Tucson, Arizona – March 1, 2006 - Universal Avionics recently completed its first Wide Area Augmentation System, (WAAS), flight test of their new “W” series Flight Management System. Incorporated into Universal’s UNS-1Ew, 1Fw and 1Lw Flight Management System, the new FMS software, SCN 1000, takes advantage of the capabilities of WAAS for enroute, terminal and instrument approach procedures.

The flight was 3.5 hours in length during which; six WAAS instrument approaches were conducted. Five of the approaches were at the Farmington, New Mexico airport, (KFMN), which has two WAAS instrument approaches, one each for runways 05 and 07. The sixth approach was conducted at the Tucson, International Airport, (KTUS), utilizing the approach for runway 29R. The Tucson, Arizona approach utilized for testing was commissioned by the FAA on February 16th, 2006. Several hundred more WAAS approaches are expected to become available throughout the year.

Jerry Harkin, Manager - Aviation Department stated: “All seven of the approaches conducted with the UNS-1Fw FMS guided the aircraft precisely down the approach path, both laterally and vertical, resulting in an approach that split the runway centerline every time. The accuracy we observed was incredible, far better than ever observed during a standard GPS approach”.

The Universal Avionics King Air 350, Advanced Avionics Test Platform, equipped with Universal’s EFI-890R suite was used for these test flights. Operation of Universal’s new WAAS FMS keeps with its philosophy of combining ease of use with technical advancements. The new SCN 1000 WAAS software will also be available for their UNS-1Ew and UNS-1Lw Flight Management Systems. Testing and certification of the Universal Avionics Flight Management System with WAAS is expected to be completed in 2006.

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