Gulf Coast Avionics Touts Taking Bell 412 Digital at Heli-Expo

Gulf Coast Avionics of Lakeland, Fla., is highlighting its recent completion of an avionics upgrade on a Bell 412EP operated by Panama’s Servicio Nacional Aeronaval. The upgrade features dual Garmin G500H dual-screen displays with Garmin Helicopter Synthetic Vision, dual Garmin GTN 650H touchscreen GPS/navcoms, dual Garmin GTX 33 remote Mode-S transponders and a Garmin GMA 340 digital audio panel.

Non-Garmin gear includes an L-3 Communications Trilogy Electronic Standby Instrument and digital interfaces to the helicopter’s existing Sperry SPZ-7600 autopilot, BendixKing RDR 2000 radar and Avidyne TAS 605 traffic awareness system.

Gulf Coast Avionics technicians had to design and fabricate a custom metal instrument panel and center pedestal to accommodate the new instruments, according to installation sales representative Andy Smith. Integrating the retained analog units with the new digital equipment was a major challenge and support from Garmin and Electronics International enabled the project’s successful outcome, Smith said.