Garmin and the electronic flight instrument system

Hi everyone,

 

I am confused as to what instrument Garmin is referring.

 

Let me elaborate. As we know, an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) typically consists of a primary flight display (PFD), a multi-function display (MFD), and an engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS).

 

In FS2020, for example, the Cessna C172 uses a Garmin G1000. To what does that refer -- the PFD, the MFD, the EICAS, or all three? Similarly, the TBM 930 uses a Garmin G3000. Does that refer to all aspects of the EFIS, or only some of them?

 

Thank you.

 

Stanley

In FS2020, for example, the Cessna C172 uses a Garmin G1000. To what does that refer -- the PFD, the MFD, the EICAS, or all three?

 

It's all three, the EICAS is part of the MFD display. Garmin is the manufacturer of the avionics system.

The G1000 (in the C172 for example), the G3000 (as in the TBM930) and the G5000 (as in the Citation Longitude) have the same two basic displays, but the later models feature touch screen technology and additional touchscreen control pads.

 

There's a pretty good explanation of the G1000 on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin_G1000

 

If you'd like to compare the sim version with the real thing, Garmin's website has all the info and training videos too:

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/6420

Edited October 10, 2020 by tiger1962

Thank you, Tim. Your response was most instructive, and so was the reference to the Wikipedia article.

Here’s a G1000 video that may be of interest.

 

Enjoy. -Ron

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by rkl122

Wait, I thought EFIS was Electronic Flight INFORMATION System and was the small panel on airliners with the alphanumeric keypad that their flight plan was loaded on and accessed with!

Wait, I thought EFIS was Electronic Flight INFORMATION System and was the small panel on airliners with the alphanumeric keypad that their flight plan was loaded on and accessed with!

 

Different people tend to call them different things, so IMO "Instrument" and "Information" are both acceptable.

 

As for the screen/keypad combination on airliners - they're called the "CDU" for "Control/Display Unit" or, if you ask Airbus, the MCDU where the M means "Multifunction". The CDU/MCDU(s) form a part of a larger system called the FMS (Flight Management System) which, from a technical perspective, involves the CDU/MCDU and an array of navigational equipment such as Nav/GPS receivers, flight guidance computers, database storage, etc.