System Offers Features Normally Found On Turbines And
BizJets
Garmin has taken the wraps off its new Garmin G2000, a premium
touchscreen-controlled integrated flight deck designed for high
performance piston aircraft. With this advanced system, pilots will
have many of the same advantages found on systems like the Garmin
G3000, which is designed for Part 23 turbine aircraft, or the
Garmin G5000 that is being designed for the crew-flown business jet
market. The system was unveiled Monday aboard
Cessna's new Corvalis TTX in Tampa, FL.
“Pilots of high performance piston aircraft value speed
and capability, and we’ve designed the G2000 to meet their
needs,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of
marketing. “This new integrated flight deck gives pilots
rapid and intuitive access to vast amounts of flight, system, and
sensor information, and also gives the pilot the ability to tailor
how that information is presented. The G2000 will provide a premium
option for high performance piston aircraft and is an excellent
complement to our G1000 integrated flight deck.”
The G2000 is designed to allow pilots to tailor the information
presented to them. It features WXGA high resolution, wide aspect
ratio displays (12-inch or 14-inch diagonal). The landscape
oriented MFD has multi-pane display capability that allows multiple
pages to be viewed side-by-side on the screen. Therefore, pilots
can simultaneously view maps, charts, aircraft systems synoptics,
TAWS, traffic systems, flight planning, datalink weather, on-board
video and more.
As with the G3000 and G5000, the G2000 utilizes the GTC 570
vehicle management system, a 5.7-inch diagonal touchscreen
controller that uses a desktop-like menu interface with intuitive
icons. The GTC 570 allows for full control for radio management,
audio management, flight management, weather systems management,
synoptics, and other vehicle systems. The touchscreen also enhances
ease of use through common sense functions like “back”
and “home” that let pilots quickly retrace their steps
or return to the home screen. The GTC 570 vehicle management system
uses patent pending, infrared touchscreen technology, audio and
visual feedback, and animation to help pilots know exactly how the
system is responding to their input.
The GTC 570 also incorporates three conventional knobs at the
bottom of the display: a volume control knob, joystick knob and
dual concentric knob for data entry. Pilots may choose to use the
knobs instead of the touchscreen to enter information.
The G2000 has a digital, dual channel, fail passive auto flight
system. The autopilot includes features such as coupled wide area
augmentation system (WAAS) approaches, vertical navigation, and
flight level change (FLC). The G2000 also offers a multitude of
standard and optional features including Garmin’s Electronic
Stability and Protection (Garmin ESP), 3D audio, global
connectivity and weather through Garmin’s GSR 56 Iridium
transceiver, and many new systems integration capabilities.
Garmin’s SVT is also available and presents near life-like
3D depictions of terrain, obstacles, traffic and the runway
environment so that the image on the display replicates what pilots
would see outside the cockpit on a clear day. SVT works seamlessly
to alert pilots of potential ground hazards by displaying terrain
and obstacles which pose a threat to the aircraft with appropriate
TAWS alert coloring, as well as voice alerts. SVT also includes
pathways (or Highway-In-The-Sky) that are depicted as 3D
“flying rectangles” and help pilots stay on course when
flying en route legs, VNAV legs, GPS/WAAS vertical approach
procedures, ILS approach procedures, and arrival and departure
procedures.
The G2000 avionics suite has the capability to incorporate
synoptics (graphical systems displays), Garmin’s SafeTaxi,
and electronic charts like FliteCharts and ChartView, which
simplify operation, enhance situational awareness, and increase
safety during flight and when taxiing. Garmin SafeTaxi includes
over 950 U.S. airports and helps pilots navigate unfamiliar
airports while taxiing by identifying runways, taxiways, runway
incursion hotspots, and hangars, as well as the aircraft’s
exact location on the field. Garmin FliteCharts is an electronic
version of the AeroNav Charts (formerly known as the NACO U.S.
Terminal Procedures Publication) and lets pilots quickly find and
view Departure Procedures (DP), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes
(STARs), approach charts, and airport diagrams on the MFD. Garmin
ChartView is an electronic version of Jeppesen’s extensive
library of charts and airport diagrams are displayed directly on
the G2000’s MFD.
Garmin expects to receive certification of the G2000 in 2011,
and it is currently planned to be offered directly from aircraft
manufacturers on new aircraft models.