Garmin 530 WAAS?

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...

Al G wrote:
Did Garmin finally get 'er done?
"all 75,000 Garmin GNS 400/500 series products currently in the field can
upgrade to WAAS"


Those 400/500s will be a whole lot more powerful and have some great new
features.

Yes, Garmin got it done.

Al G wrote:

Did Garmin finally get 'er done?
"all 75,000 Garmin GNS 400/500 series products currently in the field can
upgrade to WAAS"

Thanks for posting this announcement.

As a GNS430 owner who has been on the list since its inception, I will be
calling my avionics shop tomorrow to be sure they are aware of this.

--
Peter

Al G wrote:
Did Garmin finally get 'er done?
"all 75,000 Garmin GNS 400/500 series products currently in the field can
upgrade to WAAS"

And to think...the 480 has apparently been downgraded to a TSO 129 box...

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

Oh, the irony.

-Doug

--------------------
Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI

http://www.dvatp.com
--------------------

Are there really 75,000 Garmin GNS 400/500 series products currently in the
field?

Doug Vetter wrote:

And to think...the 480 has apparently been downgraded to a TSO 129 box...

Not true. The 480 is still approved for WAAS procedures - the SAIB just recommends a RAIM check and
a non-GPS alternate.

Note also that the press release includes a footnote saying the 430W is not approved for primary means
navigation. Just connecting the dots, it appears that the testing of the 430W revealed a marginal test
condition that was also applicable to the 480, and that resulted in both the 480 SAIB, and the need for
another software upgrade to the 430W to get the TSO limitation lifted and provide primary means WAAS
capability.

My guess is they took the TSO limitation to get the TSO completed, and allow the hardware retrofit to get
started. In the mean time they can work on the follow-on software update, which can be easily installed in
the field, separate from the hardware upgrade.

Mike

Mike Adams wrote:

Note also that the press release includes a footnote saying the 430W
is not approved for primary means navigation.

So, do you suppose that this caveat mean that one can no longer use the GPS
to fly non-WAAS, or traditional RNAV/GPS approaches after upgrading (until
the software update is released)?

--
Peter

"Mike Adams" wrote in message
...
Doug Vetter wrote:

And to think...the 480 has apparently been downgraded to a TSO 129 box...

Not true. The 480 is still approved for WAAS procedures - the SAIB just
recommends a RAIM check and
a non-GPS alternate.

Note also that the press release includes a footnote saying the 430W is
not approved for primary means
navigation. Just connecting the dots, it appears that the testing of the
430W revealed a marginal test
condition that was also applicable to the 480, and that resulted in both
the 480 SAIB, and the need for
another software upgrade to the 430W to get the TSO limitation lifted and
provide primary means WAAS
capability.

My guess is they took the TSO limitation to get the TSO completed, and
allow the hardware retrofit to get
started.

Hardware retrofit?

*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.

Al G

Jon Woellhaf wrote:
Are there really 75,000 Garmin GNS 400/500 series products currently in the
field?



Something like that.

Mike Adams wrote:

Doug Vetter wrote:


And to think...the 480 has apparently been downgraded to a TSO 129 box...


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.