Garmin International has received FAA STC approval for the GFC 600 digital autopilot in Cessna 441 aircraft. The GFC 600 is designed for high performance piston single and twin engine aircraft and also provides an advanced autopilot solution for both jet and turbine aircraft that have a wide range of speed and performance characteristics.

The GFC 600 certification for the Cessna 441 provides owners with an autopilot upgrade that incorporates solid-state attitude with robust self-monitoring capabilities to provide superior autopilot performance, greater reliability and safety benefits that are similar to the popular GFC 700. In addition to traditional autopilot capabilities such as altitude hold, vertical speed and heading modes, the GFC 600 also includes altitude preselect, VNAV1, Level Mode and underspeed and overspeed protection. Pilots can also select, couple and fly various instrument approaches, including GPS, ILS, VOR, LOC and back course approaches when paired with a compatible GPS navigator.

Garmin has also received FAA STC approval for the GFC 600 digital autopilot in select Pilatus PC-12/41 and PC-12/45 aircraft.

The company has also announced TXi engine indication system (EIS) support for select twin turboprop aircraft including the Cessna 425, the King Air 90 series and select Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop-powered Piper Cheyenne variants. Twin turbine aircraft owners and operators will benefit from TXi EIS with features such as engine timers, exceedance recordings, dynamic engine indications, as well as wireless data logging that combine to reduce pilot workload, improve engine efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. Other TXi EIS enhancements include dynamic markings for multi-engine piston aircraft, and electronic ignition support for Lycoming and Continental engines.

“This significant update to the TXi EIS allows twin turboprop owners and operators to further modernise their cockpits,” says Carl Wolf, Garmin VP of aviation sales and marketing. “We are proud to offer a state-of-the-art engine indication solution that replaces expensive-to-maintain traditional round dial gauges and also provides easy wireless access to valuable engine performance data to help protect the investment made in these turboprop engines.”

Finally, Garmin's updates for the GI 275 electronic flight instrument have been granted STC approval by the FAA. These updates add several enhancements and new capabilities to the GI 275, including the option to control basic settings of the GTX 345 or GTX 345R transponders directly from a GI 275. Other new features include easier switching between GPSS and heading modes with third-party autopilots, plus the capability to drive the GFC 500 autopilot while serving as a standby attitude indicator interfaced with an original G500 series flight display.

Pilots can now control basic transponder settings including squawk code, function, IDENT and flight ID directly from the GI 275 when interfaced with a compatible transponder such as the GTX 345, GTX 345R, and GTX 45R. The touchscreen user interface offers pilots a simple and quick way to make transponder setting adjustments and can be especially beneficial to pilots in aircraft with transponder installations on the co-pilot side. Additionally, space-constrained cockpits can benefit from the opportunity to install remote transponders and control them from the GI 275. To access these new controls, a dedicated transponder page is available on GI 275 installations configured as a multifunction display (MFD), or standby attitude indicator with MFD pages.

Pilots flying aircraft equipped with select third-party autopilots can benefit from easier switching between GPSS and heading modes on a GI 275 installation configured as an attitude-direction indicator (ADI). A new autopilot reference option has been added to the first menu level of the ADI, allowing pilots to switch between GPSS and heading mode without the need to access additional menu levels. Additionally, aircraft owners may now opt to add a dedicated switch on the panel to control this function.