A Panel Transformation with Garmin

This story comes from Chip, a pilot who recently upgraded the panel in his Cessna 172. The plane was equipped with a Garmin GNS 430, a Garmin GMA 340 audio panel and a Garmin GTX 327 transponder. Chip said that this equipment has worked perfectly for him for 11 years, but that he decided now was the time to upgrade to glass. He got rid of his 6-pack and replaced it with a Garmin G500 glass flight display with Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT). “The synthetic vision is great, and neat, and it’s on the money when you are approaching the runway,” he said. He also loves the georeferenced approach charts on the G500. But Chip didn’t stop there. He upgraded his GNS 430, transponder and audio panel to the all-new GTN 750 touchscreen avionics with remote transponder and remote audio processor. “The products are amazing and very user friendly,” he said. “I think Garmin has an outstanding product…and Garmin’s tech support worked well with our installer with any technical issues that we encountered.” The custom installation was completed by HTS Avionics out of Martin State Airport.

Check out these “before” and “after” photos! We love to see the transformation that takes place in a panel when it’s converted from steam gagues to glass, and we want to see your panel transformation, too. Submit your photos online or post them to our Facebook page! And to check out photos of other Garmin-equipped aircraft, visit our photo gallery.

Garmin Victor’s Vectors: GTN PC Trainer Lite Online Download

There were hundreds of people who came by the Garmin booth at Oshkosh to get their hands on the GTN series touchscreen avionics. If you didn’t get a chance to come by or you didn’t get to spend as much time with it as you wanted, we’ve got you covered. Garmin recently released a downloadable version of the GTN trainer on Garmin.com called the GTN PC Trainer Lite. This trainer functions just like the real GTN, giving you the opportunity to interact with the intuitive user interface and explore the robust capabilities in more depth.
The database coverage on the PC Trainer Lite version is limited to North America and the G500/G600 integration is not available. If you are interested in the full trainer with G500/G600 integration, it is available on disk and can be purchased online. But if you’re just interested in getting to know the GTN and getting a feel for the rich features this system has to offer, then the GTN PC Trainer Lite is for you. You can also learn more by watching our series of GTN familiarization videos, which are all available online:

Garmin Victor’s Vectors: A Better look at the Aera 796/795

With the announcement of the aera 796/795 I have been getting quite a few calls from customers wanting to know more about it, so we put together this great video to give you a closer look at all of the new features this portable has to offer. See the new 3D vision that shows your speed, heading, altitude, and course deviation, all with a realistic view of theterrain. Think about having an EFB with the ability to pull up any approach plate, sectional, or enroute  chart in the US to help you find a safe place to land. Take a look at the document viewer that is compatible with all types of documents including .pdf, .docx, .jpg,  .pptx, .jpeg, .xlsx, and more.  And check out the scratch pad which allows you to quickly jot down clearances.  With all of these new features plus all the great features that made the GPSMAP 696 a premiere aviation portable, there is no question that this is Garmin’s most capable portable yet.