Systems To Be Shipped Starting In November

ELITE announced Thursday availability of the long awaited Garmin GNS 430 GPS for its ELITE Premium, ELITE Core and ELITE Basic ATD software.

"The most requested feature for our software for several years has been the Garmin 430," said Stephen Gatlin, ELITE's Director of Marketing. "We have placed real Garmin equipment in our high end trainers for many years but were reluctant to undertake such an expensive and time-consuming project for our home and Basic ATD users without the support of Garmin engineers."

As ANN reported, ELITE announced plans earlier this year to offer the upgrade by this fall. The company partnered with Reality XP -- a name familiar to many Microsoft Flight Simulator users, for the company's highly accurate Garmin-spec software add-ons -- to develop the product.

"When we discovered the high quality GPS developed by Reality XP, which uses Garmin's own simulation software as its foundation, a strategic partnership was inevitable," Gatlin said. "Their attention to detail and the accuracy of their work far exceeded our expectations. By integrating their GNS 430 software into ELITE and providing 'hands on' control, we have created the ultimate GPS training platform in the most cost effective manner.

"In today's market, there is little room to deliver simulation solutions that don't meet market expectations," said Jean-Luc Dupiot, President of Reality XP. "At Reality XP, we are marrying best practices and experiences with the best in the industry from around the world to assure top notch simulation. And we couldn't be more pleased that our first announced project will be with ELITE Simulation Solutions, a company we respect and admire for their legacy, pedigree and amazing talent."

The ELITE GNS 430 Control Module is required to use the GPS. The training package will consist of ELITE Version 8.5 software and GNS 430 Control Module. The Control Module will also be sold as stand-alone equipment for new software purchases. The GNS 430 module can be combined with other AP4000 avionics modules (nav/com, annunciator panel, altitude pre-select, transponder and heading bug/OBS selector module) to create custom avionics suites.

The GNS 430 package may be preordered online, for shipping starting November 1, 2008.

FMI: www.flyelite.com