Garmin Transforms Touch Controller Into Standby Instrument

Garmin is now offering aircraft manufacturers a new option for its G2000, G3000 and G5000 flight decks—the GTC 580 touchscreen avionics/systems controller that also doubles as a standby flight display. Cirrus Aircraft is the first OEM to select the new GTC 580, specifically for its SF50 Vision single-engine jet. The Vision's Cirrus Perspective Touch flight deck features three GTC 580s mounted side-by-side under the jet's two 14-inch Garmin displays.

The GTC 580 can replace the current GTC 570, and the new controller is landscape oriented with a slightly larger 5.8-inch screen (up from 5.7) and 1,280 x 768 resolution, up from the GTC 570’s standard VGA (640 x 480). Like the 570, the GTC 580 uses an infrared touchscreen that can be operated with gloved fingers. Standby features include display of attitude, heading, airspeed and barometric altitude.

In addition, the independent AHRS and air-data sensor data delivered to the GTC 580 is compared against the same data from Garmin’s flight deck displays, and if there is a discrepancy, the pilot is notified. The pilot can then select the standby mode on the GTC 580 or this takes place automatically if the primary display fails. A benefit from the landscape orientation is a qwerty keyboard option for pilots who prefer that interface. Pilots can also control the map pointer on the moving map using a pop-up touchpad page on the GTC 580. OEMs can install up to four G580 displays in a G3000/G5000 flight deck.