OLATHE, Kan., 10 Aug. 2009 Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), announced today that it received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Approved Model List Supplemental Type Certification (AML STC) for the G500, a new avionics suite. The FAA's approval allows the G500 to be installed in nearly 600 different makes and models of normal and utility category Part 23 Class I and Class II aircraft, which are defined as single and twin-engine piston and turbine engine aircraft under 6,000 pounds.
Garmin's G500 displays critical flight data in a digital format on dual LCD displays, and allows pilots to quickly and efficiently scan the data so that they can stay ahead of the aircraft during all phases of flight. It incorporates two individual avionics displays– a PFD and MFD – in a customized package designed to take the space that is currently occupied by the instrument six-pack (attitude, airspeed, altitude, vertical rate, turn coordinator, and directional gyro). The G500 integrates with Garmin's panel mount WAAS GPS products, and replaces traditional mechanical gyroscopic flight instruments with Garmin's solid state Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) that features rapid alignment while moving, including in-flight dynamic restarts. The PFD display increases the pilot's attitude indication by more than 50 percent over a traditional 3-inch attitude indicator, company officials say.
A scaled version of Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) software and the new GAD 43 autopilot interface are available as options for the G500. With SVT, pilots will see a 3D depiction of terrain, obstacles, and traffic on the PFD so that the avionics panel replicates what pilots would see outside the cockpit on a clear day. The GAD 43 adapter is an autopilot interface that allows the AHRS to provide attitude information to the autopilot in place of a gyro-mechanical attitude director indicator (ADI) or remote vertical gyro (VG). The G500 provides course deviation, vertical deviation, heading bug, course pointer and ARINC 429 GPS roll steering information to the autopilot, as appropriate.
The G500 is available now at an introductory suggested retail price of $15,995. It includes the GDU 620 display/control unit, GRS 77 AHRS, GDC 74A digital air data computer, GMU 44 tri-axial magnetometer, and GTP 59 temp probe. The optional SVT and GAD 43 are available for $4995 and $2995, respectively.
