Garmin unveiled its new AXIS system during a virtual launch event Wednesday morning. AXIS is a new family of flight displays for certified piston singles and light twins, as well as experimental and LSA aircraft. The system is designed to offer flight display, IFR GPS, NAV/COMM radio and audio panel capability through a single display, depending on the model selected.
“AXIS redefines Garmin’s flight display portfolio and brings industry-first capability to a single flight display,” Carl Wolf, Garmin vice president of aviation sales, marketing, programs and support, said. “This game-changing flight display system delivers a modern, highly capable cockpit experience while significantly reducing time, complexity and cost of installation through integration of navigation, communication and audio functions into a single flight display.”
Integrated Display Options
AXIS will be offered in three display sizes, including an 11.6-inch landscape display, an 8-inch portrait display and an 8-inch landscape display. Each unit can be configured as a primary flight display, multifunction display or engine indication system, and Garmin says the displays will support both full-screen and split-screen layouts.
The 11.6-inch AXIS displays can be ordered in versions that include a TSO-certified IFR GPS, COMM radio, NAV radio and audio panel. The built-in COMM radio has 10 watts of transmit power, 8.33 kHz channel spacing and standby monitoring. The integrated audio panel includes a four-place intercom, dual-COMM switching for one external radio, COMM playback, Bluetooth music and phone support.
“It’s really the new center point of the cockpit for a lot of aircraft owners to consider,” a Garmin representative said during a pre-briefing with AVweb. “And it offers scalability, flexibility, and incredible new safety technology that is just going to improve the overall experience for a lot of aircraft owners and pilots that are flying behind the system.”
Safety And Connectivity
Garmin says AXIS will include a dedicated emergency button on the display bezel. The button gives pilots access to emergency-related functions, including Smart Glide, level mode, a 180-degree turn function and a shortcut for selecting the emergency transponder code.
The system will also support Garmin’s 3D SafeTaxi, Runway Occupancy Awareness and SurfaceWatch features. Other functions include updated Synthetic Vision Technology, display widgets for selected MFD information, HDMI camera input, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight connectivity, database transfers and a USB-C port for data transfer and device charging.
Outside of new features, though, the overall user interface and experience AVweb saw during demos of the AXIS system felt very familiar. Those familiar with G3X panels in particular should feel very much at home with AXIS, and will likely require very little additional training or review to get off the ground with the system.
Upgrade Path And Availability
Garmin said AXIS uses many of the same sensors, LRUs, panel cutouts and mounting holes as G3X Touch. During a briefing with AVweb, company representatives said most G3X Touch upgrades are expected to require about eight connector pin changes and could be completed in about a day, depending on the installation.
Initial 11.6-inch AXIS displays are expected to be available in July. Garmin said the STC covers hundreds of certified Part 23 Class I and II piston singles and twins, while the 8-inch displays, certified twin EIS and GFC 600 compatibility are expected in early 2027.
Pricing discussed for AXIS during the briefing included $8,000 for an experimental VFR system with air data and attitude sensors, $28,000 for an 11.6-inch display with built-in IFR GPS, NAV/COMM and audio panel capability, and $51,800 for dual 11.6-inch displays with dual IFR GPS/NAV/COMM capability. Garmin also said display-only upgrades from G3X Touch would be priced at $6,000 for experimental aircraft and $10,000 for certified aircraft.
Too much color! I loved the simple high-contrast black and white of round-dial instruments. You could tell at a glance what was happening, but now you have to read multiple labels/words and push nearly invisible touch-pads located everywhere on the panel.