Story ID: 416
Garmin G500H Adds Touchscreen TXi Displays
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: The new G500H TXi displays bring touchscreens into helicopter cockpits. 
Word Count: 437
The G500H TXi displays for rotorcraft replace Garmin’s original G500H system, with three different options: GDU 1060 10.6-inch landscape, GDU 700P seven-inch portrait, or GDU 700L seven-inch landscape displays. The key difference with TXi is that they are touchscreen displays, although these models also retain concentric knob controls.

Both the 10.6- and seven-inch displays offer Garmin’s HSI map, which can display Garmin’s WireAware wire-strike avoidance technology, as well as terrain, weather, and other overlay information. A mode controller is optional, adding more non-touch controls for pilots who prefer button and knob interfaces.

A new feature for the TXi that wasn’t available in the original G500H is data logging, and this data can be downloaded wirelessly or via SD card. Another new TXi feature is crew profiles. Installation is easier with new configuration tools that allow export of configurations to entire fleets.

Garmin has flight tested the TXi displays in its AS350B2. The instrument panel is fitted with a 10.6-inch GDU 1060 TXi display in front of the pilot, along with GTN 650 and 750 GPS navigators, GMA 35 remote audio panel, GTX 345 ADS-B Out/In, GTS traffic display, GRA 5500 radar altimeter, GFC 600H flight control system, and GMC 605 mode controller.

Flying with the large TXi display and the Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology is a significant improvement over the original G500H display. During a recent test flight in the AS350, I found the depiction of power lines on the WireAware display on the HSI map and audible alerts especially helpful as we approached a grassy field over large power lines.

Garmin’s Telligence technology in the GTN 650/750 allows the pilot to push a button on the cyclic and speak voice commands to change frequencies and more than 300 other GTN functions. I tested this during the flight, and Telligence allowed me to keep my hands on the cyclic and collective while pulling up the ATIS frequency for McNary Field in Salem, Oregon.

Another useful feature is Garmin’s visual approach, which I dialed up for the landing at the airport in Salem. The visual approach is built into the GTN navigators, and creates a three-degree vertical path to the runway, displayed on the TXi, with pilot-selectable minimums.

The NVG-compatible G500H TXi displays retail for $27,495 for the 10.6-inch display and $23,495 for the seven-inch portrait and landscape versions. Garmin plans to obtain an AML STC for installation of the TXi displays in the fourth quarter, starting with the Bell 206 and 407 and Airbus AS350B2/B3 and EC130B4/T2.