Garmin has confirmed to ANN that it has received FAA Approved
Model List Supplemental Type Certification with an Approved Model
List (AML STC) for the G600, a revolutionary new avionics suite
designed for the retrofit and forward fit avionics market. 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.
Garmin’s G600 incorporates two individual displays –
a PFD and MFD – in a customized package designed for 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.
“Some of the biggest benefits of the G600 are very
difficult to describe with traditional marketing specs,” said
Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing.
“Once a pilot sits in a G600 equipped aircraft, they’ll
be amazed at the situational awareness that comes from having the
PFD and MFD directly in front of the left seat. The G600 is the
first time pilots have such a large MFD available in their primary
field of view.”
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 system is
certified to interface with most general aviation autopilots acting
as a navigation source selector and providing GPS horizontal
steering data enabling the autopilot to fly arcs, procedure turns,
and holding patterns. Additional features like altitude
pre-selector and flight director are available in a select number
of autopilots.
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. SafeTaxi provides pilots with
detailed diagrams of over 850 airports so they can navigate
unfamiliar taxiways with ease. This feature identifies runways,
taxiways, and structures, and are geo-referenced to the
aircraft’s exact position on the field. 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.