Garmin's GI 275 electronic flight instrument is ready for installation in select Part 27 FAA-registered helicopters via field approval. The GI 275 has completed stringent helicopter vibration and temperature testing, demonstrating it can withstand the operating environments encountered by helicopters. Initial variants approved for installation include the course deviation indicator (CDI), radar altimeter display and the multi-function display (MFD) versions of the GI 275. Follow-on approval of the GI 275 as a replacement for the attitude indicator and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) via STC is expected in Q4 2020.

“With these approvals, we're thrilled to expand the availability of the GI 275 to now include the helicopter market,” says Carl Wolf, VP of aviation sales and marketing. “The GI 275 is the perfect solution for helicopter owners and operators, as it allows them to take a scalable, cost-conscious approach to their avionics upgrade. Even further, the GI 275 adds a tremendous amount of reliability and capability to any cockpit, making it the perfect upgrade for every panel.”

Lightweight and compact, the GI 275 is intentionally designed to take advantage of the common 3.125-inch flight instrument size, reducing installation time and preserving the existing instrument panel. Its bright, high-resolution touchscreen display and wide viewing angle offers superior readability in the cockpit. In addition to interfacing with the flight instrument via the touchscreen, a dual concentric knob allows pilots to access a variety of key functions. Suitable as a direct replacement to many ageing flight instruments, the GI 275 offers operators a simple and straightforward upgrade path to achieve modern flight instrument features and functions.

When installed as a CDI, the GI 275 is designed to accept a variety of GPS and navigation inputs, allowing up to two GPS sources and two VHF navigation sources. The GI 275 features an omni bearing resolver that allows the flight instrument to interface to a variety of legacy navigators on the market. Vertical and lateral GPS, VOR/LOC and glide slope deviation can be viewed on the GI 275. MFD-like features such as a moving map, MFD flight data, weather, traffic, SafeTaxi airport diagrams and the display of radar altimeter information, add even more capability to the cockpit. The GI 275 can be paired with the GRA 55/5500 and other third-party products to display radar altimeter data. Visual and aural annunciations are also available.

Built-in Wi-Fi enables database concierge, the wireless transfer of aviation databases to the GI 275. Pilots also have the option to transfer databases to the GI 275 using a USB flash drive and the GSB 15 USB charger. Databases can also be synced among multiple GI 275 flight instruments in a single cockpit. Additional wireless functions include the sharing of GPS position and back-up attitude information with the Garmin Pilot mobile application.

The GI 275 is available immediately for installation via field approval in select Part 27 FAA-registered helicopters as a CDI or MFD. Additional features and functions are expected to be approved via STC in Q4 2020. The GI 275 also comes with a two-year warranty and is supported by Garmin's award-winning aviation support team, which provides 24/7 worldwide technical and warranty support.