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KI256 problems, replacement options, etc

That sounds positive.

I see nothing on google under KA310 or KI310. What is it?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

The KA310 is a digital to analogue converter and takes the serial attitude data from the KI300 and outputs appropriate pitch and roll signals to the autopilot. If also takes analogue flight director data from the autopilot and sends it in digital back to the KI300 for the FD bars to display. So the KI300 isn’t a plug and play replacement for the KI256, as an additional box has to be installed plus the associated wiring.
The KI300 can also generate the test roll and pitch signals for autopilot stabilisation without having to be removed and put on a tilt table, so that will make setting up the autopilot much easier.

Avionics geek.
Somewhere remote in Devon, UK.

I merged two threads on the KI300.

(the above is the only real-life pic I could find online!)

It’s good news because over a year ago HBK were telling people the product was abandoned.

The KI300 can also generate the test roll and pitch signals for autopilot stabilisation without having to be removed and put on a tilt table, so that will make setting up the autopilot much easier.

What I found is that with a Mod 11 KI256 unit, the need to mess with the autopilot upon changing out the KI256 is eliminated – or almost so… But you still have to do it initially, for any newly installed KC225 or whatever autopilot computer.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

This has appeared on some US sites recently:

KI300. Surprise, shipping delayed until April 2018 due to software changes to handle turbulence better. Approximate price for the model to replace our KI256 in a two axis KFC200 autopilot system will be about $6500. It will actually be two boxes. The display includes the backup battery and has a 9 pin connector and connections for pitot and static lines. The second box connects to the indicator via the 9 pin connector. The other end of that box connects to the KFC200 and GPS navigator. He estimates less than a day to install.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I wouldn’t touch B/K product with 311ft barge pole. Honeywell will get out of that whole thing soon and leave a mess behind. Huge corporations don’t have great track record with these things when they decide enough is enough – they just shutter and close it, rather than sell it on to someone who might care. And just destroy the tooling just so nobody can get any ideas.

Last Edited by AdamFrisch at 31 Mar 03:16

I have to agree but this is a rather standalone box. If it fails, and you cannot get it fixed, you just put in another old KI256. They pop up on the market in a working condition for a few hundred $ now. And a number of shops can fix them… not well but well enough… no paperwork. The only issue is that you will have to put the old vacuum pump back in

I also think there is a market opportunity for someone to develop an “uncertified” box which replaces the KI256. It’s not difficult. You just need an AHRS and some electronics around it, and the box can go anywhere. You don’t need the actual instrument in the panel (there are plenty of AIs out there). It’s just very hard to do a certified one. One would probably sell a few k of a box like that.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Update from Aero 2018:

HBK (Honeywell / Bendix King) were showing their KI300 which is now “certified”. Actually they seem to have abandoned it and redesigned it in a much shorter size


and as pointed out above it needs an extra box to emulate a KI256; total cost $6k!

I am not even sure of the new box is called KI300!

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

The device was on show again at Aero Expo Booker. The man said certification due Dec 2018…

I asked him about the extra box required to emulate a KI256 and he didn’t know anything about that. I wonder why HBK don’t just shut down the whole useless operation? Probably because they make enough doing repairs.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Just heard from someone in the business:

The KI300 is a re-branded Sandia SAI 340.

The KA310 is vapourware at present.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I think it will ship soon, given that the other pieces of the AP system ship today. The bigger problem IMHO is that the price is way too high. It’s around 6000 Euro/US$ installed (KI300+KA310). At this point you still have old servos. I would invest in a G5 and wait for Garmin GFC700 STC, which would kill the attractiveness of the KI300/KA310 combo immediately (unless Honeywell cuts the price in half). In the meantime, while the GFC700 STC does not exist, I would repair my vacuum driven KI256, should it fail.

United States
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