Garmin announces GI 275 electronic flight instrument certification for Bell 407 and Robinson R66 helicopters

OLATHE, Kan. /June 6, 2023 — Garmin (NYSE: GRMN) today announced Supplemental Type Certification (STC) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the GI 275 electronic flight instrument in Bell 407 and Robinson R66 helicopters. A powerful solution for helicopter owners and operators, the GI 275 is a scalable, cost-conscious approach to an avionics upgrade that is a direct replacement for a variety of legacy primary flight instruments in the cockpit, including the primary attitude indicator, course deviation indicator (CDI), horizontal situation indicator (HSI), or the multi-function display (MFD).

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 offer 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 aging flight instruments, the GI 275 is easy to incorporate into a variety of panels and offers operators a simple and straightforward upgrade path to achieve modern flight instrument features and functions.

Primary attitude indicator

When installed as a primary attitude indicator, the GI 275 offers improved reliability, potential weight savings and reduced maintenance compared to less reliable, vacuum-driven attitude indicators. Optional Helicopter Synthetic Vision Technology (HSVT^™) overlays a rich, 3D topographic view of terrain, traffic, obstacles, power lines, airport signposts and more, all within the GI 275 attitude display¹. Additional features include the display of outside air temperature, groundspeed, as well as true airspeed and wind information on the attitude indicator, and wireless functionality like sharing of GPS position and backup attitude information to the Garmin Pilot^™ app.

Course deviation indicator (CDI) & horizontal situation indicator (HSI)

When installed as a CDI or HSI, 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 without the need for an expensive adapter. With an optional magnetometer, it is also capable of providing magnetic-based HSI guidance. The HSI can also provide enhanced features such as map inset and traffic, terrain or weather overlay. Selecting the CDI source can be accomplished through the touchscreen interface, while course and heading selection is completed using either the touchscreen or dual concentric knob.

Multi-function display (MFD)

When owners replace an older mechanical CDI or HSI, the GI 275 can double as a modern digital indicator and adds MFD-like capabilities such as a moving map², weather², traffic, obstacles, WireAware^™ power lines, SafeTaxi^® airport diagrams and five-color terrain shading. For backup navigation information, a built-in VFR GPS enables convenient direct-to navigation guidance, displaying aircraft position information on a moving map, and when enabled, offers forward-looking terrain and obstacle avoidance (FLTA) capability to alert in advance where potential hazards may exist. Additionally, HTAWS (Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System) is available on the GI 275³. The GI 275 electronic flight instrument can also be paired with Garmin’s GRA^® 55 or GRA 5500 radar altimeters, or other select third-party products, to display altitude Above Ground Level (AGL) while also providing visual and aural annunciations to the pilot.

The GI 275 is available as a retrofit for Bell 407⁴ and Robinson R66 helicopters through authorized Garmin dealers. The GI 275 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. For additional information on Garmin’s helicopter solutions, visit garmin.com/helicopters.  

Garmin products and services have revolutionized flight and become essential to the lives of pilots and aircraft owners and operators around the world. A leading provider of solutions to general aviation, business aviation, rotorcraft, advanced air mobility, government and defense, and commercial air carrier customers, Garmin believes every day is an opportunity to innovate. Recipient of the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy for Garmin Autoland, Garmin developed the world’s first certified autonomous system that activates during an emergency to control and land an aircraft without human intervention. Visit the Garmin Newsroom, email our media team, connect with @garminaviation on social, or follow our blog.

¹Features and functions depend on configuration and variant selected; visit a Garmin Authorized Dealer for additional information

²Not supported in select instrument panels; see a Garmin Authorized Dealer for details

³HTAWS enabled WAAS GNS series, GTN series or GTN Xi series navigator required

⁴Installation of the GI 275 is not approved in 407 GXi variants equipped and approved for IFR operations

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