Extra Aircraft LLC and Avidyne Corporation today announced the approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) of the Avidyne Entegra Release 9 Integrated Flight Deck avionics suite for the highly fuel-efficient Extra EA-500 turboprop aircraft. This EASA Major Change Approval certifies the EA-500 for IFR day and night operations with the Entegra Release 9 upgrade.

"This EASA approval allows us to begin delivering airplanes with Avidyne's innovativeEntegra Release 9 flight deck," said Ken Keith, President of Extra Aircraft. "We chose the Avidyne R9 system for its innovation, overall ease of use, and truly-redundant system architecture."

"We are excited to have our Entegra Release 9 system as the flight deck on the EA-500," said Dan Schwinn, Avidyne's President and CEO. "Extra's high-performance business-class aircraft is a perfect match for the Release 9 system, which was designed specifically to make single-pilot IFR flying safer and easier."