Quartz Mountain's 11E First OEM Application

The news from Garmin just keeps on coming. On Tuesday, the avionics maker announced its G950 avionics suite, an all-glass avionics suite that is designed for aircraft manufacturers who want a standardized avionics configuration and will complete certification of their airframe’s avionics panel on their own. Quartz Mountain Aerospace is the first manufacturer to select the G950 for its 11E aircraft, a four-seat, single-engine airplane that is newly in production.

"The G950 is a step between the G900X and G1000," said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. "The G900X is designed for non-certified kitbuilt planes and the G1000 is tailored to the specific aircraft that it will be installed on and generally includes the GFC 700 autopilot. The G950 fits a new niche -- one which we’ve received many requests for -- allowing OEMs with certified airframes to have the benefits of a proven, Garmin all-glass cockpit. Since the G950 isn’t customizable and doesn’t include the GFC 700 autopilot, OEMs will also have the benefit of a streamlined certification process."

The G950 integrates all primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, surveillance, weather, and engine sensor data on Garmin’s high-definition LCDs. Manufacturers can select between a two or three display G950 system, and the TFT displays boast XGA (1,024x768-pixel) resolution with wide viewing angles. The G950 does not include Garmin’s GFC 700 autopilot.

Given its lineage from Garmin's G900 and certified G1000 lines, the 950 should prove to be an equally reliable system, with features found on Garmin’s other popular avionics suites:

• The primary flight display (PFD) replaces many of the traditional cockpit instruments and presents this information in an integrated fashion on a large-format display, and the multifunction display (MFD) puts all aircraft-systems monitoring and flight-planning functions at the pilot’s fingertips
• Designed with reversionary capabilities, allowing all flight-critical data to transfer seamlessly to a single display for added safety during flight
• Solid-state Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS), which can align while in motion, including in-flight dynamic restarts
• Digital Air Data Computer
• Engine-monitoring display
• Mode S transponder with Traffic Information Service (TIS)
• Dual integrated radio modules that supports VHF communications, VHF navigation with ILS and Class Gamma 3 WAAS that provides the capability to execute LPV approaches
• Digital audio control system
• Garmin SafeTaxi® airport diagrams that help pilots navigate unfamiliar airports
• Garmin FliteCharts® for Terminal Procedures (with optional ChartView powered by Jeppesen)

The Garmin G950 will be on display at Quartz Mountain Aerospace’s Sun ‘n Fun trade show booth in Lakeland, FL April 8-13, 2008.

FMI: www.garmin.com, www.qmaero.com