Garmin admits that it borrowed from the way it shows text and graphics on its G2000, G3000 and G5000 touch-controlled avionics systems to give G1000 NXi (Garmin’s name for the updated system) a cleaner, fresher and more user-friendly look. The displays are about as sharp, which is to say, plenty sharp, but they look brighter, though admittedly that might be because the way information is presented on the screens is different. Some are common to the new Garmin G1000 NXi suite that Garmin just launched-we flew it first at Plane & Pilot-and some are pure Cirrus.įor a pilot who has experience with G1000-this is around the 40 th different airplane model I’ve flown with a factory-installed G1000 panel-the new Perspective+ panel is a revelation. Photo by Scott SlocumĪnd the “plusses” in the new Perspective+glass cockpit are noteworthy indeed. The keys and knobs and buttons are newly styled, there are dual ADAHRS instead of separate air data and AHRS, and there are new utilities, like on-screen weight and balance and data-driven maps. Zooming and panning now go at light speed. The displays are the same size, but the processors driving them are a lot faster. The differences between the old G1000 and new are numerous and important. Perspective offers several big bonuses to standard G1000, including Cirrus’ exclusive keypad, larger displays than on most G1000 installations and a number of features, including charts and vertical guidance, that were first launched by Cirrus on its Perspective cockpit before being picked up by other aircraft manufacturers on their planes. As you probably know, Cirrus incorporated G1000 years ago in its products with a specially designed package that Cirrus calls Perspective. In fact, the company has sold nearly 100 of them in advance of the public launch, but all its contacts have been made under strict non-disclosure agreements. That hasn’t stopped Cirrus from selling G6s. The bright and flexible all-LED system is anchored by a long light rope than can act as a strobe, a pulse light, or path lighting. The new Spectra wingtip lighting system is many things at once – a recognition system, bright nav lights, strobes, and landing lights all in one. I met her on the ramp, and even before she tied the G6 down, she pulled out some wingtip covers to hide them from prying eyes, as we were still nearly a month from the official launch date of the plane. With its distinctive paint scheme and otherworldly wingtip lighting, the plane attracts a lot of attention, so Ivy found the most out-of-the-way piece of ramp she could to park the plane. I met Cirrus’ single-engine product line manager Ivy McIver in San Marcos, Texas, to go flying in the new G6. And, yes, it also has the smooth and powerful Continental TSIO-550 factory turbocharged engine for 200-plus-knots true airspeed in cruise, 1,000-plus fpm rate of climb with the simplicity and the user-friendliness of a fixed-gear single. It has air conditioning, built-in oxygen and USB ports everywhere you turn. It has flight into known icing capability with a powerful and redundant certified TKS system. It has better seats, including the 60/40 Flex Seating that allows for a fifth passenger or split fold-down for hauling larger items. The airframe is nearly identical to the G5 model introduced two years ago, so it features more carbon fiber than ever, taller gear, better lights, and more interior and exterior options. It builds on the impressive incremental progress the company has made over the 15-plus years of production. The new model, which Cirrus has dubbed the SR22 G6, isn’t a new airframe. And the way the company did it is surprising, though at this point maybe it shouldn’t be. With the introduction of its best-selling SR22 G6 high-performance piston single, Cirrus has raised the bar in the category once again. When visions of glass cockpits dance in our heads, we personal aviation pilots usually think of the Garmin G1000 avionics suite, which for more than 15 years has been the de facto standard avionics package in the vast majority of new production Part 23 light planes.
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