Garmin has expanded into the rotor-wing market by developing versions of its terrain awareness and avoidance system (TAWS) and G500 electronic flight display for helicopters.
The G500H and an HTAWS option for the GNS 430W/530W navigators were unveiled by Garmin at Heli-Expo 2010 in Houston. Garmin expects to certify both in the second quarter of this year.
Garmin for several years has been one of the leading suppliers of flight displays and TAWS for general aviation fixed-wing aircraft but until now has not offered products specifically geared for the helicopter market. Garmin director of aviation and aftermarket sales Jim Alpiser says the helicopter industry's recent safety problems, in particular the frequency of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents, was the impetus behind the company's decision to begin offering helicopter-specific safety products.
"We've had the right technology and the right capability to bring safety products to the helicopter market and we've been trying to define the best way to free up our resources to serve this important need for helicopter operators," Alpiser says. "The timing became right for us to free up resources for helicopter specific products."
He points to recent statistics which show that about 60% of fatal helicopter accidents are now caused by CFIT. Alpiser explains Garmin "saw a need" for new products which could potentially improve the industry's troubling accident rate.
Garmin's newly developed HTAWS features a forward looking terrain avoidance capability that advises pilots of hazardous terrain with visual colour-coded alerts and with voice callouts. Pilots will have the flexibility to select various callout options or opt for a reduced protection mode if flying a low-altitude operation.
Garmin says it has developed three new helicopter-specific databases for HTAWS. Specifically, Garmin needed to add to its TAWS database nearly 30,000 low-altitude obstacles which would not be a factor in the fixed-wing world as well as 7,000 heliports worldwide. It also has enhanced the resolution of its terrain database for HTAWS.
Once certified, Garmin will start selling HTAWS as a $9,995 option on new GNS 430W/530W series products and as a field upgrade on existing GNS 430W/530W series products.
The G500H will initially be available for the Bell 206 and 407 with other models including the Eurocopter EC130 to be added later. The G500H is derived from the G500 and G600 with new features designed specifically for the rotor-wing world, including helicopter synthetic vision technology and helicopter-specific databases. Once certified, the G500H will be sold for $24,995.
Source: Flight International
