Avionics News April 2016 - 48

GARMIN ADVANCES ADS-B OPTIONS
Continued from page 46

turnout, we took up a northeast heading over Kansas' Flint Hills to
avoid traffic in Wichita's busy airspace - home to nearly a dozen
public and private airports within a 15-mile circle.
Those myriad airports - Wichita's Eisenhower National
Airport, Col. James Jabara Airport, August Municipal, Beech Factory Airport, McConnell Air Force Base among them - and their
combined factory, commercial, military, business and personal
traffic - provides a major workout for the dual-mode FIS-B traffic
available from the ADS-B In capabilities of the GTX 345R.
The software not only accurately reflects the location of traffic,
it also provides a TargetTrend line - a feature of Garmin's ADS-B
In - showing the direction of flight of all the various traffic targets.
With both 978 MHz and 1090 MHz traffic around, we were
treated to a busy display on the G1000's multifunction display and
primary flight display.
Although three nearby ADS-B ground stations were working,
the GTX 345 also could receive transponder squawks directly
from other aircraft, assuring the operator of the full spectrum of
traffic awareness.
Clear skies, clean weather screens
While the Wichita area's characteristically busy airspace
provided the fodder we needed for a viable demonstration of the
TIS-B functionality, FIS-B weather failed to work the system as
thoroughly - thanks to unseasonably mild February weather.
Clear weather screens didn't mean the FIS-B wasn't functioning - it was, reporting what we could see out the expansive
canopy of the DA-40: clear skies.
But thanks to the all-encompassing nature of FIS-B, zooming
back to a continental-wide view treated us to graphics of weather
far from us - and far from our concerns. And that's one of the
benefits of FIS-B over onboard radar: The weather view is limited
only by the continental limits.
The FIS-B weather products supported include NEXRAD
weather radar, METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, winds and temperatures
aloft, NOTAMs, AIRMETs and SIGMETs.
FIS-B worked as smoothly and clearly as the traffic data
from TIS-B.
Had weather been nearby, the GTX 345's ADS-B In functions
offer help to avoid weather we'd later regret.
Connext functionality and display diversity:
Standby attitude, traffic, enhanced terrain - on
panel and portable displays
With its integral AHRS, dual-mode ADS-B In, display screen
versatility and Bluetooth and Connext-system wireless capabilities, the GTX 345 and GTX 345R provide an added layer of
redundancy for aircraft using either transponder.
48

avionics news

april

2016

And that display flexibility is extensive - and growing.
Garmin expects to add support for G500/G600 displays in the
second quarter of this year and compatibility with the company's
G3X Touch glass flight display in the third quarter of this year.
Customers can already pair the 345 with Garmin's GNS 480
and the GMX 200/MX 20 multifunction displays and use their
integrated WAAS position source to satisfy the ADS-B Out
requirement.
Pairing the transponder with a display overlays ADS-B traffic
and FIS-B weather on top of full-color moving maps, reference to
airspace, terrain, flight plan information and more, easing the identification of traffic and inclement weather. Of course, the G1000 is
well supported.
For aircraft with synthetic vision, the SVT display on the
primary flight display is further enhanced by GTX 345's internal
AHRS, as it displays GPS-derived airspeed, altitude and vertical
speed overlaid on the detailed 3-D topographic landscape - and,
with traffic as desired.
Garmin's exclusive traffic TargetTrend and TerminalTraffic
features add further to the traffic display. Since display capabilities
vary, Garmin's website is the best source for checking the latest
compatibility information.
The 345 offers support for other features to further enhance its
utility and cost effectiveness.
For example, either GTX 345 provides a connection to the
aircraft's audio panel to provide ATC-like audible alerts of traffic
- "Traffic: 10 o'clock, same altitude, two miles" - to aid pilots in
their visual scan for traffic.
Garmin also offers an optional altitude encoder that's on the
same tray with the transponder for easy installation and service -
and precluding the need for a static check, according to Garmin.
Locked and loaded
With FAA TSO approval firmly in hand for the GTX 335 and
335R and the GTX 345 and 345R, Garmin was, at the time of our
demonstration flight, moving ahead with work on supplemental
type certificates via an approved model list covering hundreds of
aircraft makes and models.
The DA-40 flown for this article operated under an experimental certificate awaiting that AML STC. According to Garmin, that
approval was anticipated to come before the end of February. It
did, and the company is shipping the products today.
And from what we've seen out of Garmin in recent years, we'd
be surprised if further product news didn't emerge before this
article hits mailboxes in early April.
By then, expect Garmin to be enjoying a significant order book
for these two new solutions to the ADS-B Out dilemma - and a
widened choice for those aircraft owners interested in tapping the
benefits of an all-encompassing ADS-B solution, one that both
covers their mandated needs while it also satisfies their traffic and
weather wants ... without compromise. q

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News April 2016