Piper Aircraft has secured US validation for the next-generation Garmin G1000NXi integrated flightdeck on both its M500 single-engined turboprop and its M350 pressurised piston-single; deliveries of both aircraft are now under way.
The airframer, based in Vero Beach, Florida, is planning to offer the NXi system as a retrofit option for earlier versions of those aircraft equipped with the standard G1000 suite. These include about 250 M350-derived Matrixes and Mirages and 230 Meridians, the first iteration of the M500.
Piper Aircraft
The pair are the latest models in Piper’s eight-strong family of propeller-driven aircraft to be upgraded with the enhanced cockpit. The Archer and Seminole kick-started the modernisation programme, with NXi versions of both entering service in 2017. The Seneca V will complete the line-up, with deliveries of the NXi-equipped piston-twin scheduled to begin later this year.
Introduced in January 2017, the new flightdeck features wireless cockpit connectivity, enhanced situational awareness, visual approaches and map overlay on the horizontal situation indicator. NXi-equipped aircraft also meet US and European automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) requirements.
Source: Flight International
