LX Navigation EOS Variometer

The LX Eos 57 is an “all–in one” standalone speed to fly variometer, flight recorder, final glide calculator and simple navigation system with internal backup battery, audio warnings, vario beeps and voice messages. The unit has User and Flarm input/output to connect PDA/PNA and Flarm units to the system. It is the smallest vario system with outline dimensions of 60mm x 60mm with standard 57mm cut–out. It will fit into every glider panel. It is able to supply PDA/PNA units with 5 V/500 mA and 3.3 V/100 mA output on User output connector. LX Eos has built in high precision digital sensors based on latest MEMS technology for altitude, vario, speed and G–force. All sensors are sampled with more than 100Hz sample rate. All real time data is shown on its indicator. Vario data is shown with mechanical needle via stepper motor. As integral part it has 1.8″ sunshine readable LCD display to show all user defined data during flight. For accessing all system options, a rotary switch with a push button is used.

A double seater installation is possible by adding LX Eos Repeater on system CAN bus.

An integral IGC approved flight recorder with ENL level detector will record flight to internal solid state memory (8GB). All flight can be copied to external SD card after flight.

For backup and safety reason, it has internal battery, which will work for about three hours after main power supply is disconnected. Integral charger will charge up backup battery when external power supply is connected (12V).

LX Eos 80 is an “all–in one” standalone speed to fly variometer, flight recorder, final glide calculator and navigation system with an internal backup battery, audio warnings, vario beeps and voice messages. The unit is capable of providing APT (airport), TP (turnpoint) and TSK (task) navigation on three dedicated navigational pages. Navigation pages feature Navboxes showing bearing to point, track, distance and final glide with graphically show airspaces, airports and turnpoints.

This vario is designed to fit a standard 80mm aviation cut–out hole. It is able to supply PDA/PNA units with 5 V/500 mA and 3.3 V/100 mA output on User output connector.

LX Eos 80 has built–in high precision digital sensors based on latest MEMS technology for altitude, vario, speed, 3–axis gyro and 3–axis accelerometer sensorics. All sensors are sampled with more than 100Hz sample rate.

The mechanical needle can be assigned to show one of multiple parameters (vario, netto, g–force, speed command etc.). By default, it is showing vario value.

As an integral part, it has a 2.7″ sunshine readable transflective LCD display to show all user defined data during flight. For accessing all system options, a rotary switch with a push knob is used. A voice module is also built in for audio warnings.

A double seater installation is possible by installing an LX Eos 80 Repeater and connecting it to the system via CAN bus.

An integral IGC approved flight recorder with ENL level detector will record flight to internal solid–state memory (8GB). All flights can be copied to an external SD card after flight.

For backup and safety reason, it has an internal battery, which will work for about three to five hours after main power supply is disconnected. Integral charger will charge up backup battery when external power supply is connected (12V).

LX Navigation is one of the oldest glider navigation brands. Its founders started experimenting with glider computers way back in the 70's and the Company has been working on improving your flight performance ever since.

Throughout the last 40 years or so it has been working on instruments that most pilots will have used at some time. In fact their equipment can be found in almost any gliding club!

LX Navigation equipment has always been ground–breaking.

LX Navigation motto?

Be the first. Be the best. Be different.

Because the Eos is a junction of old–school analogue style and full function possibilities of the large transflective LCD screen.

A state–of–the–art vario unit, leading the way for technology innovation in the field of sensorics, gathering information, processing and helping the pilot with clear, clean and intuitive interface.

We keep the most important function of the vario – showing lift and sink – on an analogue, high contrast needle and still manage to spoil you with all the information a pilot could require for his everyday crosscountry, competition or club flight.

• 2.7″ transflective technology sunlight readable display
• Integrated G–meter (g–forces recorder)
• 3–axis gyroscope
• 3–axis accelerometers
• 50ch – GPS receiver as an integral part of the system
• Completely new design using latest pressure transducers technology
• Extremely fast vario data acquisition
• Rotary knob with push function, for simple and effective handling
• Nearly unlimited memory space for flight recorder
• ENL (Environment Noise Level) sensor
• 5 user defined status inputs (SC, VP, gear, brakes and ballast)
• OAT probe input (outside air temperature)
• Internal beeper (for Flarm warning)
• Flarm port (input of Flarm data)
• User port for PDA/PNA/Radio/transponder, supplies navigation and Flarm data to PNA/PDA
• Bluetooth interface
• Voice module as an integrated part of the system
• CAN Bus, for connection to LX Zeus or other LX devices
• External SD Card interface, for firmware updates, flight downloads and TP/TSK/APT/Airspace transfers
• Standard 80 mm size
• The unit can be used as stand–alone, or as a part of LX Zeus system
• Built in rechargeable battery serves for three to five hours of autonomy
• Charging of battery is realized via main power
• Pre–loaded polar database

• Variometer, TE compensation (TE probe or electronic compensation)
• Speed–to–fly function
• Final glide calculator based on GPS data (for TP and TSK)
• Complete TP/APT/TSK navigation with airspace information and warnings
• High level IGC approved flight recorder
• Flarm radar screen
• Thermal assistant screen
• System extensions: Second seat configuration, Remote control operation (LX Joy)
• Logbook
• Flight information with Barograph
• Multi pilot support
• Accurate wind calculation in straight flight and circling
• Voice announcement
• User warnings

LX Eos can be used in two different configurations:
• A standalone: LX Eos represents vario navigation system and has all options active. Unit will turn on when enter switch is pressed.
• LX Zeus configuration: LX Eos serves as vario system controlled from LX Zeus. Unit will turn on automatically when main switch is turned on. All setup settings are set on LX Zeus. Flarm radar settings and thermal assistant settings must still be set on LX Eos. Some of options are disabled (setup, task edit) but all of LX Eos options will become active when backup mode is detected.

A large 2.7″ transflective LCD display shows all flight–relevant information to the pilot. The Eos 80 boasts an analogue needle, which clearly shows current lift, SpeedToFly or other flight parameter. A single push/rotary knob is used for all pilot to Eos communication (Eos 80).

The Eos 80 features 6 status indicators, described below in their respective order:

• Flarm indicator – appears only when a Flarm device is connected to the Flarm port and communicating with the Eos.
• Bluetooth indicator – appears only when a Bluetooth device is connected to the Flarm port and communicating with the Eos.
• Wi–Fi indicator – appears only when a Wi–Fi device is connected to the Flarm port and communicating with the Eos.
• GPS indicator – is always displayed, a green arrow indicates good GPS signal, and a red one indicates bad GPS signal.
• Circling/SC mode indicator – indicates whether Eos is in Speed Command (SC) or Vario mode.
• Battery status indicator – shows the current state of the airplane’s battery. White battery outline indicates it is using the airplane’s battery. A red battery outline indicates it is using its built–in battery.

Use of rotary switches

To exit edit mode, fill out all of the fields (when a number is in question) or simply choose the enter sign (⏎). For quick change (multiplication by 10 steps) press enter button and while being pressed, rotate rotary switch.

To exit from any subpage or list, a pilot has 2 options:
• Select “Exit” option which is always located at the end of each page / list
• Move to the top of each page / list where a blue circle with white a backward arrow is located (←).
Exit option is activated, when this circle becomes filed with blue.

To get the best out of the LX Eos, it is important that some preparation is done prior to the flight – trying to configure the instrument or set up a task while flying the glider may spoil your whole day! Pre–flight preparation will ensure that the flight will be both successful and enjoyable.

Flight preparation on ground
• Check if you have desired TP, APT and Airspace database uploaded.
• Prepare a task.
• Check pilot information (this information is written into the flight declaration).
• Check logger settings.

Before take off.
• Switch the unit ON at least 3 minutes before take–off (this will ensure sufficient GPS reception and will create a base line of the baro trace).
• Select correct pilot (many settings belongs to pilot) on initial setup or create new.
• Check task if it is correct after using of Task setup.
• The actual task during take–off will be declared in flight recorder automatically.

During flight
The LX Eos HW and SW concept is so far optimized that the pilot doesn’t spend too much time to operate the unit during flight. A very significant indication that shows that the unit has changed to flying mode is Logbook replacement with statistics page.

Set QNH
The pilot should input actual QNH value of the airport where he will take–off. This action should be carried out on ground, after take–off, change of QNH in Setup/QNH Res menu will adjust altitude reading to actual QNH setting.

Wind calculation
LX Eos is able to measure wind under two different methods. Wind calculation results are shown on main vario page and on thermal assistant page. LX Eos will switch between straight and circling method automatically and history of wind will be counted in new measurements.

• Circling:
Calculation is based on ground speed (GS) oscillation due to wind influence in circling. The method is active exclusively during climbing process. The process start automatically after circling is detected. The method is based on fact that the ground speed is affected by wind. GS is maximal by tailwind and minimal by head wind. This phenomenon is used by GS difference calculation method.

• Straight flight:
On straight flight, wind will be calculated with use of iterative method which is based on IAS, GS and TRK measurements. Influence of wind in final glide The actual wind data (speed and direction) influences the final glide calculation. In task mode, the final glide indication is based on remaining distance over all TP until finish (not over already flown turn points). Wind influence for individual legs is based on current wind data.

Event function
User has option to set one of the user inputs to Event. If event switch is pressed during flight, it will enable faster record interval in flight recorder (recording in shorter intervals as default for a limited time). Event parameters can be set in Setup/Logger on LX Eos unit. The action is accompanied with a clear message.

Task start
It is started automatically when glider leaves start TP observation zone. Navigation to next point will start. If pilot wishes to navigate back to starting point, he must simply use “Goto” option in task setup menu. Please refer to Task page chapter.
No task statistic is available on LX Eos.

After landing
It is recommended to keep the instrument ON for a few minutes after landing. This will ensure base line of baro trace.
10s after landing is detected, statistic page will be shown automatically where 10min countdown can be seen.
Pilot can wait for 10min of press enter to end flight. Calculating security message will follow and then logbook will be offered to the pilot. At this point unit can be switched OFF or flight download process can start.

Downloading flights
Insert micro SD card to external micro SD card holder. Select logbook page and search for a flight that you wish to download. Press enter on that flight and select Copy option. Progress window will inform pilot when flight is copied to external SD card. File format of flight is .IGC.

LX Eos is compatible with all LX CAN based devices (LX Zeus, LX Joy, LX Eos Repeater, CAN Compass, AHRS, and others). LX Eos has an integrated CAN terminator so other terminator should not be used. Only one CAN terminator should be used (be careful when using LX Eos with LX Zeus).

LX navigation Eos price varies depending on selection.
Use above dropdown box for selection and final price.

To switch between main pages use left/right rotation of rotary switch. Complete structure of main can be seen bellow.

The Vario page is used for displaying a wide specter of flight–relevant information.

There are four indicator fields available on the vario page when in thermal mode, and another while in SC mode. Two are above the middle row and two below.
All of them (apart from the middle row) can be set to user preferences.

In the middle row, different status icons are shown:
• Main battery indicator (outline of symbol is white):
3 green bars – more than 12.0V
2 yellow bars – more than 10.8V
1 red bar – less than 10.8V
• Backup battery indicator (outline of symbol is red):
3 green bars – more than 80% left
2 yellow bars – between 20% and 80% left
1 red bar – less than 20% left
• SC/Thermal icon:
Straight arrow – SC mode
Spiral arrow – thermal mode
• GPS status:
Green arrow – GPS ok (3D)
Red arrow – GPS bad
• Bluetooth icon:
Is visible when Bluetooth connection is active
• Flarm icon:
Is visible when Flarm is detected on system
– Green arch is SC bar which will move according to MacCready setting, IAS and status of airmass around the plane
– Wind is shown with three parameters:
º Wind arrow shows wind direction relative to the aircraft
º The upper number (on the right side of the wind arrow) is showing wind direction
º Below the wind direction the wind speed is shown with the adjacent unit
– Below the GPS signal indicator, one of the following is shown, informing the pilot what is the mechanical needle currently indicating:
º VAR – vario
º NET – Netto
º SC – Speed command
º REL – Relative
º G – Force
Pressing enter while on the Vario page will open a quick input window, allowing the pilot to quickly change Volume, MacCready, Ballast, Bugs, QNH pressure and brightness level.

Thermal assistant page is used to help the pilot get a better understanding his current thermal. The thermal itself is represented with different size and color dots.

Default color scheme:
White colored dots show maximum climb detected in last turn.
Dot thickness represents strength of climb/sink.
Red dots represent climb.
Blue dots represent sink.

MC color scheme:
White colored dots show maximum climb detected in last turn.
Dot thickness represents strength of climb.
Red dots represent climb which is stronger than 1.2*MC setting.
Yellow dots represent climb in range of 0.8*MC and 1.2*MC setting.
Blue dots represent climb less than 0.8*MC setting.

If MC setting is less than 0.5m/s, default color scheme is used!

In the middle of the TA circle, wind is shown as a blue arrow with numerical indication for direction and speed. Wind arrow is track up orientated.
Other marks on this page:
• AVG: Integrator value of vario
• M: Maximum value in thermal – white dot
• T AVG: Average of thermal from start of circling until “now”
• GAIN: Altitude gain from start of circling until “now”

To access TA setup, press enter on this page.

Auto TA: It is possible to enable automatic switch to thermal assistant from any other page when circling is detected.

Max. beep: Position of max thermal (white dot) can be reported as a beep. If thermal beep is enabled, LX Eos will generate beep always when you are at position of maximum climb (white dot).

Beep offset: Maximum thermal is announced with beep sound if max beep is enabled. Set beep offset in second here. Beep will be generated before you reach maximum thermal.

The graphic display is divided into 2 or 3 circles (depends on zoom setting). Last circle represents zoom distance. The white glider symbol is always positioned in the middle of the screen.

Near gliders are displayed as yellow. All gliders located in radio range will be shown simultaneously on the display.

ADSB object detected will be shown as green triangle pointing to its tracking direction.

Non–directional objects are represented as red circle, which represents relative distance from plane.

Current zoom is displayed in the top part of the largest circle. Relative altitude and current vario of a selected Flarm object is shown in yellow, next to the object itself.

The graphic display orientation is always track up. To improve orientation, N, E, W and S are added to the display.

Note! Gliders presented as a dot on the screen, are gliders where pilots have intentionally activated the PRIVACY mode on their Flarm unit. Gliders in privacy mode send limited data strings and can’t be visualized completely. However, all warnings will appear regardless of privacy mode.

To access Flarm radar option, press enter on this page.

Flarm Select

To select new Flarm object, press enter on Flarm radar page and use “Select” option. Yellow opaque circle will be visible around the selected Flarm object, indicating that you are in selection mode. Use rotary switch to select new one. Pressing enter will finish select option and Flarm radar will be active again.

Flarm Warning

When Flarm warning is detected, Eos will show Flarm warning page with direction, above/bellow indicator and numerical information for distance and relative altitude.

Flarm warning setting:
• enabled, this page will override any Eos menu / page
• disabled, then this page will be seen only on Flarm radar page

In order to use this page to its maximum extent, the user should first import turnpoint, and airfield files. For more information on this subject, please refer to Setup/SD Card/Load TP. If LX Eos 80 is used in LX Zeus configuration, TP database selected under TP/Task/Eos list on LX Zeus is automatically transferred (unlimited number of TP’s). TP is displayed as a white dot with a ”W“ written inside (Waypoint). Navigation is always ”track up“.

On the top of this page the name of the selected turnpoint is written. On the right side of the screen, next to the IAS bar, Final glide (FG), Bearing (BG), Track (TRK) and Distance (DIST) to the selected point are written.

Below the plane icon, a steering symbol will inform the pilot for how many degrees (°) does he need to correct his track in order to fly towards the selected turnpoint.

In the left part of the screen, standard wind information can be read. The Arrow shows the winds course in regards to the glider, the degrees it’s direction from the North and the speed is shown below.

Pressing the enter button whilst on TP page will open a TP settings menu. This menu can be used for setting the Zoom level, as well as selecting the desired point.

The desired point can be chosen either by scrolling to it, or by using a filter. Three different filters are available for narrowing down your search: Name, Code and Distance. After confirming the desired filter, a filtered list will appear.

These options are valid only when used without a Zeus. Otherwise, Zeus’ turnpoint selection shall be used. Selected point is saved after power reset.

In order to use this page to its maximum extent, the user should first import, airspace and airfield files. For more information on this subject, please refer to Setup/SD Card/Load TP. If LX Eos 80 is used in LX Zeus configuration, APT database selected under TP/Task/Eos list on LX Zeus is automatically (unlimited number of APT’s). TP is displayed as a white dot with a “W” written inside (Waypoint). Navigation is always “track up”.

On the top of this page the name of the selected turnpoint is written. On the right side of the screen, next to the IAS bar, Final glide (FG), Bearing (BG), Track (TRK) and Distance (DIST) to the selected point are written.

Below the plane icon, a steering symbol will inform the pilot for how many degrees (°) does he need to correct his track in order to fly towards the selected turnpoint.

In the left part of the screen, standard wind information can be read. The Arrow shows the winds course in regards to the glider, the degrees it’s direction from the North and the speed is shown below.

Pressing the enter button whilst on TP page will open a TP settings menu. This menu can be used for setting the Zoom level, as well as selecting the desired point.

The desired point can be chosen either by scrolling to it, or by using a filter. Three different filters are available for narrowing down your search: Name, Code and Distance. After confirming the desired filter, a filtered list will appear.

These options are valid only when used without a Zeus. Otherwise, Zeus’ turnpoint selection shall be used. Selected point is saved after power reset

This page should be used for navigational purposes, when flying tasks. There are two ways of entering a task. Either by selecting a .CUP file, which contains a task inside, or by creating it by hand. Or more information on how to import TPs please refer to section Setup/SD Card/Load TP. Navigated task TP is displayed as observation zone and a white line from zone to plane is showing direction in which the pilot should fly. White line from center of observation zone will show next leg of task. Navigation is always “track up”.

On the top of this page pilot can find the name of navigated TP. Under the name, final glide to the end of the task is displayed. Navboxes show final glide (FG), bearing (BRG), track (TRK) and distance (DIST) to the navigated point. Under the plane, steering symbol information will give pilot information for how many degrees (°) does he need to correct his track to fly directly to the point.

Configuration with LX Joy: When LX Joy is connected to LX Eos 80 in standalone configuration, up/down keys will change zoom settings on TSK page and left/right will sweep between pages. Pushing the center button will act as Enter and open TSK Setup.

Pressing enter, “TSK SETUP” is activated where a task can be created or edited. Additional TP’s can be added, removed, zones changed etc.

Additional options will be offered to the pilot only in standalone configuration or in backup mode. In LX Zeus configuration, TSK TP options can be set on LX Zeus, and LX Eos 80 will receive task information from the Zeus.

Additional options:
• Go to: Navigate to that point on task
• Select turnpoint
• Select airport
• Insert turnpoint
• Insert airport
• Edit zone
• Delete

On the ground (flight recorder is not running) logbook can be accessed by pressing enter on logbook page. Pilot can copy take–off / landing time to personal logbook and transfer flight to external SD card for OLC upload.

Last 50 flights are listed. Any older flights will be erased from logbook list. Press enter on selected flight to open flight info, where “copy” option is available to transfer flight to external SD card.

Flight is copied to external SD card to LX/FLIGHT folder After flight has been transferred, “Copy OK” is displayed. Press enter to continue.

In LX Zeus configuration, flight can be downloaded from LX Zeus logbook page to LX Zeus USB key

During flight, statistic of the flight is shown on statistic page. Take–off and duration time are displayed on top with barographic altitude for the last hour.
Pressing enter on this page, will offer the pilot an option, to end flight immediately on demand.

If “Yes” option is selected, message “Calculating security” will be visible. Selecting “No” will do nothing and statistic page will be visible again.

After pilot has landed, flight recorder will start 5 min countdown, before flight will be automatically finished. This page will be shown automatically after 10 second of countdown to alert pilot that flight will end after 5 min. Pilot can wait until countdown or press enter to end flight immediately.