French light-helicopter manufacturer Guimbal (Booth 6812) unveiled a new glass panel flight deck and advanced payload mount for its Cabri G2 light trainer this week at Heli-Expo 2020.
Dubbed the "Cristal Panel," the new all-glass instrument configuration is built from Garmin's G500TXi integrated primary flight/multifunction display (PFD/MFD) for helicopters with a Mid-Continent Instruments SAM backup PFD. Company CEO Bruno Guimbal termed the new panel "the shortest way to modern, large IFR commercial helicopters." According to Guimbal sales head Marion Pelligra, most new Cabri G2 customers have selected the $23,800 option.
Moving the Cabri beyond its primary mission as a light IFR trainer, Guimbal also announced a new carbon-fiber multi-purpose payload mount for the helicopter. Designed for light-to-medium size gimbals, the new mount replaces the lower-left observation window and can accommodate a wide range of applications, including cinemaphotography, infrared and mapping cameras, and lidar sensors.
Guimbal intends to deliver the $4,500 mount soon, pending EASA certification. The company added there's no weight penalty for the lightweight mount, and its Plexiglass window can be replaced in 10 minutes with just a screwdriver. Guimbal reported "about 10 orders" for the mount kit this week at the show.
Thirty-eight Cabri G2s have been delivered to U.S. customers to date, with Guimbal reporting 25 worldwide deliveries for 2019. The global Guimbal fleet has more than 260,000 flight hours in 34 different countries, with the highest-time example exceeding 7,000 hours.