Garmin upgrades G500H glass cockpit for R44

HELI-EXPO 2017 Just as Garmin has improved the G1000 glass cockpit for fixed-wing aircraft so the avionics company has developed its G500H for helicopters, starting with the flight display in Robinson’s R44.

The R44’s G500H has a faster, more responsive and modernised flight display, as well as additional features to improve situational awareness and bring new capabilities.

These features include:

• ADS-B traffic and weather overlay on the G500H
• TerminalTraffic and TargetTrend
• Geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts terminal approach procedures offer an elevated level of situational awareness
• WireAware incorporates wire-strike avoidance technology, graphically overlaying powerline location and altitude information on the moving map
• Smart Airspace makes it easier to identify what airspace lies ahead by de-emphasising non-pertinent airspace.

“We continue to expand upon the feature set of our G500H glass flight display STC in the R44 so these helicopter operators have access to the latest situational awareness tools on the market,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin vice president of aviation sales and marketing.

“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 pilot toolset within the G500H in the R44 helicopter.”

Features explained
TargetTrend provides pilots with a more intuitive method of judging target trajectories and closure rates, while TerminalTraffic displays a comprehensive picture of ADS-B- equipped aircraft and ground vehicles throughout the airport environment. Additionally, FIS-B weather information received by the GDL 88H can be overlaid on the moving map and dedicated weather pages alongside flight plan data for easier interpretation.

Additional weather enhancements offer pilots access to optional weather products for display on the G500H in the R44. These new compatibilities include icing, turbulence, METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, PIREPs, Canadian NEXRAD, as well as winds and temperatures aloft.

Text and graphical weather products received by the GSR 56 Iridium datalink can be displayed on the multi-function display (MFD) of the G500H.

WireAware incorporates wire-strike avoidance technology to graphically overlay power line locations and altitude information on the moving map. Altitude is displayed in mean sea level (MSL) and above ground level (AGL), so power lines are easier to identify relative to the helicopter flight path.

For G500H-equipped R44 helicopters with synthetic vision technology enabled, new powerline alerting is also visible on the primary flight display.

Smart Airspace makes it easier for pilots to identify what airspace lies ahead, highlighting airspace nearest to the helicopter’s current altitude and de- emphasising non-pertinent airspace.

Additional enhancements
The G500H glass flight display STC in the Robinson R44 helicopter also offers additional functions and options including:

• The display of height above ground level (AGL) is more accurate in a multitude of environments with the GRA 55 radar altimeter, now supported.
• A selected altitude arc can be overlaid on the moving map for easier visualisation of a desired altitude crossing point on the moving map.
• Pilot can select between displaying a clock or timer on the PFD.
• The display of external video is supported in full-screen mode on the MFD.
• Pilot can select specific outside air temperature (OAT) units, including static air temperature, total air temperature and international standard atmosphere (ISA).
• Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS) annunciations display on the PFD when the G500H is interfaced with a GTNTM 650/750 or GNSTM 430W/530W with HTAWS enabled.
• Obstacles are automatically decluttered on the MFD based on relative altitude.
• Pilots can simultaneously overlay topography and terrain data on the moving map
• LP+V approaches annunciate on the PFD.

Garmin helicopters