For all those homebuilders working on ways to mount Garmins new GPSMAP 696 directly to the instrument panel…hold up. Garmin has beat you to it.
Introduced at this year’s Sebring Light Sport show are the GDU 370 and GDU 375, functional equivalents of the 696 but packed in a front-mount case intended to be mounted directly into the instrument panel. The difference between the 370 and the 375 is that the latter also supports the same XM-transmitted weather as the 696; the 370 is, then, equivalent to the weather-less GPSMAP 695.
Both units feature a 7-inch-diagonal display, internal 12-channel GPS engines, SafeTaxi taxi maps, IFR procedure charts, and all the other primary features from the 695/696 twins. Revised connection points-the antenna and power/data hookups are industry-standard connectors on the back face of the unit-help make panel mounting much easier. External GPS antennas are sold separately.
According to Garmin, The beauty of the GDU 370 and GDU 375 are that they are like building-blocks; they’re expandable and can be interconnected with other Garmin components. Customers will be able to choose one, two or three GDU displays-whatever works best for their aircraft. When customers are ready to expand upon the GDUs MFD capabilities, they can install other Garmin components that will add PFD capabilities to the GDUs. Since all components were designed and manufactured by Garmin, customers have added peace of mind knowing that they will integrate and communicate with each other.
Prices start at $3295 for the GDU 370 and $3995 for the 375, $400 more than the comparable portable units. Future expansion of the 370/375 series will include a remote ADAHRS module to turn this multifunction display into a PFD, primary flight display. Garmin also announced that it will create an EIS, engine monitoring integration system. To be shown at Sun n Fun this April, the basic single-screen G3X EFIS is expected to sell for $9995.
For more information, visit Garmin.
