Chelton's Direct-To division belly up.
			 
			 
			
		
		
		
		
Somebody in the group was asking about Chelton the other day. This story ran  
recently on AvWeb. 
 
Direct-To Avionics has reportedly ceased operations as of late last month,  
leaving potentially dozens of kitbuilders without equipment or immediate  
support for experimental versions of the Chelton EFIS. Chelton sold  
experimental versions of its EFIS systems to dealers exclusively through  
Direct-To. While some builders claim to have paid for components that have  
not been delivered, Chelton's official release said, "Chelton has received  
various inquiries from persons who have alleged that they were told by D2A  
[Direct-To Avionics] that parts for which they claimed to have paid D2A were  
'back ordered.' Chelton currently has no purchase orders from D2A and there  
are no 'back orders' to be filled. Chelton has also suspended taking any  
further purchase orders from D2A and has suspended D2A's status as an  
authorized distributor." Requests for comments by Direct-To principals were  
not returned over the New Year's weekend. 
One avionics shop owner told us that the situation as "a mess," but  
cautioned that builders should contact the avionics shop where the package  
was purchased immediately. An announcement from Chelton on making existing  
customers "whole" was expected after the first of the year. Chelton also  
announced that it would continue development of the experimental EFIS. In  
addition, Crossbow Technology, which produced the air-data/heading reference  
system for the Chelton experimental EFIS in 2004 and 2005, announced an  
extension to a free upgrade to users with the NAV425EX-200 unit. Originally  
intended to lapse at the end of the year, the Crossbow offer has been  
extended to June 29, 2007. Direct-To claimed in early 2006 that there were  
problems with the Crossbow device and elected to install a newly produced  
Pinpoint inertial reference module. 
 
 
 
		
	
		
		
		
		
		
	
		 
			
 
			
			
			
				 
            
			
			
            
            
                
			
			
		 
		
	
	
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