Garmin G1000 NXi

[pietromarx]

I downloaded the AFM and Pilot's Guide for the G1000 NXi on the King Air. Interesting reading, but my conclusion is that the updated hardware isn't matched by much updated software. The displays are certainly prettier, but the functionality is only perhaps a 5-10% increase over what we have now (if that). Garmin has done an extraordinary job in wrangling their platform into the new world, but it seems like the software development efforts have tapered off. I'm sure they have cleaned up a bunch of stuff on the backend (like refactoring and library realignment), but those likely won't result in much difference from the user experience.

Seems like we are still in a lull in terms of new software functionality. There was a period of rapid growth between 1997 and 2007 (430s, G1000s, etc.), but not much has happened since other than minor incrementalism.

Thoughts?

[Colin]

I believe that you are mostly correct. I think they have (all) addressed the big issues. There's other stuff to go after (it would be nice to have autothrottles in my DA42, have an emergency glide path to the nearest correct-wind runway would be good), but nothing that is every day piloting.

The creation of visual approaches on the fly is nice.

I assume certification comes into play here as well.

[CFIDave]

I also looked at the King Air G1000 NXi manual to get an idea of what's new with NXi (the latest software jumps from GDU 15.XX on "legacy" G1000 aircraft, to GDU 20.XX on NXi G1000s).

I've also concluded that there's not yet a lot of new and useful software functionality. For example, I'm not sure the value of synthesized "visual approaches". Today if I'm flying a visual approach at night or being vectored by ATC, I can typically find and load an instrument approach with vertical guidance (e.g. ILS, LPV, or LNAV+V) at most airports; if flying a traffic pattern there's not much use for a synthesized visual approach. And I can already pull up geolocated VFR and IFR charts on my iPad (with Retina display), so there's not a lot of value in being able to also display these on the MFD with far fewer pixels (even on an NXi screen).

I would guess the biggest improvements are greater responsiveness and screen legibility. On the King Air, "Radius to Fix" (i.e., curved) approach segments are now enabled that will permit flying RNP approaches. And the new expanded MFD vertical view shows approaches in profile view, not just winds aloft at different altitudes. Another major improvement is support for FlightStream 510 wireless cards so you can synchronize panel flight plans, traffic, and weather with your iPad. And if you're willing to give up Foreflight and move to Garmin Pilot on your iPad, you can also wirelessly update your panel's navigation and other databases.

The first new Diamond DA62s with G1000 NXi are expected to be delivered to customers in the next month or so (they have been awaiting NXi certification), so perhaps we'll soon have some first-hand pilot reports here.

[Keith M]

I don't suppose the most glaring ergonomic mistake has been rectified: aligning the ALT knob with the DI and the HDG knob with the altimeter. Like QWERTY, we'll be stuck with that in perpetuity!

[francismolloy]

I'd like to balance this discussion a bit,
The diamond community is focused on value, and at the surface this update doesn't seem to offer much, but we should consider the limit hat was set with the old system at 64 Megs memory vs the new at 16 Gigs!
For many pilots, we like G1000 for the graphics, the information that is presented at a glance in realtime, and this new system not only provides tons more graphic features out of the box, but also allows for upgrades similar to ForeFlight. ForeFlight had the unique advantage of keeping up with state of the art devices, and I've replaced three iPads already just to keep up, so it's quite the opposite for the G1000, having to lock into a set technology for a decade at a time due to certification costs.
As usual of you are happy with the information given by ForeFlight, the fact that Garmin now also displays the same stuff onscreen (comm ID, runway length, safetaxi etc, won't appeal to you, but it's still been a long time coming, I wouldn't be surprised if new pilots coming into the NXi don't ditch ForeFlight, but let's be honest, that's not a large user base.
So for me, of the cost to upgrade to NXi from my 2007 GFC700 SVT is under 15,000$ I'm in...
Anyone have the real figures?