Glass Panels

The Boyd family gives their Piper Twin Comanche an extreme instrument makeover in Washington state.

In the dozen or so years since Garmin’s G1000 integrated flight deck made its debut in Cessna and Diamond single-engine airplanes, the cockpit has steadily evolved to offer new features and improved displays that have managed to keep it fresh and relevant. Even in the face of Moore’s Law, the idea that ­suggests electronics double […]

If you, like many pilots, have one of Garmin’s latest glass avionics products installed in your panel or are considering an upgrade, you may want to consider a training course to learn the ins and outs of operating the systems. Garmin recently announced dates for in-classroom training programs for its latest panel-mounted equipment at its […]

A few years back, my parents bought a beautiful tiled wood stove for their home. The first year, they bought a light truckload of wood. But Dad found buying wood to be a pricey way to feed the stove. Being retired with spare time on his hands and the desire for physical work, he decided […]

Lancair introduced an integrated, all-glass panel for its single-engine turboprop Evolution at AirVenture called EFC900X (Evolution Flight Control 900X), including Garmin’s GFC 7X autopilot. The GFC 7X is the first Garmin autopilot to be installed in an experimental airplane and is currently exclusive to the Evolution. “This is a huge vote of confidence from Garmin,” […]

If students aren’t sure whether they will end up flying an airplane with glass cockpit technology or not for training, which is better — transitioning to glass, or transitioning to analog instruments? Marty Blaker is a CFI who, as vice president of avionics course development for King Schools, oversaw the development of its Garmin G1000 […]

Our crew began to assemble in the lobby of the Barcelona hotel. Outside on the street, pilots and flight attendants from the arriving flight collected their bags from behind the jitney bus that had driven them from the airport. They shuffled into the hotel. One of the arriving flight attendants murmured something about the electronic […]

Garmin announced at AirVenture a couple of new offerings in addition to the ones we reported on Tuesday. One is a flat-panel system for non-certified use and the other an enhanced cell phone application. Lastly, they announced a huge milestone. The company announced new details and increased value on the G3X flat-panel avionics system for […]

At the Avidyne press conference on Tuesday, company founder and CEO Dan Schwinn said that he hasn’t heard any customers complain that the new Avidyne R9 lacked features-it is, in fact, loaded with new capabilities-but he said that he had heard a few potential customers wishing that it cost less. With this mind, Schwinn formally […]

While much of the aviation industry remains in a holding pattern given the tough economic times, Garmin opened AirVenture with announcements of several new products and product enhancements designed to give pilots new options and to put the pressure on competitors in nearly every facet of general aviation. • The GTS 800 series is a […]