By Bill Goldston

July 31, 2009 Garmin the global leader in satellite navigation, announced it just received FAA Approved Model List Supplemental Type Certification (AML STC) for the G500, a new avionics suite announced earlier this week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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 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 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.

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.

Piper Aircraft also announced that it will add the Garmin G600 glass avionics suite to its primary trainers, its twin-engine aircraft and the newly revamped Piper Archer that will come to market next year.

The G600 will be offered as optional equipment on the Seneca V – the company’s flagship twin-engine aircraft – as well as on the single-engine Piper Warrior and twin-engine Piper Seminole, both of which are primarily built as trainers for flight schools.  The G600 and STEC-55X autopilot will be standard equipment on the reintroduced Piper Archer. 

Diamond Aircraft also announced will install the factory-equipped glass cockpit solution for the DA20-C1, Diamond's popular two-seat trainer.

“We're very excited to be able to offer an .. all glass cockpit in a certified airplane. For years we have been wanting to go glass in the DA20, but the price point of certified systems has not made this possible.. ,”  said Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft. “The DA20 is a best seller, with over a thousand units delivered and flown by leading flight training organizations worldwide, including the US Air Force. With the Garmin G500 equipped DA20 joining the G1000 equipped DA40 and DA42, Diamond offers cockpit commonality across our complete line of piston airplanes. The attributes that make the DA20 a great trainer, combined with its crisp handling, superior performance, economy and now the convenience of a Garmin glass cockpit with Synthetic Vision Technology, make it a superb sport plane, for both novice pilots and experienced pros.”