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Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., recently unveiled several new products for different aircraft types.
GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigators
Garmin has announced the addition of new capabilities and enhancements for the popular GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigators. New GTN features include visual approach guidance, control and display of the GTX 3000 transponder and GTS 8000 traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS II)/airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS II), as well as lateral navigation with advisory vertical guidance (LNAV+V) approaches without space-based augmentation system (SBAS) service.
These new capabilities are enabled by a free1 software update, bringing even more feature enhancements to new and existing GTN 650/750 navigators.
“We continue to expand the utility of the GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigators by bringing advanced FMS functionality, like visual approaches, to further benefit the pilot,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin vice-president of aviation sales and marketing. “In addition to an expanded feature set within the GTN, we’re providing business aircraft with a better, more economical path to ADS-B compliance, WAAS [wide area augmentation system]/LPV [localizer performance with vertical guidance]/FMS [flight management system] capability, along with a feature-rich MFD. As we continue to serve business and general aviation, the GTN 650/750prove to be the go-to solution across all segments.”
Garmin brings home theatre sound quality to the cockpit with GMA 345/342
Garmin has introduced its new GMA 345 and GMA 342 all-digital audio panels designed for fixed-wing aircraft. The GMA 345 features Bluetooth audio connectivity and a front-mounted USB charging port, while the GMA 342 contains a dedicated 3.5-millimetre audio jack that allows pilots to connect a mobile device directly to the audio panel. These new panel-mount audio panels contain state-of-the-art sound quality and an impressive list of additional features, such as advanced auto squelch, music bass boost, advanced equalizer settings, 3D audio processing and more, while also retaining a consistent user interface with the GMA 340.
Contributing to an easy upgrade path, the GMA 345/342 are also pin-and-rack compatible1 and slide-in replaceable with the GMA 340 and select third-party audio panels, so it’s easy to incorporate modern audio panel technology and superior sound quality at a fraction of the price.
“With the GMA 345 and GMA 342, we’re excited to bring home theater sound quality, paired with 3D audio, advanced auto squelch, connectivity with mobile devices and more to one of the most economical audio panels on the market,” said Wolf. “In addition to exclusive inflight audio, we’ve made the upgrade path seamless, allowing thousands of aircraft owners to easily upgrade and experience the workload-reducing benefits associated with a contemporary audio panel at an attractive price.”
G3X Touch display for experimental aircraft
Garmin also introduced a new addition to the G3X Touch glass flight display family, the seven-inch G3X Touch portrait display. For first generation G3X customers, the new seven-inch portrait display offers an easy upgrade path as the existing footprint is easily adaptable to the new display and includes all of the same features as the popular G3X Touch 10.6-inch and seven-inch landscape displays.
Additionally, the new GMU 11 magnetometer allows for more flexible and cost-effective installation options for experimental amateur-built (EAB) and light sport aircraft (LSA).
“TeamX, our dedicated team of passionate pilots and home builders continue to bring more aircraft panel options and modern flight display solutions, along with economical pricing packages that suit every panel and budget,” said Wolf. “We continue to serve the experimental amateur-built market in a superior way by providing flexible display configurations alongside an advanced feature set, offering our loyal customers what they have been asking for–and more.”
G5 Electronic flight instrument
Garmin has received approval of the G5 electronic flight instrument for installation as a replacement directional gyro (DG) or horizontal situation indicator (HSI) in type-certificated fixed-wing general aviation aircraft. When paired with select VHF NAV/COMMs or GPS navigators, the G5 can be considered primary for displaying magnetic heading, VOR/LOC guidance and/or GPS course guidance, as well as distance and groundspeed.
The installation of dual G5 electronic flight instruments can also eliminate the dependency on a failure-prone vacuum system in aircraft for attitude and heading information. Installation approval is accomplished via supplemental type certificate (STC) with a comprehensive approved model list (AML) containing 600+ individual aircraft models, which is representative of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) commitment to encourage and authorize specific enhancements to aircraft to improve safety among the existing general aviation fleet.
“Furthering our commitment to bring affordable, safety-enhancing and certified solutions to general aviation, the G5 electronic flight instrument that was initially developed for experimental aircraft, may now be used to replace a DG or HSI in certificated aircraft and represents another industry-first by Garmin,” concluded Wolf. “Thousands of G5’s have been fielded since its introduction into the certificated aircraft market last year, which shows that aircraft owners are eager to incorporate these safety-minded products into the cockpit.
“Thanks to the FAA’s initiative to encourage and permit cost-effective safety enhancements to the general aviation fleet, our valued customers can continue to further benefit from the redundancy and dependability associated with modern electronic flight instrumentation.”
