Deliveries Begin in Europe

Garmin has received the European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) European Technical Standard Order (ETSO) approval for the GDU 620 display/control unit, which is the display unit for the G600 flight display system. Because the other components of the G600 have already received EASA's ETSO approval, this announcement indicates the GDU 620 is eligible for installation in European registered aircraft with a certification weight up to 5,700 kgs.

"Receiving EASA approval is another big step forward for this popular product because it makes it possible for European customers to purchase and install the G600 in their aircraft," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "The G600 is unique in how it immediately transforms an aircraft's panel from steam gauges to all-glass. With the G600, pilots will have the largest MFD in their primary field of view than ever before, and they'll be amazed at how this system increases situational awareness and reduces workload."

Garmin's G600 incorporates two individual displays - a PFD and MFD - in a customized package designed for easy retrofit installation. The G600 combines primary flight data including attitude and air data with navigation, terrain and traffic data displayed in an intuitive pictorial format on dual LCD displays. This large, user-friendly presentation allows pilots to quickly and efficiently scan the data so that they can stay ahead of the aircraft during all phases of flight.

The G600 is designed to integrate with Garmin's panel mount WAAS GPS products. It 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.

The system is certified to interface with many general aviation autopilots acting as a navigation source selector and provides GPS roll steering data enabling the autopilot to fly arcs, procedure turns, and holding patterns (if part of the approach). Additional features like altitude pre-select and flight director are available in a select number of autopilots.  

The G600's size (10"w x 6.7"h) allows for easy installation into the existing instrument panel in most aircraft.  The system is designed to take the space that is currently occupied by the basic "T" or six-pack of instruments (attitude, airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, turn coordinator and directional gyro).

The MFD provides pilots with a clear, concise picture of where they are relative to terrain, airspace, weather, and traffic. Pilots may also select the optional ChartView, an electronic version of Jeppesen's extensive library of charts and airport diagrams.

The G600 is available now at a suggested retail price of $29,995. It includes the GDU 620 display/control unit, GRS 77 AHRS, GDC 74A digital air data computer, GMU 44 tri-axial magnetometer, GTP 59 temp probe, and the required installation brackets. The GRS 77 AHRS, GDC 74A digital air data computer, GMU 44 tri-axial magnetometer, GTP 59 temp probe received ETSO previously.

FMI: www.garmin.com