Garmin Expands Retrofit NXi Availability

Garmin announced today that it is expanding the list of aircraft eligible to upgrade from the company's G1000 integrated flight deck to the newer G1000 NXi. The NXi upgrade is available immediately for G1000-equipped Daher TBM 850/900 and King Air 200/300/350 aircraft. Garmin also said that it expects to add upgrade eligibility for the Citation Mustang by the end of 2018, along with the Embraer Phenom 100/300 and Piper M500 in 2019.

According to Garmin, the G1000 NXi provides better readability, smoother display panning and faster map rendering. Other features include data transfer between the NXi system and Garmin Pilot, FltPlan Go and ForeFlight mobile apps, the ability to display ADS-B In benefits such as traffic and weather, a geographical map overlay within the horizontal situation indicator (HSI), and visual approach guidance. The company says the upgrade does not require panel and wiring modifications since it uses the existing display footprint and connectors.

Garmin also announced that it has made progress toward certification of the G5000 for the Citation Excel and Citation XLS with the addition of a second test aircraft. The system has currently undergone more than 125 hours of flight testing in addition to several thousand hours of ground tests and system development. Certification is expected in early 2019.