Garmin 530 WAAS?

What does the reference:

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

really mean. I understand the additon of precision approaches, but I think I
have been able to use my 530 as my sole means of navigation (other than
precision approach) for a year now. Is it just the approach part that is
new??
"Al G" wrote in message
news
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

Garmin® 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...

Sam Spade wrote:
Mike Adams wrote:
Not true. The 480 is still approved for WAAS procedures - the SAIB
just recommends a RAIM check and a non-GPS alternate.

The link Doug Vetter posted to Avionics West in Tennessee makes a very
clear statement that LPV IAPs cannot be flown.

URL, please? I couldn't find it. What authority? What controlling
document? SAIB doesn't say that.

Al G wrote:

Hardware retrofit?

I don't see where it is explicitly called out, but I think it is nearly
a given that upgraded hardware will be required to meet the TSO146
requirements. Just consider going from position calculations 1/sec to
5/sec is a significant performance requirement.

pgbnh wrote:
What does the reference:

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

really mean. I understand the additon of precision approaches, but I think I
have been able to use my 530 as my sole means of navigation (other than
precision approach) for a year now. Is it just the approach part that is
new??

With your 530 or other TSO C129 navigator you need to also carry
equipment for ground-based navigation, and you need a non-GPS approach
alternate whenever an alternate is required by the regulations.

Not so with TSO C146 navigators.

It's in the AIM.

"pgbnh" wrote in message
...
What does the reference:

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

really mean. I understand the additon of precision approaches, but I think
I have been able to use my 530 as my sole means of navigation (other than
precision approach) for a year now. Is it just the approach part that is
new??

The 530's I'm flying now, will indeed lead your through an approach, but
without any kind of vertical nav. No step down fixes, no vertical planning,
no published altitudes. If I read this correctly, this allows vertical nav
and guidance, including Waas approaches which should have lower minima than
existing GPS apps.

Al G

Dave Butler wrote:

Al G wrote:

Hardware retrofit?

I don't see where it is explicitly called out, but I think it is nearly
a given that upgraded hardware will be required to meet the TSO146
requirements. Just consider going from position calculations 1/sec to
5/sec is a significant performance requirement.

Yes, I don't see it in the press release, but somewhere I read that the
upgrade includes replacement of the main processor, and maybe some other
hardware changes. My point was that the h/w changes are the more
significant, and with the limited TSO approval Garmin can get started on
upgrading customer units, even though the final software isn't available
yet.

Mike

Dave Butler wrote:

Sam Spade wrote:
Mike Adams wrote:
Not true. The 480 is still approved for WAAS procedures - the SAIB
just recommends a RAIM check and a non-GPS alternate.

The link Doug Vetter posted to Avionics West in Tennessee makes a very
clear statement that LPV IAPs cannot be flown.

URL, please? I couldn't find it. What authority? What controlling
document? SAIB doesn't say that.

I agree. With all due respect to Avionics West, I don't think that's
actually the case. Neither Garmin nor the SAIB say that LPVs are not
allowed.

Mike

Dave Butler wrote:

The link Doug Vetter posted to Avionics West in Tennessee makes a very
clear statement that LPV IAPs cannot be flown.


URL, please? I couldn't find it. What authority? What controlling
document? SAIB doesn't say that.

http://www.avionicswest.com/software...n0621.htm#1115

pgbnh wrote:

What does the reference:

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

really mean. I understand the additon of precision approaches, but I think I
have been able to use my 530 as my sole means of navigation (other than
precision approach) for a year now. Is it just the approach part that is
new??

You have had to do predictive RAIM for your intended route. Not so with
the 146 box.

Al G wrote:



The 530's I'm flying now, will indeed lead your through an approach, but
without any kind of vertical nav. No step down fixes, no vertical planning,
no published altitudes. If I read this correctly, this allows vertical nav
and guidance, including Waas approaches which should have lower minima than
existing GPS apps.


None of that will change one iota for LNAV minimums. Many RNAV
approaches will never have LPV minimums because of siting or
runway/taxiway problems.

LPV is just like ILS in that there can be no penetrations of the
glidepath qualification surface, which is a show stopper on occasion.

Where LPV is authorized, the vertical guidance is only from the FAF inbound.

I am not intending to sell LPV short. It is great where it will work,
much better than unaugmented RNAV (GPS). But, it has a lot of
limitations just like ILS does from a terrain and airport layout standpoint.