Avionics News April 2020 - 51

Today, WAAS provides the precision needed for
true instrument-flying capabilities - not merely
en route and terminal navigation, but precision
approach capabilities, as well.
satellites and ground stations to support the Wide Area
Augmentation System, what we commonly call WAAS today.
Finally, precision GPS was about to arrive - once boxes
became available to use the more-precise navigation option.
Today, WAAS provides the precision needed for true
instrument-flying capabilities - not merely en route and terminal
navigation, but precision approach capabilities, as well.
Along the way, the popularity of the larger all-in-one units
seemed to doom the 2-inch IFR GPS as a product. But what
about all those aircraft owners and operators with panels too
small to accommodate the larger all-in-one boxes? What
about operators who lacked the budgets for these five-figure
products?
Well, people wanted the big boxes, avionics makers told
journalists. And displays of a quality to support the moving
maps pilots coveted didn't exist yet in sizes to fit those smaller
2-inch-tall GPS navigators. And, a number of avionics folks
noted, having invested in the big-display all-in-one models,
avionics makers weren't anxious to market a product that
might cannibalize the market potential of devices. Not until
last year did the 2-inch-tall GPS navigator return in the form
of two new IFR, WAAS GPS navigators.
Garmin led the move back toward a WAAS GPS product
able to fit into all those 2-inch-tall slots, slots often vacated by
now obsolete Loran C navigators - navigators rendered into
expensive paperweights when the government shut down the
Loran C transmission network.
Introduced at the 2019 AEA International Convention &
Trade Show were Garmin's new GPS 175 and GNX 375.
Later came the GNC 355. All were quickly met by significant
interest from cost-conscience pilots.
As we look at a few of these models, they have restored an
option long coveted by many aircraft owners. And Garmin
proved the old movie adage, "If you build it, they well come.

The GPS 175 and GNX 375
This pair of 2-inch-tall pieces of avionics kit gives pilots
a choice for adding precision satellite-based navigation,
one in stand-alone form, the other in combination with an
ADS-B Out and In solution. Both devices offer WAAS
IFR-approach capability, and the GPS 175 and GNX 375
give pilots the benefit of flying LPV, lateral performance, as
well as all area navigation approaches.
Many of these satellite-based approaches offer vertical
approach guidance as low as 200 feet above ground level.
Pilots can also leverage the touchscreen and moving map
to easily generate customized holding patterns over an
existing fix in the navigation database or a user-defined
waypoint and easily insert it into a flight plan.
Garmin's innovative, visual approaches, are also part
of this pair's capabilities. The visual approach function
provides lateral and vertical approach guidance in visual
flight conditions.
Visual approaches offer added assurance at unfamiliar
airports or in challenging environments to ensure the
aircraft is aligned properly with the correct runway,
while also taking into consideration terrain and obstacle
avoidance.
From using this feature in other Garmin products, such
as the G1000 NXi integrated flight deck, the VFR approach
feature makes easy work of locating the airport, making
arrivals at new and unfamiliar airports as easy as flying
into an aircraft's home field - with guidance as precise as
instrument approaches thanks to the accuracy of WAAS
GPS.
Both of these models offer an easy path to upgrading
from some of satellite-navigation's pioneering IFR
Continued on following page
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Avionics News April 2020

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