NEW PRODUCTS FROM GARMIN

Garmin certifies the GFC 600 digital autopilot in select Pilatus PC-12 aircraft

Garmin has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for the GFC™ 600 digital autopilot in select Pilatus PC-12/41 and PC12/45 aircraft. The GFC 600 digital autopilot is optimised to meet the demands of turbine aircraft, delivering superior inflight characteristics and operational capabilities such as Vertical Navigation (VNAV), automatic Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) switching when paired with a GTN™ Series navigator, enhanced go-around capability and much more.

The GFC 600 certification for the PC-12 boasts superior integration with a TXi™ flight display configured as a primary flight display (PFD) to provide owners and operators an advanced autopilot solution that considers the wide range of speed and performance characteristics of these turbine aircraft. Further, the GFC 600 incorporates solid-state attitude with robust self-monitoring capabilities to provide superior autopilot performance, greater reliability and renowned safety benefits.

Environmentally hardened autopilot servos designed for harsh operating conditions contain brushless DC motors offering improved performance and reducing maintenance requirements when compared to decades-old servo designs on the market today. Standard mark-width (6.25-inch) design of the GFC 600 mode controller ensures the autopilot controller allows for routine installation into the aircraft’s avionics stack.

Going beyond traditional autopilot capabilities such as altitude hold, vertical speed and heading modes, the GFC 600 also includes altitude preselect, VNAV1, Level Mode with the LVL button, underspeed and overspeed protection and more. Pilots can also select, couple and fly various instrument approaches, including GPS, ILS, VOR, LOC and back course approaches when paired with a compatible GPS navigator2.

Additional benefits of the GFC 600 digital autopilot for turbine aircraft include:

• Premium functions and advanced capabilities such as altitude pre-select on a TXi

flight display configured as a PFD and indicated airspeed hold mode

• Built-in GPS roll steering capability eliminates the need for external roll steering converters, allowing for smoother navigation tracking when installed with a compatible navigator

• Yaw Damping (YD) mode minimises yawing oscillations while also helping to maintain coordinated flight

• Flight Director command bars displayed on a TXi flight display configured as a primary flight display (PFD)

• Coupled ‘go-arounds’ during missed approach sequencing with a remotely installed go-around button that commands the Flight Director to display the appropriate pitch attitude required for the missed approach procedure and activates a loaded missed approach when paired with a GTN 650/750 or GTN 650Xi/750Xi navigator • Control wheel steering allows the pilot to adjust pitch, roll, altitude hold, vertical speed or airspeed references using the control yoke while the autopilot is engaged.

As a standard feature, pilots receive an additional safety tool in Garmin Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP™) with the GFC 600 digital autopilot, which works to assist the pilot in maintaining the aircraft in a stable flight condition. ESP functions independently of the autopilot and works in the background to help pilots avoid inadvertent flight attitudes or bank angles and provides airspeed protection while the pilot is hand-flying the aircraft.

The GFC 600 digital autopilot for the Pilatus PC-12/41 and PC-12/45 aircraft requires a TXi flight display configured as a PFD with the TXi 3.20 software update and is available immediately through select Garmin authorised dealers.To view the most up-to-date aircraft STC list, to view certifications that are expected to begin in the next 12-months.

Garmin GFC 600H flight control system certification for Bell 505 helicopters

Garmin announced that the GFC™ 600H flight control system has received Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for installation on the Bell 505 helicopter, providing a costeffective flight control solution that reduces pilot workload and improves mission effectiveness.

The GFC 600H provides a number of helicopter-tailored safety features, including attitude hold with speed stability, the innovative hover assist mode, Garmin Helicopter Electronic Stability and Protection (H-ESP™), dedicated return-to-level (LVL) mode, as well as overspeed and lowspeed protection and more.

“The Garmin autopilot provides a significant pilot workload reduction during every phase of flight, including hover,” said Yann Lavalee, Bell’s senior test pilot. “Not only does the autopilot fly the helicopter smoothly, it also includes advanced safety features like automatic altitude levelling airspeed and low G protection. The GFC 600H integration with the advanced G1000H and G1000H NXi avionics system offers ease of operation and precise navigation.”

The GFC 600H features a console-mounted mode controller with push-button controls and a night vision goggle (NVG) compatible display. Its robust architecture allows for both two-axis and three-axis configurations to provide the features and handling characteristics needed for a helicopter. Integrated smart servos provide pitch and roll inputs as commanded by the system, whilst the collective sensor and the optionally available third servo provide yaw axis control capability, including a new yaw trim feature, to provide smooth flight control adjustments when the pilot moves the collective. Digitally controlled, high-performance servos allow for faster, crisper, more powerful response, which enables the GFC 600H to perform with smooth efficiency and advanced capability.

Thanks to the innovative hover assist mode, the system can also automatically detect a hover condition and allow for flight control inputs to help maintain position over the ground. In addition, when equipped with the optional yaw axis control, the GFC 600H can hold heading in hover. With the GFC 600H, aircraft navigation works in conjunction with the G1000H® or G1000H NXi integrated flight deck and uses navigation information to automatically fly approaches, provide enroute navigation guidance, fully coupled missed approach procedures including holds, as well as search and rescue patterns.

The advanced AHRS technology and redundant, cross-checking sensors of the GFC 600H support smooth handling throughout the flight envelope. Further, attitude-hold mode reduces pilot workload by maintaining a specified altitude, while also providing inputs to help stabilise the helicopter when hand flying. Designed with the pilot in mind, the GFC 600H incorporates cyclic-mounted trim controls and new yaw trim controls on the collective to allow for seamless control of the system without taking a hand off the flight controls during basic operations. Additional modes include altitude hold, altitude select, vertical speed, indicated airspeed and heading select.

The GFC 600H offers tremendous safety tools including overspeed protection and low-speed protection as well as Garmin H-ESP to help the pilot remain within a safe flight envelope when hand-flying the helicopter. H-ESP works in all modes, even when the system is not engaged and can be manually disabled to allow for manoeuvring flight. A dedicated LVL button is included on the GFC 600H and can be engaged by the pilot to return to straightand-level flight, helping to avoid potential disorientation in degraded visual environments (DVE), such as inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC).

With a speed of 125 knots (232 kilometres per hour) and a useful load of 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms), the Bell 505 is designed with safety in mind to help make flying easier while providing unmatched value to the operators.The GFC 600H will be available as the preferred factory-installed option in new Bell 505 helicopters.The GFC 600H for the Bell 505 is also expected to be available in August as a retrofit through authorised Garmin dealers. The Bell 505 joins the AS 350 BA, B2, B3 and B3E in Garmin’s collection of available retrofit helicopter flight control systems.

Garmin GI 275

In the week before AirVenture, Garmin announced an update to the GI 275 engine indication system (EIS) that includes enhanced display layouts that optimise display space and show more engine data on a single page, ultimately helping pilots quickly view essential engine, fuel and electrical data. In addition, improved graphical information and gauges are used to help pilots dynamically visualise sensor data and accurately assess the aircraft’s engine performance.

As an alternative to the dual-concentric knob, the intuitive touchscreen user interface now features page shortcuts that allow the pilot to switch pages with just a single touch of the display.

Other enhancements include a new Flight Summary Page, Engine Percent Power display, EIS page shortcuts, user customisable EIS fields and more. This update, combined with the ability to use wireless engine data logging to help protect and optimise their engine investment makes the GI 275 EIS the perfect cost-effective and modern EIS upgrade for piston powered aircraft owners. Improved EIS page layouts and capabilities A new bar graph on the Main EIS Page displays exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and cylinder head temperature (CHT) for individual cylinders. For quicker and easier interpretation of engine data, font sizes of select EIS values have been increased.

In addition, a new combined EGT/CHT page brings these indications into a single page for simplified monitoring. Other new features include Normalized Mode and turbine inlet temperature (TIT) Lean functionality for appropriately equipped aircraft, improved fuel tank bar gauges and the ability to display Engine Percent Power at the top of the screen1. New Flight Summary Page A New Flight Summary Page contains aircraft timers, maximum RPM and temperature limitations for the engine, as well as fuel and lean data that is dynamically updated throughout the flight for real-time analysis in the air, along with a comprehensive post-flight review of engine data on the ground. EIS Page shortcuts and customisable fields shortcuts have been added with increased touch functionality to enable pilots to quickly access more detail about specific EIS data. With a single touch of the EGT/ CHT indications on the main page, the GI 275 EIS quickly switches to the dedicated EGT/ CHT page. To access fuel calculations more easily, pilots can touch the fuel gauge from the main page to switch to the fuel computer page.

In addition, pilots can touch the RPM area on any page to return to the main page. Pilots also now can customise the AUX Page EIS fields relevant to their flight with user selectable buttons accessed via the touch screen. Wireless EIS Data Logging and Streaming Pilots can stream and view EIS data in real-time on the Garmin Pilot™ App, with the data later uploaded automatically to flyGarmin.com for storage and further review. This seamless integration allows owners and operators to get the most out of their aircraft and engine investment by easily reviewing real-time and historical engine data performance at any time.

Lightweight and compact, the GI 275 EIS is a reliable, modern and feature-packed engine indication solution intentionally designed to take advantage of the common 3.125-inch flight instrument size, reducing installation time and preserving the existing aircraft panel. In addition, its vibrant, high-resolution touchscreen display and wide viewing angle offers superior readability in the cockpit. These new GI 275 EIS capabilities are expected to be available in August 2021 via a software update. For full installation details and to purchase the GI 275 EIS, contact a Garmin Authorized Dealer. The GI 275 also comes with a twoyear warranty and is supported by Garmin’s award-winning aviation support team, which provides 24/7 worldwide technical and warranty support.

Garmin Pilot app adds new terminal environment NOTAM alerts

Garmin has recently announced the addition of new features to the Garmin Pilot™ app on iPad® or iPhone® mobile devices. These new enhancements to Garmin Pilot include graphical depiction of runway and airport closures on the dynamic map. Alerts for terminal environment NOTAMs have been added throughout the Garmin Pilot app to enable pilots to view any pertinent NOTAMs. Especially beneficial to pilots flying in Europe, this update also adds the display of airspaces using the ICAO defined classification colours. Graphical runway and airport closure NOTAMs Expanding on the graphical airspace, obstacle and NAVAID NOTAMs feature, Garmin Pilot 10.5 now displays runway closure NOTAMs as an overlay on the dynamic map or SafeTaxi diagram, in full or split-screen mode. Runway closure NOTAMs are colour-coded for easy identification and interpretation. Closed runways are depicted in red with a yellow ‘X’ at each end. An orange runway with a yellow clock depicted at each end indicates the runway is closed, with conditions that require investigation, such as the time or date of the closure. Finally, a yellow runway indicates an upcoming closure. In addition to runway closures, airport closures are also displayed on the dynamic map.

Enhanced Terminal NOTAM alerting Terminal NOTAMs are displayed throughout Garmin Pilot, including the airport page, procedures and airport diagrams as well as integrated within the flight planning process. When viewing a closed airport, or an airport with a closed runway, a new colour-coded warning banner will be displayed across the top of the airport page to alert pilots. On procedures and airport diagrams, applicable NOTAMs can be easily accessed via the Warning button in the bottom-right corner along with a colour-coded badge to reflect the number of issued NOTAMs. The Warnings tab on the flight plan form allows pilots to access relevant terminal NOTAMs for the departure and destination airport when creating a flight plan. The Procedure Selector will also display runway closure badges on the applicable instrument procedures. ICAO Airspace classification colours Garmin Pilot users in Europe will notice the new ICAO airspace classification colours on the dynamic map.The airspace colours are in alignment with ICAO standards and popular in country charts, such as DFS or IGN.

ICAO airspace colours are automatically enabled for users with a Garmin Pilot Europe Standard license. Additional enhancements the recent Garmin Pilot update adds additional enhancements, including:

• Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF) and Model Output Statistics (MOS) are now displayed as colour coded overlays on the dynamic map or aeronautical chart • Embedded annotations within PDFs can now be viewed on the document viewer • Text annotations and undo/redo capability are now available when using the scratch pad or annotating charts / documents.

The newest release of Garmin Pilot on iOS® mobile devices, version 10.5, is available immediately. For new customers, Garmin Pilot is available in the Apple App Store as a free download for the first 30 days. After the 30-day trial period, customers may purchase an annual subscription of Garmin Pilot starting at $79.99. Garmin Pilot is supported by Garmin’s award-winning aviation support team, which provides 24/7 worldwide technical and warranty support.

Garmin announces TXi engine indication system for twin turboprop aircraft

The aircraft include the Cessna 425, the King Air 90 series and select Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop-powered Piper Cheyenne variants.Twin turbine aircraft owners and operators will benefit from TXi EIS with features such as engine timers, exceedance recordings, dynamic engine indications, as well as wireless data logging that combine to reduce pilot workload, improve engine efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. Other TXi EIS enhancements include dynamic markings for multi-engine piston aircraft, electronic ignition support for Lycoming and Continental engines and more.

Twin-Turbine EIS

Owners and operators of these aircraft can now view EIS information on a dedicated seven-inch TXi flight display in portrait mode and replace aging round dial EIS gauges with a modernised display to read engine information and simplify the cockpit more clearly. These twin turbine owners and operators can also benefit from an outside air temperature (OAT) indication that can be set to alert the pilot at thresholds determined by the pilot operating handbook (POH) and actions such as turning on pitot heat can clear the alert from the display. These new enhancements and capabilities are available to Cessna 425 aircraft, King Air 90 series aircraft with both factory-equipped and retrofit Blackhawk engine upgrades, as well as Piper Cheyenne I and II variants.

Multi-engine dynamic EIS markings and fuel display enhancements New multi-engine dynamic EIS markings clearly illustrate specific phase of flight limitations so pilots can more easily interpret engine data at-a-glance1. Additional improvements allow for easier entry of fuel onboard during initialisation at start-up and the ability to display total fuel onboard to reference the amount of fuel available more easily. To make fuel calculations simpler and more accurate, pilots now also can sync fuel quantity with an onboard fuel computer.

Additional new capabilities:

There are several new updates for primary flight display (PFD) and piston powered EIS versions of TXi that include:

• Enhanced autopilot indications for Garmin GFC 500, GFC 600 and Avidyne DFC 90 autopilot installations include indicated airspeed (IAS) and vertical speed (VS) bugs that show solid when activated and hollow when inactive

• TXi PFD installations with a seven-inch landscape display have a new down arrow and dashed line that will now point out the direction of the heading bug when selected to a heading out of view on the HSI, an enhancement to help with situational awareness and help prevent autopilots from changing directions in a 180-degree turn

• Eletroair electronic ignition support is optionally provided for both Lycoming and Continental engines

• An optional aerobatic enablement is now supported for select aircraft with the GSU 75 and allows the primary flight display (PFD) to depict attitude information during aerobatic flight

• A new optional G-meter will indicate acceleration (G-force) that could be valuable during turbulence or aerobatic manoeuvres.

These new TXi EIS features for twin turboprop aircraft join the Cessna 208/208B, Daher TBM 700/850, and the Piper PA-46-310SP/350P JetPROP single-engine turboprop aircraft already certified and are available through the authorised Garmin dealer network. The TXi series also come with a two-year warranty, which is supported by Garmin’s awardwinning aviation support team.