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Second, Cheltons best-of-class displays, the FlightLogic system, also has the smallest screens. And last, we recently spent some time with Garmins new G600, which has smallish portrait-oriented screens that do what its larger sibling, the G1000, does in less than half the panel space. For once, less is more may actually be more than just a clich. The G600 we demod is at least half a year from its commercial introduction and although its we’ll along in development, the production-ready units may have design elements not evident in the prototype we examined. Nonetheless, we like what we see thus far and heres the state of play for the G600. As we reported in the September 2006 issue following the G600s debut in Oshkosh, this product is designed for the aftermarket. That means its overall size and basic architecture is intended to fit where no G1000 would dare to venture: into the panel of a 20-year-old Bonanza or Cessna with a likely tangle of orphaned wiring, static tubing and other EFIS-unfriendly junk.
Because of this, Garmin had to make the G600 smaller than the G1000 by quite a bit. The target size is a footprint thats no greater than the overall area occupied by a traditional steam gauge six pack. In the G600, this works out to a bezel frame size 10 inches in width by 6.7 inches high, with a behind-the-panel depth of about 3.5 inches and a weight of 4 pounds.
If the airplane in question doesnt have a six pack, but an older panel with scattered instruments, the G600 will still fit, but it might not be easy. (Not that it will be an easy install under any circumstances, if you ask us.) Garmins Chris Schulte a lead developer of the GNS480 when it was the CNX480 before Garmin bought the Salem, Oregon-based UPSAT told us that the largest challenge every would-be G600 buyer will have to overcome is panel structure and design. Its not that the G600 wont fit you could probably get it into a Luscombe but that there may be no room left for the remaining required instruments or that the panel will have to be perforated to fit everything.
Like all primary flight displays, the G600 will require three backup instruments an attitude indicator, an airspeed indicator and an altimeter. The attitude indicator must be driven by a secondary power source which Schulte believes will likely be a vacuum source in most airplanes.
Even in dual-alternator aircraft, an electric AI isn’t a legal option, although it might be if the aircraft also has dual batteries on an isolated bus or an electric AI with a back-up battery, such as the Mid-Continent 4200 or its new 4300 Lifesaver electric AI, with battery back-up.
An interesting test case is Aviation Consumers Mooney 231. The six pack footprint leaves more than enough room for the G600 display itself. Yank out the steam gauges, and slip in the glass. What could be simpler?
But there’s a problem. Actually, several. The rate-based S-TEC autopilot relies on the turn coordinator for bank information, so it has to go somewhere. That doesnt mean it has to be in view in the panel, but moving it behind the panel or elsewhere in the airplane ramps up installation complexity and cost. Further, we have the number 2 CDI, a Stormscope, a Shadin fuel computer and the autopilots altitude pre-select panel to the right of the six pack, where the backup instruments could otherwise be logically installed. There’s also an intercom control panel. The possibilities are intriguing, but also expensive. We could simply toss the Stormscope and use the hole for one of the three required instruments, leave the number 2 CDI where it is and find other space for the pre-select panel. As part of a general upgrade, we could also dump the old Sigtronics intercom and Shadin MiniFlo and rely on the existing Garmin GNS530 for fuel monitoring. Thats not ideal, but its a solution. We could also trade our Apollo MX-20 and free up the far right panel, solving several problems at once, albeit not elegantly.