Pilatus PC-12 Becomes First Aircraft Certified for Garmin G3000

According to Garmin, the G3000 Prime in the PC-12 Pro has 14-inch touchscreen primary display units (PDUs) with edge-to-edge, sunlight-readable, fingerprint-resistant glass that redefine expectations in cockpit aesthetics and functionality.

Garmin announced the release of the G3000 Prime in October.

“We are honored to be able to bring this extraordinary flight deck to the popular PC-12 aircraft," said Carl Wolf, Garmin G3000 vice president of aviation sales, marketing, programs and support. "PRIME will significantly modernize the cockpit experience in the PC-12 PRO, and we are confident Pilatus customers will enjoy the state-of-the-art system with all of the safety tool features it includes."

The company said the G3000 PRIME advanced multitouch touchscreen interface is capable of recognizing up to 10 touchscreen inputs at once, which will allow both pilot and copilot to interact with the same display simultaneously.

"The enhanced multitouch technology also enables on-screen hand stabilization, allowing pilots to give precise touchscreen inputs while simultaneously resting their fingers on the display," Garmin said. "In addition to touch inputs, pilots may opt to use the cursor control device (CCD) for physical control of commonly used functions, adapting to the Pilatus-designed user interface and further demonstrating PRIME’s flexibility."

The displays include what Garmin describes as multiple performance enhancements including "quadruple the memory and gigabit system connectivity that is up to 100 times faster." Garmin said the G3000 has higher display refresh rates for delivery of information, and complementary secondary display units to provide data entry and system control, with the added capability to display multifunction applications on screens that are 40 percent larger than previous Garmin touch controllers.

“We have greatly enjoyed collaborating with Garmin to bring the G3000 PRIME flight deck to the new PC-12 PRO,” Markus Bucher, CEO of Pilatus Aircraft, said in a statement. “This trusted relationship has developed an incredible airplane and cockpit that will set a new standard in business aviation.” 

The PC-12 PRO equipped with the G3000 PRIME has received initial type certification, and deliveries are expected to begin by the third quarter of 2025.