Garmin Certifies the G1000 All-Glass Cockpit for the Diamond DA40

Talk about timing... as one of the last seminars of Friday's well-attended and organized DiamondFest event was getting underway, (about the G1000, no less) Garmin announced that they had received an STC from the FAA for the DA40 Diamond Star. Diamond Prez Peter Maurer immediately shared the news with several dozen DiamondFest attendees, including ANN's Jim Campbell. The STC authorizes Diamond Aircraft Company to begin delivering DA40s equipped with Garmin’s revolutionary G1000 integrated avionics system — the DA40’s premium avionics option.

“This STC marks another significant milestone in our partnership with Diamond Aircraft,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s director of marketing. “The G1000 enhances an innovative airframe that has an unmatched track record of safety, offering advanced situational awareness to the pilot and making the DA40 the first composite, single-engine piston aircraft to feature a fully integrated, all-glass cockpit.”

The G1000 system integrates all primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather, and Engine Instrumentation and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) data on two 10.4-inch, high-definition LCDs in the DA40 Diamond Star. These active-matrix displays feature XGA resolution (1,024x768-pixel count) and are capable of presenting data in brilliant, sunlight-readable color at wide viewing angles.

Additionally, the DA40 Diamond Star configuration offers:

• A digital audio control system
• Dual integrated avionics systems that provide WAAS-capable IFR GPS; VHF
  navigation with ILS; and VHF communication with 16-watt tranceivers and 8.33-kHz channel spacing
• Mode-S transponder with Traffic Information System
• Solid state Attitude Heading and Reference System (AHRS)
• Digital air data computer
• Weather and terrain data
• Interface to the Bendix/King KAP 140 2-axis Autopilot

The primary flight display (PFD) replaces many of the traditional cockpit instruments and digitally integrates flight information on a single, large-format display for easier interpretation by the pilot. The PFD interfaces with Garmin’s new Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS), which features rapid alignment while moving, including in-flight dynamic restarts.

The multifunction display (MFD) puts all aircraft-systems monitoring and flight-planning functions at the pilot’s fingertips. The MFD paints a composite view of the aircraft’s environment, providing the pilot with all necessary information to make safe decisions during every phase of flight. Engine performance and situational data such as location, terrain, traffic, weather and airport information are all digitally depicted and can be quickly interpreted at a glance on the large-format display.

The integrated design and reversionary capabilities of the G1000 allow all flight-critical data to transfer seamlessly to a single display for added safety and peace of mind during flight.

"We are thrilled that we will now be able to deliver G1000 equipped DA40's to our customers. We are very grateful to our customers and distributors who have been patiently waiting for this day. We are also indebted to our employees who have exhibited dedication and maximum flexibility in staging as many aircraft as possible, such that we can deliver at a very accelerated rate from July onwards. Garmin has been a committed and excellent partner throughout this project and we are also impressed with the rapid turnaround by the FAA Wichita Aircraft Certification Office." said Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft Industries.

"We are particularity pleased that the certification came in time for announcement at our Diamond Owner's Invitational DiamondFest 2004, currently underway in London. With Diamond's focus on accident prevention through integration of various active safety features, the enhanced situational awareness, terrain, weather and traffic information, offered by the G1000, is a natural for this aircraft."

In May 2004, Diamond also received Type Certificate (TC) approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the Diamond DA42 Twin Star, which represented the world’s first aircraft-level certification of the G1000 system. Pricing for a G1000 equipped DA40-180 DiamondStar start at $229,500, making this one of the best values in all glass IFR aircraft on the market today.

FMI: www.garmin.com, www.diamondair.com, www.diamond-air.at