Field Upgrades, New Systems Approved For Installation

The FAA has approved an STC for Garmin's Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS), the company announced Monday. The technology is available immediately as an option on newly purchased systems or as a field upgrade for current owners. When HTAWS is added to the GNS 430W/530W navigators, operators will receive graphical and audible alerts of potential terrain and obstacle conflicts along the flight path.

Garmin’s HTAWS has forward looking terrain avoidance (FLTA) capability with visual and aural advisories to keep pilots informed of hazardous terrain and obstacles. It incorporates a new five color terrain scale (red, orange, yellow, green and black), and also gives voice callouts when descending below 500 feet. Voice callouts operate in all HTAWS modes, and Garmin’s technology allows the pilot to select multiple callouts, in one hundred foot intervals, descending from 500 to 100 feet above ground level (AGL). In addition, Garmin’s HTAWS offers a reduced protection (RP) mode that allows low-level operations with minimal alerting while continuing to provide terrain and obstacle protection.

Three new helicopter specific databases have been incorporated for HTAWS. The obstacle database adds nearly 30,000 additional low-altitude obstacles. The new terrain database has been enhanced to show higher resolution. The navigation database lets operators navigate to over 7,000 heliports without having to create user waypoints at those locations.

Separately, the FAA has approved helicopter installations of a vertical helicopter mounting rack for Garmin’s GTS 8xx traffic series products. This is in addition to the already existing horizontal mounting rack. Both the horizontal and vertical racks have robust designs that meet the strict vibration qualifications specifically for helicopter installations (DO-160F). Therefore, customers have the utmost flexibility when installing a GTS traffic product because they can choose between a horizontal or vertical installation.

Garmin’s HTAWS is available immediately for an expected price of $9,995 as a field upgrade or as an option on new GNS 430W/530W series products. The vertical helicopter mounting rack for the GTS 8xx traffic series product is also available immediately.

FMI: www.garmin.com/helicopters