available to the modern day multi-function display is astounding. At the forefront of this technology rev-
olution is Garmin. In the last several years, it has created high-tech multi-function flight displays designed specifically with helicopters in mind. Over the years, I have personally had the opportunity to fly the Garmin 396, 496, 430, 530, and the MX20 MFD. As the years go by, these systems keep getting smaller, lighter, more cost ef- fective, and can exponentially raise the sit- uational awareness of helicopter pilots. Take for example the Garmin G500H Flight Display. Engineered for safety and reliability in
today’s helicopter environment, Garmin’s G500H “glass cockpit” suite provides an integrated flight solution to significantly enhance situational awareness. AHRS at- titude/heading reference delivers high-pre- cision spatial sensing for the G500H digital instrumentation – replacing old- style gyros. And dual 6.5-inch LCD screens, mounted side-by-side in a single bezel, put Primary Flight Display (PFD) and Multi-Function Display (MFD) capa- bilities right in front of the pilot for easy scanning and interpretation. The PFD screen on the right side shows attitude, air- speed, climb rate, altitude and course/ heading information – while the left side MFD provides detailed moving-map graphics depicting the helicopter’s current position in relation to ground features, chart data, navaids, and flight plan rout- ings. Other information that can be viewed on the MFD are: • HTAWS alerting and voice callouts of altitude when descending below 500 feet
• XM WX™ Satellite Weather with NEXRAD imagery
• HSVT™ synthetic vision technology that renders terrain-alerting data into a realistic 3-D “virtual reality” land- scape
• Traffic targets can be displayed on the G500H MFD when combined with GTS traffic systems.
The G500H is a glass cockpit upgrade
for VFR, Part 27 helicopters. It’s currently certified for installation in the Bell 206, Bell 407, Eurocopter AS350, Eurocopter
rotorcraftpro.com 29
EC130 and Robinson R44 as well as oth- ers. Garmin believes that all sectors of the helicopter industry can benefit from G500H because of the way it enhances safety and situational awareness with fea- tures like HSVT Helicopter Synthetic Vi- sion Technology. Their research of FAA reports indicated that the three main areas of operational risks for helicopters are in- advertent flight into IMC, night operations and controlled flight into terrain. Their goal with the design of the G500H was to proactively address these issues and help
reduce situational risk and the challenges that come from a busier airspace. So far, Garmin indicates that the re-
sponse to the G500H has been very favor- able and has been receiving a tremendous amount of interest from law enforcement, EMS, helicopter tourism, and private own- ers. I know that for me personally, I have enjoyed the benefits of technology pro- gression in my cockpit. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store. What will they think of next?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
