Avidyne is adding interface options that will let aircraft operators view graphical weather information from an MLX 770/780 datalink receiver on a variety of electronic flight bag (EFB) portable computers.

The company said yesterday that it has partnered with Advanced Data Research Florida to deliver the worldwide weather information to the EFB maker’s line of products. Avidyne has also struck a deal with weather data supplier WSI to interface with other manufacturers’ EFBs running WSI InFlight Version 5.0 software. ADR Florida has ported Avidyne’s Flightmax display software to its EFBs, which provides a cleaner looking interface, according to an Avidyne spokesman.

Previously, MLX 770/780 weather data could be displayed only on a FlightMax cockpit multifunction display.

The MLX units link through the Iridium satellite network to receive weather data, which supplies worldwide Metar reports and Nexrad radar images in most of Europe, all of the U.S., and Australia and southern Canada. Also available to MLX buyers as part of the WSI service is a synthetic radar product that uses satellite imagery to provide weather graphics in South America, Africa and southern China, along with worldwide lightning strike data and winds/temperatures aloft.  

The MLX 770 includes an Iridium data receiver and antenna, while the 780 model adds a telephone handset for making calls anywhere in the world. Avidyne is offering the MLX 770 at a promotional price of $9,990, which includes two years or 200 hours of free weather updates. The MLX 780 carries a list price of $14,990.