Robinson R44 pilots flying with the Garmin G500H avionics suite will benefit from new enhancements and capabilities “that promise a faster, more responsive and modernized flight display” under a supplemental type certificate developed by Olathe, Kansas-based Garmin International (Booth 9536).
“With this upgrade, we’ve incorporated capabilities that put even more valuable information in the pilot’s primary field of view, further expanding upon the extensive toolset within the G500H in the R44 helicopter,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin v-p of aviation sales and marketing.
The STC includes advanced ADS-B integration, TargetTrend and Terminal Traffic, geo-referenced FliteCharts, Smart Airspace and other enhancements designed to reduce overall pilot workload, according to Garmin. ADS-B IN capabilities are available via Garmin's GDL 88H datalink, which delivers free FIS-B weather and ADS-B traffic. Garmin displays traffic on the G500H moving-map and dedicated traffic pages, but adds TargetTrend, which "provides pilots with a more intuitive method of judging target trajectories and closure rates." It also shows positions of ADS-B-equipped traffic and ground vehicles throughout the airport environment with the TerminalTraffic feature. The FIS-B weather information can be viewed as overlays on the moving-map and on dedicated weather pages, according to Garmin, and also alongside flight planning pages.
G500H enhancements also enable display of optional weather products, such as datalink weather via the GDL 69 (METARs, TAFs, Airmets, Pireps, Canadian Nexrad, winds/temperatures aloft). Also available are text and graphical weather products via the GSR 56 Iridium datalink.
Garmin has added new features thanks to the improved dynamic maps, including faster map rendering, geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts, WireAware wire-strike avoidance (including powerline alerting on the optional synthetic vision display). Pilots can view upcoming airspace restrictions using Garmin's Smart Airspace feature, which is based on the helicopter's current altitude. AGL display with the GRA 55 radar altimeter is now more accurate; a clock or timer display is selectable on the PFD; full-screen video can be viewed on the MFD; outside air temperature units are selectable (SAT, TAT or ISA); H-TAWS annunciations can be displayed on the PFD when interfaced with H-TAWS-enabled GTN 750/650 or 430W/530W systems; topography and terrain data can be displayed simultaneously on the moving map; and LP+V approaches are annunciated on the PFD.
The new features and capabilities are available immediately from a Garmin authorized dealer, with the caveat that installation charges might apply.