During the heady days of Oshkosh 2008, Garmin confirmed to ANN
that it had received FAA Approved Model List Supplemental Type
Certification with an Approved Model List (AML STC) for the G600.
The FAA’s approval allows the G600 to be installed in 785
different makes and models of normal and utility category aircraft,
including twin combustion engine and turbo-prop engine aircraft
with a certification weight up to 12,500 lbs.
This is good news for those of us with airplanes that we'd kinda
like to keep... but still want to take advantage of the glass panel
revolution -- and without mortgaging our houses to do so.
Garmin’s G600 incorporates two individual displays –
a PFD and MFD – in a customized package designed for an easy
retrofit installation. The G600 combines primary flight data
including attitude and air data with navigation, weather, terrain
and traffic data displayed in an intuitive pictorial format on dual
LCD displays. This large, user-friendly presentation allows pilots
to quickly and efficiently scan the data so that they can stay
ahead of the aircraft during all phases of flight.
The G600 is designed to integrate with Garmin’s panel
mount WAAS GPS products. It replaces traditional mechanical
gyroscopic flight instruments with Garmin’s solid state
Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) that has superior
reliability and accuracy, and features rapid alignment while
moving, including in-flight dynamic restarts. The PFD display
increases the pilot’s attitude indication by over 50 percent
over a traditional 3-inch attitude indicator.
The G600’s size (10”w x 6.7”h) allows for easy
installation into the existing instrument panel in most aircraft.
The system is designed to take the space that is currently occupied
by the basic “T” or six-pack of instruments (attitude,
airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, turn coordinator and
directional gyro). The MFD provides pilots with a clear, concise
picture of where they are relative to terrain, airspace, weather,
and traffic. Garmin’s popular SafeTaxi® is a standard
feature displayed on the MFD. Garmin FliteCharts® is also
standard and it allows pilots to quickly find and view all NACO
Departure Procedures (DP), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes
(STARs), approach charts, and airport diagrams on the MFD. Pilots
may also select the optional ChartView, an electronic version of
Jeppesen’s extensive library of charts and airport
diagrams.
Datalink weather is also available as an option via XM WX
Satellite Weather™ (U.S. only) through Garmin’s
GDL® 69 or GDL 69A. Graphical weather depictions of NEXRAD,
METARs, TAFs, TFRs, winds aloft, echo tops, precipitation type at
the surface, lightning strikes, storm-cell data, AIRMETs, and
SIGMETs can be received and displayed on the G600 so that pilots
can make informed navigation decisions. The weather data may be
overlaid on map databases. The G600 also provides a user interface
for the more than 170 channels of XM audio.
The G600 is available now at a suggested retail price of
$29,995. It includes the GDU 620 display/control unit, GRS 77 AHRS,
GDC 74A digital air data computer, GMU 44 tri-axial magnetometer,
GTP 59 temp probe, and the required leveling brackets.