Soon there will be few aircraft in the sky that are not approved for one of Garmin’s anti-collision devices.
Garmin International says the FAA has granted an approved model list supplemental type certificate for Garmin’s traffic avoidance system (TAS) and traffic collision avoidance system I (TCAS I) traffic systems, the GTS 800, GTS 820 and GTS 850. The approval includes approximately 580 different aircraft makes and models, and Garmin expects to add additional aircraft in 2010. This announcement follows the technical standards order (TSO) authorization that Garmin received in November.
The GTS 800 traffic series combines active and passive surveillance data to pinpoint specific traffic threats. The systems use Garmin’s patent-pending CLEAR CAS technology and correlates automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) with radar targets to provide pilots with the most accurate picture of the sky.
“The GTS traffic series is one of several aviation products designed to be compatible with the NextGen system. It can track up to 60 targets at a time, identify the flight path of specific aircraft, and give spoken audio alerts in an ATC-like format so that pilots are able to react immediately to their surrounding traffic situation,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing.
There are three distinct system configurations for the GTS series, and each model creates a 360-degree zone of detection around the aircraft so that pilots can see and identify targets in their airspace that may pose a collision hazard. The GTS 800 TAS is a lower-cost system offering 40 watts of transmit power and a range of up to 12 nautical miles. The GTS 820 TAS delivers 250 watts of transmit power and up to 40 nautical miles of interrogation range. The GTS 850 TCAS I satisfies all TCAS I collision avoidance criteria for higher-capability turboprops and jets. It features the same 250-watt performance as the GTS 820, and also meets the FAA’s TCAS I certification criteria. The GTS 820 and GTS 850 are installed in conjunction with a Garmin Mode S transponder.
