Garmin International Inc. unveiled a slew of new products at this year’s AirVenture, including the G3X, a non-TSO’d glass cockpit for retrofit installation in experimental/kitbuilt and Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).
The G3X is a customizable Primary Flight Display/Multi-Function Display (PFD/MFD) combination that features one, two or three all-glass displays; magnetometer; ADAHRS (combined air data and AHRS unit); engine monitoring; and temperature probe.
Thanks to its building block design, customers can create a panel tailored to their aircraft, according to Garmin officials, who note the system is expected to be available by the end of the year.
“Customers in this market segment are unique because their aircraft are often custom-made,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. “Customers can adapt the G3X system so it suits whatever is needed for their plane.”
The heart of the G3X is what’s behind the scenes: GSU 73 ADAHRS and engine interface, GMU 44 magnetometer and GTP 59 air temperature probe, components based on the G1000.
The face of the G3X is the GDU 370/375, a 7-inch display that resembles Garmin’s GPSMAP 695/696 portable. Since the G3X is customizable, customers can choose to install one, two or three displays. In a single-display G3X system, the GDU 370/375 offers a split-screen mode with PFD information on the top half and MFD information on the bottom half.
The display features obstacles and terrain data, IFR map mode, FliteCharts, SafeTaxi, AOPA Airport Directory data, and XM WX Satellite Weather.
The full G3X system is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2009 starting at $9,995. The GDU 370 and GDU 375 MFDs are currently available from Garmin dealers for $3,295 and $3,995.
For more information: Garmin.com
