GTS 8000 TCAS II/ACAS II Unveiled At NBAA

Garmin has unveiled the GTS 8000 Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II)/Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS II) for transport category aircraft. The GTS 8000 improves safety by maintaining constant surveillance, identifying potential traffic conflicts and issuing traffic alerts and maneuver commands to clear the aircraft of traffic conflicts. The GTS 8000 meets the most recent TCAS II/ACAS II standardization requirements, including Change 7.1 compliance, which will be mandated in many countries worldwide as early as 2014.

“With air traffic expected to continue increasing at a rapid pace, pilots want to be sure they have the best equipment onboard to enhance safety and efficiency of their operations,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “The GTS 8000 provides pilots with that extra set of eyes to monitor surrounding traffic and the ability to offer commands to avoid immediate conflicts. The GTS 8000 also incorporates ADS-B “In” technology, all the while offering the size, weight and cost of ownership benefits that pilots have come to expect from Garmin products.”

Traffic information from the GTS 8000 can be displayed on Garmin’s G5000, G3000, and G1000 integrated flight decks, as well as a wide variety of cockpit displays. Additional traffic symbology can be displayed on Garmin Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT)-equipped PFDs. When the GTS 8000 receives replies to its interrogations, it computes the responding aircraft’s range, bearing, relative altitude, and closure rate. Then, it enhances its surveillance capability with data received from ADSB Out equipped targets, plots and tracks the traffic location, predicts potential traffic conflicts, and depicts the information on the traffic display. The GTS 8000 will also offer the pilot visual and aural instructions to avoid an immediate conflict, with an alert known as a Resolution Advisory (RA). For example, the advisory may command a change in vertical speed by instructing the pilot to "Descend” or “Climb”. The GTS 8000 will coordinate the RA maneuver with other TCAS II-equipped aircraft before issuing commands to the pilots.

Included with the system is Garmin’s patented CLEAR CAS (Correlated Location Enhanced ADS-B Receiver Collision Avoidance System) technology, which provides pilots with the highest bearing determination accuracy and extended range surveillance available. CLEAR CAS uses a blended surveillance method of active interrogation and passive reception of 1090 MHz Extended Squitter ADS-B data. CLEAR CAS allows the TCAS traffic computer to further reduce active interrogations by using intruder position data received via ADS-B equipped aircraft.

In the future, software-only upgrades can be incorporated to add Airborne Separation Assurance System (ASAS) applications such as Surface Area Movement Management (SAMM), Merging and Spacing, CDTI Assisted Visual Separation (CAVS) and more. In addition to CLEAR CAS technology, the GTS 8000 offers weight savings above and beyond existing products on the market. The GTS 8000 has received Technical Standard Orders (TSO) certification. It will be standard equipment on several new aircraft platforms including the Cessna Citation TEN, Citation Latitude, Citation Longitude and Citation Sovereign, the Bombardier Learjet 70 and Learjet 75, as well as future forward fit and upgrade programs.

FMI: www.garmin.com