GTX 33, GTZ 330 Now Include Capability

Pilots want it... the FAA wants it... so ADS-B appears to be here to stay. Garmin International announced this week at AirVenture 2007 the advance of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) avionics in the general aviation market segment, by enabling its GTX 330 and GTX 33 transponders with 1090 MHz Extended Squitter (ES) transmission capabilities. The 1090 MHz ES will be available as an optional upgrade for GTX 330 and GTX 33 transponders.

"Providing a 1090 MHz ES to the general aviation market will increase situational awareness and safety of flight once the ADS-B system is fully implemented," said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. "ADS-B technology is a critical step toward realizing the FAA’s vision of NextGen, and our leading-edge ADS-B products are a building block for the future."

The addition of 1090 MHz ES to Garmin's Mode S transponders will allow general aviation aircraft to automatically transmit position, velocity and heading information. This frequent and highly accurate aircraft state information will provide superior surveillance capability for air traffic control, which is presently dependent upon aircraft position information derived from ground radar interrogation that has a slower update rate. The 1090 MHz ES builds upon the existing system by transmitting pertinent aircraft information independent of being interrogated.

The 1090 MHz ES upgrade preserves all of the existing GTX 330 and GTX 33 features. This includes Mode S TIS datalink reception and traffic display in vivid color. The data can then be displayed in vivid color on the GNS 430W, GNS 530W and GMX 200 displays.

The 1090 MHz ES capability is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2007. Further details, product specifications and pricing will be forthcoming, according to the company.

FMI: www.garmin.com