The Piper Meridian originally featured the Meggitt Magic EFIS up front—ever flown with one of those?—and a conglomeration of boxes from a variety of avionics manufacturers. The step up to the Garmin G1000 greatly simplified things up front, and the updates continued as the Meridian acquired a new marketing name, the M500, in early 2015.
Now, the PA-46-500TP series gains from Garmin’s ever-advancing evolution of the G1000 into the G1000 NXi, with the approval announced on August 19 that existing G1000-equipped Meridian airframes can be upgraded to the new NXi world. The enhancement adds a list of capabilities to the flight deck. Heading up the features is SurfaceWatch runway monitoring technology, providing visual and aural cues to the pilot to help prevent taking off or landing on a taxiway, or a too-short runway, or on the wrong runway based on data entered by the pilot during preflight setup.
Next, visual approaches are available, giving pilots guidance—via a three-degree glideslope—in visual conditions. Minimums can be customized by the pilot, and an autopilot-coupled approach can be flown. Also, a geographical map overlay onto the horizontal situation indicator can display Nexrad, FIS-B, and weather radar, and SafeTaxi airport diagrams, traffic, and terrain.
For more information on how to move forward on the G1000 NXi upgrade—available at select Garmin dealers to these serial numbers: 4697002, 4697340, 4697439-4697581, except 4697549, 4697569—visit the Garmin site.
