Piper has secured European certification for the next-generation Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flightdeck on the M500 single-engined turboprop. Deliveries are now under way.
The validation comes 15 months after the USA granted approval for the upgrade, and Piper says it has since delivered 27 NXi-equipped M500s to customers.
Piper Aircraft
The airframer, based in Vero Beach, Florida, is planning to offer the NXi system as a retrofit option for earlier versions of the six-seat aircraft equipped with the standard G1000 suite. This includes 73 M500s and 230 examples of the first-generation model, known as the Malibu Meridian, Piper says.
Introduced in January 2017, the NXi features wireless cockpit connectivity, enhanced situational awareness, visual approaches and map overlay on the horizontal situation indicator. NXi-equipped aircraft also meet automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) Out requirements, which will become compulsory in the USA on 1 January 2020 and in Europe from 7 June 2020.
The G1000 NXi features on a number of Piper aircraft, notably the piston-engined Archer, M350, Seminole and Seneca V.
It is also installed on a host of other business and general aviation aircraft platforms, including the Diamond DA42/62 piston-twins, Daher TBM 910 single-engined turboprop and King Air 200/300/350 twin-turboprop family, as well as Embraer's Phenom 100EV and 300E business jets.
Source: Flight International
