Garmin Rocks Aviation With Affordable Flat Panels And More

At the Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Palm Springs, California, yesterday, Garmin International opened the event with its announcement of a slew of new products that could prove game changers for light GA. The big news was the introduction of G3X Touch for certified singles.

The base product starts a just $8,000, and it’s true that in order to access additional integration features, you need to add other Garmin products, such as comm radios or ADS-B transponders, but still, the G3X Touch offers built in PFD/MFD, moving map, synthetic vision, and more at a price point unheard of even five years ago.

The products the Olathe, Kansas-based electronics giant introduced will not only allow owners of everything from Cessna 150s to Beech Bonanzas, and everything in between, to update their planes’ panels with what amounts to G1000 for pennies on the dollar but to add affordable, capable WAAS IFR navigators, affordable ADS-B In and Out, and more.

Flat Panels: G3X Touch For Single Engine Airplanes: The era of the affordable retrofit flat-panel solution for light plane owners has arrived with Garmin’s introduction of the G3X Touch PFD/MFD solution. It has interfaces for nav and communications radios, active traffic, engine instrumentation, full PFD display with synthetic vision, an inset smart moving map, FMS inset and more. The product comes in two versions, the 10.6 inch model ($9,995), which is about the same size as G1000, or the more compact 7-inch version ($7,995). As the name suggests, it is a touch screen presentation. The technology isn’t new, either, but based on the company’s hugely popular G3X Touch displays for Experimentals. The system can interface with a variety of other Garmin products, including the G5 standalone instruments (HSI and attitude), the G500 retrofit autopilot and the new ADS-B transponders, detailed below. Deliveries are scheduled to start next month.

New ADS-B Navigators: GPS 175 And GNX 375: For years the cost of an IFR navigator, which started at better than $7,000 for a used Garmin GNS 430 unit and was typically more like $15,000 for a new navigator, has been a major stumbling block for owners looking to upgrade the panel of their modestly valued small plane. With the introduction of the GPS 175 and GNX 375, that has changed. Starting at $4,995 for the 175 ($7,995 for the GNX 375), these two new navigators will change the landscape of light plane retrofits. The 175 is a standalone IFR navigator with a color touchscreen display and broadcasts ADS-B Out. The 375 adds ADS-B In and a host of other features. Importantly, both products are the same size as a standard mark-width instrument, so no panel surgery should be necessary for their installation. Of course, both work with the Garmin G5 standalone primary flight instruments, among numerous other Garmin products. The new navigators are both expected to be available starting in April. They are approved for installation in more than 700 GA planes.