coupled with the optional MAG-500 magnetometer.