Garmin received EASA validation of the U.S. Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the installation of its Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) and Iridium datalink in G1000-equipped King Air 200 and B200 models. These technologies offer pilots capabilities including stability augmentation, an onboard worldwide datalink weather solution and a variety of voice and data services.
“Garmin remains committed to expanding our industry-leading technologies throughout Europe,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “With the recent EASA validation, King Air operators in Europe may now equip their aircraft with Garmin ESP stability augmentation, and integrate worldwide weather, text messaging and satellite phone capabilities to give them the tools that enhance the situational awareness and productivity of every flight.”
Garmin ESP is an electronic monitoring and exceedance-correcting technology for Garmin integrated flight decks. It assists the pilot in maintaining the aircraft in a safe, flight stable condition, the company said.
The STC also includes approval for Garmin’s Iridium-based transceiver, the GSR 56, which gives access to worldwide weather that informs pilots of METARs, TAFs and winds aloft. RADAR, satellite imagery, lightning, SIGMET and AIRMET data is also available in select countries throughout Europe.
In addition to the worldwide weather capabilities, the GSR 56 offers an Iridium voice and data service (subscription required) that lets pilots or passengers make worldwide Iridium-based calls or send and receive text messages while in-flight or on the ground. From the cockpit, the dialing interface is provided through the multi-function display (MFD) and incoming call messages are prioritized with other aural messages.
Each of these technologies integrates with the G1000 avionics suite, which is available as a flight deck upgrade for the King Air 200 and B200 models.