Under new EASA approvals, aircraft owners can replace an existing directional gyro (DG) or horizontal situational indicator (HSI) with a Garmin G5 electronic flight instrument. Garmin received FAA approval for this in June.

The dual-G5 installation—one G5 replacing the attitude indicator and another the DG or HSI—can help pilots “eliminate the dependency on a failure-prone vacuum system,” according to Garmin. The GAD 29B autopilot adapter can interface the G5 DG/HSI with Garmin's GFC 600 autopilot, as well as autopilots manufactured by Bendix/King, Century Flight Systems, Cessna, and S-Tec.

The G5 is can be considered as primary for display of magnetic heading, VOR/LOC guidance and/or GPS course guidance, distance and groundspeed when it is paired with certain VHF navcoms or GPS navigators. In a dual-G5 installation, one magnetometer can provide magnetic heading information to both units. The second G5 can display attitude information if the primary unit fails as each unit contains its own ADAHRS. The backup battery in the G5 lasts for four hours. The sunlight-readable LCD measures 3.5 inches, and the G5 replaces 3.125-inch instruments and is just three inches deep.

With approval for VFR and IFR, the G5 can be installed in 650 airplane models. It retails for $2,449, and this includes the STC, installation kit, magnetometer, and back-up battery. The GAD 29B autopilot interface starts at $2,975. The new approvals include an amendment to the G5 STC allowing the units to be installed flush to the instrument panel.