Garmin Releases GTN 650Xi and GTN 750Xi Navigators

When Garmin launched the first of its aftermarket touchscreen navigators in 2011, Flying noted that the most remarkable thing about the new multifunction units was not the touchscreen itself, but the enabling power behind it. In the initial versions, this involved losing the keypad and finding in its place what many pilots considered to be an even more intuitive programming architecture.

Garmin has released the newest update of its GTN 650 and 750 touchscreen navigators, the GTN 650Xi and GTN 750Xi. With this update, the company proposes to advance that ease of use, incorporating faster, dual-core processors and “modern” hardware. The outcome should be smoother map rendering and scrolling, and faster response to pilot inputs. The high-res display improves on the previous model for better readability. One element that may indeed relieve pilot impatience is the faster initialization time, granting quick access to frequencies and flight planning information. The familiar direct-to button remains, as does the concentric knob for various functions.

Advanced navigation features are preserved, and include the approaches that incorporate radius-to-fix (RF) leg types, as well as the option to add a published or custom holding procedure, VNAV, terrain alerting and graphical flight plan editing on the moving map.

The units are slide-in replacements for the previous versions, and they pair with a wide variety of avionics on the market. For example, when matched with a Garmin autopilot, such as the GFC 500 or 600, a pilot can fly a coupled VNAV profile and approach. The units are already approved via FAA supplemental type certificate (STC), and retail cost is $12,495 (for the 650Xi) and $17,995 (for the 750Xi) plus installation.