Garmin (Booth No. 2853) yesterday introduced an integrated avionics system for light turbine-powered airplanes called G3000 that sets itself apart by using menu-driven touchscreens for accessing nearly all of the functions that pilots normally control with a myriad of buttons and dials.
Intended for the upper echelon of the Part 23 business aircraft market, the G3000 cockpit adds a pair of 5.7-inch-diagonal touchscreen controllers below the main flight displays. The screens include desktop-like menu interfaces with icons that can be pushed to access most of the system’s features. Audio and visual feedback is used to let pilots know exactly how the system is responding to their inputs. The touchscreen unit, called the GTC 570, also incorporates conventional controls at the bottom of the display including a volume control knob, map joystick and dual concentric knob for data entry.