Garmin G2000 Prime Brings Bizav Tech to Piston Market

Innovations introduced in Garmin’s G3000 Prime flight deck for business jets, turboprops, and military trainers have come to the piston and small electric aircraft market in the form of the G2000 Prime, which was announced yesterday. Garmin has not named launch aircraft, saying those announcements will come from individual manufacturers. 

G2000 Prime includes Garmin’s Autonomí suite of safety technologies, including Autoland, Smart Glide, Smart Rudder Bias, Electronic Stability Protection, Emergency Descent Mode, and Autothrottle. Terminal safety tools include Runway Occupancy Awareness, which uses GPS and ADS-B data to alert crews to potential runway incursions or collisions, along with 3D SafeTaxi and SurfaceWatch.

Garmin’s PlaneSync system handles database updates and flight/engine data logging in the background, and owners can check an aircraft’s fuel and systems status remotely through the Garmin Pilot app.

Significantly stronger in processing power and speed than “earlier systems,” the G2000 also offers increased memory and gigabit system connectivity. The primary displays measure 14 inches across, and the glass resists glare and fingerprints. The seven-inch secondary displays handle data entry and system control, with roughly 40% more screen real estate than earlier Garmin touch controllers. Depending on the aircraft, they can also serve as a built-in standby flight instrument, eliminating the need for a dedicated backup display.

The touchscreens can register up to 10 separate touch points simultaneously, so two pilots can work the same screen without one input interrupting the other.

Garmin also recently unveiled Axis, an integrated avionics suite that refreshes the G3X Touch and incorporates features from the G3000 and G5000 Prime flight decks for the certified light-airplane and experimental amateur-built markets. Axis replaces the traditional center stack of individual avionics with larger, touchscreen-based displays incorporating a GPS navigator, navcom, and audio panel, and is designed as an accessible transition point to Garmin’s Prime-series flight decks.