Hawker Beechcraft begins installing Garmin G1000 glass cockpit avionics in King Air twin-engine turboprops
WICHITA, Kan., 27 May 2012. General aviation specialist Hawker Beechcraft Corp. in Wichita, Kan., has begun upgrading avionics in the company's King Air twin-engine turboprop aircraft with the Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck from Garmin Ltd. in Olathe, Kan., which enables King Air pilots to view flight information on large high-definition displays.
Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS), the customer-service branch of Hawker Beechcraft, has taken orders for six Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck installations for the Beechcraft King Air 300/350 twin-engine turboprop.
Garmin received FAA supplemental type certification for this upgrade (SA01535WI-D) for a wide range of King Air models, including C90, 200, B200, 300, and 350.
The G1000 retrofit avionics integrates all primary flight, navigation, weather, terrain, traffic, radio frequency, engine and fuel data readouts on large-format, high-definition liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
The cockpit layout has a central 15-inch multi-function display, flanked by 10.4-inch primary flight displays at the pilot and copilot positions. Standard include WAAS-certified GPS navigation, dual integrated solid-state Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS), and dual integrated RVSM-capable digital air data computers. The King Air G1000 suite comes standard with GWX68 digital color radar and GFC 700, a 3-axis, digital, dual channel automatic flight control system.
Garmin’s G1000 is an all-glass avionics suite retrofit on a wide range of business aircraft, which presents flight instrumentation, navigation, weather, terrain, traffic, and engine data on cockpit displays. It can be configured as a two- or three-display system with 10- or 12-inch liquid crystal displays interchangeable as primary flight displays or multifunction displays. An optional 15-inch display is available.
The G1000 replaces traditional mechanical gyroscopic flight instruments with Garmin’s GRS77 attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), which tracks the aircraft position, rate, vector, and acceleration. The avionics suite includes the GFC 700 autopilot that uses G1000 data to navigate, maintain airspeed, and optimize aircraft performance.
The G1000 has built-in terrain and navigation databases, and Jeppesen database for onscreen navigation, communication, and mapping. The Jeppesen ChartView is available to overlay aircraft position on the electronic approach chart. The G1000 also has color coding to alert pilots to proximity conflicts. A Class-B Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) is available.
The avionics suite also has the SafeTaxi built-in database of more than 650 U.S. airport diagrams, as well as the option FliteCharts electronic version of the AeroNav U.S. Terminal Procedures Publication. The G1000 has optional SVT synthetic vision, optional subscription to XM WX Satellite Weather.
The Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350i seats nine to 11 passengers, cruises at 313 knots, flies as high as 35,000 feet, and has a range of about 1,000 miles. It can take off on runways as short as 3,300 feet and land on 2,700-foot runways. The aircraft is 47 feet long and has a wingspan at 58 feet.
For more information contact Hawker Beechcraft online at www.hawkerbeechcraft.com, or Garmin at www.garmin.com.
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John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
