Twin Commander Owners Embrace
Technological Upgrades
Introduced at the Aircraft Electronics Association’s International Convention & Trade Show last March, the GTN series (GTN750/725 and 650/625) are the state-of-the-art replacements for Garmin’s highly successful GNS530/500 and 430/400 navigators. The GTN series feature touch-screen controls; GPS and VOR/ILS navigation; graphical flight planning; communications radios; optional satellite weather, terrain, and traffic advisories; multifunction capability; and optional integrated audio panel and transponder, among other innovations.
Eagle Creek Aviation Services and Naples Jet Center, two factory-authorized Twin Commander Service Centers, have each retrofitted two Twin Commanders with dual GTN installations. The two completions by Naples Jet Center were for private owners based in Florida and Wisconsin, while Eagle Creek did the retrofits on a pair of Grand Renaissance Twin Commanders for the Colombian military.
“Twin Commander owners and operators typically are among the first to embrace cutting-edge advancements, whether in performance or on the panel,” noted Twin Commander Aircraft LLC President Matt Isley. “Many have retrofitted their aircraft with pilot’s-side or dual Garmin G600 electronic flight and multifunction display systems. And now the same is happening with the GTN series.
“Twin Commanders are the best and the brightest,” he added. “They are legacy airplanes in the finest sense of the word—a proven design, best-in-class performance, highly respected, and superbly supported. At the same time they are the brightest—absolutely state-of-the-art, representing the highest level of contemporary development thanks to the Honeywell TPE331-10T engine upgrade, the Grand Renaissance airframe makeover, and as the G600 and GTN series upgrades demonstrate, an array of technologically contemporary options for the cockpit.”
From Stone Age to State-of-the-Art Panel
By Mark Twombly
I’m probably dating myself, but I remember taking a huge leap in technology and efficiency when I traded (tossed out is more accurate) my IBM Selectric typewriter for an IBM desktop computer. That huge, slow, memory-deficient computer seems prehistoric compared to the laptop, netbook, smart phone, and wireless 3G tablet I currently juggle.
That same generation-leaping advancement in technology and efficiency has taken place on the panel of the Twin Commander 900 I fly for a private owner, except that we’ve gone directly from the manual typewriter to absolute state-of-the-art stuff, including a Garmin G600 electronic flight and multifunction display, and GTN750 and 650 touch-screen navigation/communication systems.
It was a one-owner airplane when my boss bought it, and the panel was an interesting (a euphemism for confusing) amalgam of avionics spanning more than three decades: conventional VORs, a Foster 616 loran, Argus 7000 GPS, a Sandel electronic display of traffic, and a Global GNS FMS. Navigating, communicating, and maintaining situational awareness required speaking many incompatible languages, technologically speaking.
Life in that cockpit today is much improved. The panel is far less cluttered. It has a lean and powerful look—it’s gorgeous, in fact. And, the switch to electronic boxes shaved some 180 pounds of empty weight from the airplane. That’s another passenger we can board.
At the same time the fully integrated G600 and GTNs provide far more capability than the many boxes they replaced. The G600 and GTNs represent a continent-size leap in panel performance, and provide a far better office for this single pilot to work in to accomplish the task of delivering my passengers to their destinations safely and comfortably.
In an accompanying story in this issue, avionics instructor Keith Thomassen provides an enthusiastic overview of the GTN series. You might just be persuaded to take that leap yourself.
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