When we asked Appareo's CEO Barry Batcheller if this type of hardware was suitable for a backup Al in lieu of an
electric gyro, he was unequivocal: "Absolutely not.
We have the technology--both in conventional
electric gyros and all-electronic devices like Garmin's G5 instruments or Dynon's EFIS-10A--to eliminate the vacuum system entirely and depend on either self-contained batteries or redundant electrical systems to ensure we'll always have a working system that tells us which way is up.
Mid Continent does have these capabilities because it produces its own line of
electric gyros and other instruments and accessories.
Meanwhile, the mean time between failures (MTBF) of
electric gyros with spinning components is many thousands of For MTBF for digital "gyros" you'll have to add another zero.
Thank you for your recent article on
electric gyros in the December 2007 issue of Aviation Consumer.