Skylane’s Glass Cockpit Certified

The death of steam-driven round cockpit gauges advanced a giant step closer on Friday, when the FAA gave full type certification to Cessna for its Garmin G1000-equipped 182T Skylane. This is the G1000’s first FAA aircraft-level certification, according to a Cessna press release. Cessna’s CEO Jack Pelton said the all-glass G1000 system was the “ideal choice” for their single-engine product line because of its state-of-the-art integration and intuitive display. “The G1000 brings a new level of safety and situational awareness to the cockpit,” Pelton said. Cessna said it took 300 orders within hours of announcing the G1000 option last October, and expects to deliver its first G1000 Skylane immediately. Cessna anticipates delivery of over 600 single-engine aircraft this year, with more than 90 percent of Skylanes and 75 percent of Stationairs including the G1000 avionics option. The T182T Turbo Skylane will be certified shortly, Cessna said, with Stationair and Turbo Stationair certification expected in August.

The system is offered as a 2004 factory-installed, NAV III option on all Skylanes, Turbo Skylanes, Stationairs, and Turbo Stationairs. Cessna will offer an exclusive training program to familiarize customers with their new airplane and avionics. The G1000 system integrates all primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather, and Engine Instrumentation and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) data on two 10.4-inch, high-definition LCDs in the Skylane and Turbo Skylane, Garmin said. These active-matrix displays feature XGA resolution (1,024 x 768 pixels) and are capable of presenting data in brilliant, sunlight-readable color at wide viewing angles, according to Garmin.