Garmin International has unveiled the GI 275, an electronic flight instrument that directly replaces legacy primary flight instruments in the cockpit. The GI 275 is suitable as a replacement for a variety of instruments including an attitude indicator, attitude directional indicator (ADI), course deviation indicator (CDI), horizontal situation indicator (HSI) and engine indication system (EIS).

Capable of serving as a four-in-one flight instrument, the GI 275 can also be installed as a standby to a number of glass flight displays and is available with a 60-minute back-up battery. Lightweight and compact, the unit is intentionally designed to take advantage of the common 3.125-inch flight instrument size, reducing installation time and preserving the existing aircraft panel. It is also compatible with a variety of third-party autopilots and does not require a separate interface adapter, further reducing installation labour. The GI 275 has received FAA approval and is available immediately for installation in over 1,000 single-engine and multi-engine aircraft models.

Several variants are available to meet the needs of over one thousand business and general aviation aircraft models. Features beyond the traditional display of attitude, airspeed and altitude include the option to display CDI, HSI and engine information. The GI 275 is also capable of displaying multifunction display-like features, such as traffic, weather, terrain, SafeTaxi airport diagrams and optional Synthetic Vision Technology.

“As constant innovators within the avionics industry, we're redefining the aircraft cockpit with the introduction of the GI 275,” says VP of aviation sales and marketing Carl Wolf. “With the GI 275, pilots can take an economical and scalable approach to their avionics upgrade, while saving on the installation labour and cost. The capabilities of the GI 275 are amazing; it can provide ADAHRS, autopilot interface and replace ADI, HSI, standby and EIS indicators, along with 60-minutes of battery back-up for primary or standby applications, or it can just be the coolest-ever CDI. If it's round and in their panel, pilots can likely replace it with the GI 275 to receive modern flight display features and benefits in a powerful, yet compact touchscreen flight instrument.”

Suitable as a replacement to many ageing flight instruments and gyro-based attitude indicators on the market such as the popular KI-256, the GI 275 gives aircraft owners the benefits of a modern and reliable flight instrument. The GI 275 boasts a standard 3.125-inch form factor and rear-mount design that minimises panel modification. Its bright, high-resolution touchscreen display and wide viewing angle offers superior readability in the cockpit. A dual concentric knob allows pilots to access a variety of key functions within the flight instrument, such as adjustments to the baro setting or the airspeed bug. Highly scalable, aircraft owners can start with a single GI 275 and add up to a total of six in a single panel, paving the way for incremental upgrades and an array of individualised panel configurations.

When installed as a primary attitude indicator, the GI 275 offers improved reliability, potential weight savings and reduced maintenance compared to failure-prone vacuum-driven attitude indicators. When the GI 275 serves as primary for attitude information, pilots can also view altitude, airspeed and heading on the instrument. Optional SVT overlays a rich, 3D topographic view of terrain, traffic, obstacles, airport sign posts and more all within the GI 275 attitude display. The GI 275 also overlays a flight path marker within the SVT view, which takes into account crosswind, angle of attack and other factors to show precisely where the aircraft is flying.