Piper Meridian Gets Garmin NXi Upgrade

Garmin continues to expand its application list for the G1000 NXi displays, adding the Piper Meridian this week. The NXi is an upgrade to the existing G1000 suite and features “new and advanced capabilities.” In particular, the NXi updates provide faster processors for better map rendering, a shorter initialization period, “contemporary animations” and LED backlighting. It also adds Garmin’s proprietary Flight Stream 510 and Connext technologies that enable wireless database updates and flight-plan transfer to and from a tablet running Garmin Pilot.

“G1000 NXi-equipped aircraft are recognized for their advanced capabilities and significant performance upgrades, and today we’re excited to add another aircraft to the eligibility list,” said Carl Wolf, vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “When pilots fly behind this modern integrated flight deck, they’ll immediately notice its smooth and responsive display and appreciate the latest, innovative features—they’ll wonder how they ever flew without the G1000 NXi.” 

With the NXi upgrades, existing G1000 platforms get new visual approach references and a graphical map overlay on the HSI that can show weather, traffic and terrain, as well as SurfaceWatch runway monitoring that “provides visual and aural cues to help prevent pilots from taking off or landing on a taxiway, on a runway that is too short or on the wrong runway based on performance data entered during preflight.”

Garmin says the NXi upgrade for the Meridian is available now.