Improvements To Benefit Students, Experienced Pilots Alike

Though somewhat overshadowed by Garmin's BIG news regarding synthetic vision, that wasn't the only news the company had to share in the moments leading up to Lakeland 2008. The avionics manufacturer also announced Monday enhancements to the GMX 200 multi-function display (MFD,) giving pilots the benefit of Garmin FliteCharts and Garmin SafeTaxi.

These new database offerings greatly enhance situational awareness during taxiing and simplify the availability of procedural information during all phases of pilot operations. FliteCharts and SafeTaxi will be featured at Garmin's both at Lakeland.

Garmin FliteCharts is an electronic version of the National Aeronautical Chart Office (NACO) US Terminal Procedures Publication. FliteCharts lets pilots quickly find and view all NACO Departure Procedures (DP), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs), approach charts, and airport diagrams on the MFD. GMX 200’s equipped with FliteCharts will have access to all U.S. approach plates currently published by NACO, which includes 14,000 approach plates at over 2,900 airports.  FliteChart are not geo-referenced and updates are offered every 28-days.  

Thanks to Garmin SafeTaxi, GMX 200 owners can taxi around unfamiliar airports with ease. SafeTaxi identifies runways, taxiways, FBOs, hangars, and the aircraft’s exact location on the field.  The SafeTaxi information is seamlessly integrated with GMX 200’s existing basemap at the appropriate map range setting, and SafeTaxi details increase as the range setting decreases. Since SafeTaxi is geo-referenced, pilots will benefit by seeing their aircraft icon move precisely along the taxiway diagram. SafeTaxi includes over 850 US airports and diagrams, and Garmin continues to develop and offer new airport charts as additional data becomes available. SafeTaxi updates are available every 56-days.

The GMX 200 is a popular MFD that is compatible with Garmin’s GNS™ 400/500 series, GNS 480, GDL® 69/69A, GTX™ 330/33, GDL 90, GWX 68, and many other manufacturers’ GPS navigation equipment. The display is almost 20-percent larger than other aftermarket panel mounted MFDs, and it features advanced backlighting technology that vividly displays colors and images in all lighting conditions. The GMX 200 displays the aircraft’s position relative to terrain, obstructions, weather, airways, navaids, restricted airspace, and more. The unit includes high resolution, worldwide terrain and hydrography data. Map scales range from one-fourth of a mile to 2,500 miles, and a unique split screen function lets pilots simultaneously view two charting options along with the vertical profile for the elevation of the terrain ahead of the aircraft. Garmin ChartView, which is powered by Jeppesen and features geo-referenced approach charts, continues to be an option for all GMX 200 operators.

Pilots purchasing a new GMX 200 between April and December 2008 will receive a recent version of FliteCharts and SafeTaxi preloaded on the MFD at no additional cost. Existing GMX 200 customers can add Garmin FliteCharts and SafeTaxi to their GMX 200 by purchasing a SD datacard that is loaded via the GMX 200’s front loading SD card-slot. This 2GB datacard includes FliteCharts and SafeTaxi. The expected street price for the GMX 200’s FliteCharts and SafeTaxi SD card is $695.

FliteCharts and SafeTaxi upgrades are available on a single-cycle or annual basis. FliteCharts are $95 per update or $395 annually (13 consecutive cycles) and SafeTaxi is $35 per update or $195 annually (seven consecutive cycles).

FMI: www.garmin.com