Garmin marks 1,000th G1000 flight deck retrofit for King Air

Garmin has delivered its 1,000th G1000 integrated flight deck, nearly 20 years after introducing the system. The 1,000th retrofit went into a C-12 Huron, the military version of the King Air.

The G1000 replaces mechanical vacuum-driven instruments with two computer displays: a primary flight display and a multi-function display. Information is colour-coded, with red for emergencies, yellow for warnings, green for normal conditions and white for informational items. Garmin says the layout is more intuitive than traditional round-dial gauges and improves pilot situational awareness.

Swapping aging avionics for a fully integrated flight deck of this kind increases the King Air's capabilities and helps operators extend its useful service life, according to Garmin, while gaining better reliability and a more modern cockpit. The company's current platform is the G1000 NXi, which adds options including Garmin Autothrottle and Autoland.

Carl Wolf, Garmin vice president of aviation sales, marketing, programs and support, said in a news release that reaching 1,000 King Air retrofits reflects the value of the program and the confidence customers place in the company and its authorized dealer network. The program has been expanded from the original G1000 installation to the current NXi platform to serve King Air operators and missions worldwide, he said.