Garmin Intros New Watches, Avionics Upgrades

July 26, 2018 - Garmin fans will be able to wear their affection for the company’s avionics products on their sleeves, now that the new generation of Garmin aviator watches — along with updates to the company’s flight displays, navigators, and autopilots — have been introduced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018.

Available in August, the D2 series of GPS-enabled aviator smartwatches — the Delta S ($899), Delta ($949) and Delta PX ($1,249) — provide wearers enough aviation data to rival an instrument panel. Connecting wirelessly via Flight Stream 510 to the Garmin Pilot app, the GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigator series, or the G1000 NXi integrated flight deck, the watches can receive flight plans and data including GPS position information, altitude, airspeed, groundspeed, magnetic heading, outside air temperature, and more. Alerting functions can notify the wearer via vibration when, for example, a target altitude or time for fuel tank switch is reached. The top-of-the-line Delta PX incorporates built-in wrist-based pulse oximeter for monitoring oxygen saturation and a carbon monoxide detector.

Garmin also unveiled additional configuration options and greater integration throughout its line of GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigators and for the G500 TXi/G600 TXi and G500/G600 flight displays, in addition to the GFC 600 and GFC 500 autopilots. The upgrades also add descent vertical navigation (VNAV) capability within the GTNs. For current operators, the enhancements “offer greater operational potential and a broader feature set than any other avionics solution on the market,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation marketing and sales.