Garmin Gains EASA Approval of G5 Flight Display

Garmin today announced European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval of the G5 electronic flight instrument for installation in certified general aviation airplanes in Europe. The approval covers light airplanes weighing less than 2,700 kilograms (5,952 pounds), and follows a similar STC for the non-TSO’d display approved by the FAA last summer.

The G5 electronic flight instrument is designed to replace failure-prone mechanical gyro-driven attitude indicators as a standalone primary source of aircraft attitude and turn coordination information. Installation approval is accomplished via STC and with a comprehensive approved model list containing hundreds of individual aircraft models. The STC is part of a push in the United States and Europe to bring less costly avionics to light airplanes.

“We are grateful for EASA’s recent efforts and their dedication to implement simpler, scalable regulations that are economical and allow aircraft owners to more easily install modern flight instrumentation,” said Phil Straub, Garmin executive vice president and managing director of aviation.

Under the EASA STC, the G5 electronic flight instrument is approved for installation in place of the aircraft’s primary attitude indicator or turn coordinator via a Garmin-held STC for hundreds of certified fixed-wing aircraft models. The 3.5-inch LCD is approved as a primary source of aircraft attitude or turn coordination information and as a secondary source for altitude, airspeed and vertical speed. The G5 display also includes a four-hour back-up battery for use in the event of an aircraft alternator failure.

The G5 is approved for flight under VFR and IFR conditions. It integrates with the airplane’s existing pitot-static system to display attitude, airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, slip/skid, turn rate, configurable v-speed references, barometric settings and selected altitude, as well as visual alerts when arriving at the preselected altitude. GPS-based track and groundspeed information are also shown. Barometric setting, preselected altitude and ground track bugs can easily be adjusted using the dedicated rotary knob.

The display can be installed in place of a standard 3 1/8-inch flight instrument. It requires only power, ground, pitot-static inputs and a WAAS antenna or GPS input from a navigator, such as Garmin’s GTN 650/750 or GNS 430W/530W.

Recommended retail price is $2,349, which includes the install kit, back-up battery and STC. The display is $2,699 with an optional GPS antenna.