Did Garmin finally get 'er done?
"all 75,000 Garmin GNS 400/500 series products currently in the field can
upgrade to WAAS"
From
www.Garmin.com:
November 9, 2006
GarminŽ Receives WAAS Certification for GNS 400W/500W series
OLATHE, Kansas/November 9, 2006/PR Newswire - Garmin International, a unit
of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today announced the achievement of a major
aviation milestone at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Expo
in Palm Springs, CA. The GNS 400/500 series have earned the FAA's TSO C146a
Gamma-3 certification, which enables pilots to fly Lateral-Precision with
Vertical (LPV) guidance approaches and receive GPS navigation via the Wide
Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The FAA also granted AML (approved model
list) STC approval allowing the 400W/500W equipment to be installed on over
980 popular makes and models of aircraft. The GNS 400/500W series joins the
G1000 and GNS 480 in providing WAAS enabled navigation for aircraft. Garmin
currently offers more WAAS solutions than any other avionics provider.
"This is a great day for Garmin and the aviation industry," said Gary
Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "Since the FAA commissioned
WAAS in 2003, there has been an enormous demand for WAAS certified equipment
in the marketplace. We are pleased to announce that all 75,000 Garmin GNS
400/500 series products currently in the field can upgrade to WAAS. We
expect the number of WAAS equipped aircraft to increase quickly, and pilots
will be able to operate to and from airports that would otherwise be
unavailable to them in marginal weather."
Thanks to the certification and AML STC approval, owners of Garmin's popular
GNS 400/500 series panel-mount avionics will be able to upgrade their
products to meet the FAA's WAAS standards* without a field approval**. These
upgrades include 5 Hz position updates, faster map redraws, fully coupled
and guided procedure turns and holding patterns, and increased XM weather
content. Pilots will also experience significantly enhanced functionality
because of the WAAS LPV, LNAV/VNAV, LNAV+V, and LNAV approach capabilities.
Garmin's GNS 400W/500W series meets the FAA's highest level of certification
for WAAS navigation. The units utilize satellite-based navaids for precise
lateral and vertical approach guidance - similar to Instrument Landing
System (ILS) operations - without the need for ground-based navaids of any
kind. The Gamma-3 level of certification lets pilots fly the FAA's new LPV
approaches. The FAA has already published over 600 LPV and 5,500 WAAS
approach procedures.
The WAAS system improves the accuracy, reliability and integrity of the GPS
signal. GPS-WAAS navigators that meet FAA's WAAS regulations may be used for
sole means of navigation* for all phases of flight, including en route
through precision approach at airports. With WAAS LPV approaches, pilots
will have stabilized lateral and vertical navigation and will be able to
navigate as low as 200 feet above the runway end under instrument flight
rules.
Garmin's panel mount avionics have been installed on nearly three-fourths of
all U.S. single and twin-engine piston and turbine aircraft retrofitted
since 2000. The company strives continually to raise-the-bar in the avionics
industry, and two years ago at the 2004 AOPA Expo Garmin's GNS 480T was the
first GPS navigator in the industry to earn a TSO C146a Gamma-3
certification.
Garmin expects deliveries of the new GNS 430WT and GNS 530WT to begin in
about 30 days with upgrades beginning in January 2007. Upgrades are
available for a suggested retail price of $1,500. Pilots who do not
currently own Garmin 400/500 series equipment and are in the process of
upgrading their avionics, will be able to purchase new GNS 430W and GNS 530W
units for $10,750 and $16,495, respectively. Visit
www.garmin.com for
additional information or a complete list of authorized Garmin dealers.
*Due to the TSO limitation in conjunction with the AFMS limitation, Garmin's
GNS 400/500 series navigators will not be certified as a "primary means" of
GPS navigation until after customers install a new software version. Garmin
expects to issue a Service Bulletin in the first quarter of 2007 issuing the
software. The software will be updated via the 400/500W data loader card.
This required software update is expected to be available in the first
quarter of 2007.
**The AML STC data is intended to provide complete FAA approved data for a
large subset of CAR3/FAR23 aircraft; however, if the aircraft does not
pre-qualify for the AML STC standards, additional means of airworthiness
approval will be required.
Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and
its business...