Press Release

Issued by Collins Aerospace - Avionics.

May 21, 2013

Piaggio Avanti P180 aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins' Pro Line 4™ avionics can now be upgraded to Pro Line 21™. The new offering, available from-Switzerland-based RUAG Aviation, modernizes the flight deck with the latest in LCD technology for greater situational awareness and enhanced flight operations.

“This upgrade provides enabling flight deck technologies that allow P180 operators to take operational advantage of current and future communication, navigation and surveillance capabilities,” said Claude Alber, vice president and managing director, Rockwell Collins in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EuMEA). “We look forward to working with RUAG on enhancing legacy P180s flight decks to greatly improve continuity with those coming off the production line.”

”We pride ourselves on providing superior services to our Piaggio Avanti P180 clientele. We have just completed the first D inspection at our facilities, and anticipate a growing demand for support for the P180,” said Stephan Woodtli, general manager at RUAG Aviation's Italian-speaking Lugano site. “Pro Line 21 enhances flight safety by ensuring pilots are able to access all necessary information clearly, accurately and conveniently. We are delighted to work with Rockwell Collins on this exciting program.”

The Pro Line 4 to Pro Line 21 display upgrade solution features three or four large, configurable 10- by 8-inch LCDs that include Rockwell Collins' Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS). With IFIS, pilots have access to high resolution electronic charts, XM graphical weather, including NEXRAD, lightning data, satellite images and winds aloft, and enhanced navigation maps.

The Piaggio Avanti P180 Pro Line 21 upgrade by RUAG Aviation also includes an upgrade to a Rockwell Collins' Flight Management System (FMS) and a GPS-4000S satellite navigation receiver that, when combined, enable Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) with vertical guidance and Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) GPS localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approach capabilities.

In addition, operators that upgrade to Pro Line 21 join a large and growing family of over 4,000 aircraft operators that are positioned to accommodate future technology changes − including ADS-B out and data link mandates − due to the system's open architecture design.