Frasca International, Inc. Urbana, IL has recently delivered flight training devices (FTDs) with Garmin GTN 650 avionics, making them the first simulator manufacturer to integrate these new avionics into FTDs.

Garmin’s GTN 650/750 series is the long-awaited replacement for the incredibly popular GNS 430/530 series. It features the latest WAAS GPS features, electronic charts, integrated NAV/COM radio, traffic displays, and full Class B TAWS terrain alerting – all controlled by an intuitive touch screen interface.

Fleet owners who retrofit their existing aircraft fleet with newer avionics may now match their simulators to their aircraft, thus enabling flight students to transfer more learning from the simulator to the aircraft. The first customer to request GTN 650’s into their simulators is Sault College with their Frasca-built Zlin 242L Level 5 FTD.

Frasca was also the first company to integrate the (now ubiquitous) Garmin GNS 430 into flight simulators. In fact, it was Frasca’s engineers who wrote the original Interface Control Document (ICD) for GNS 430 GPS’s to be installed into simulators – all other simulator manufacturers have used the updated version of this same ICD. Over the years Frasca has built over 100 simulators with GNS-430 (and 430W) GPS’s.

In addition, Frasca has successfully installed Garmin’s G1000 integrated avionics suite into nearly 200 simulators and has also integrated Garmin’s G500 dual-screen electronic flight display into their simulators as well.

Frasca’s relationship with Garmin extends well beyond the traditional manufacturer/vendor roles as Frasca and Garmin worked together on a joint project to install a G1000-equipped Frasca flight simulator at The Garmin Store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL. Interested pilots may sign up for personalized instruction on the Frasca simulator to learn more about the G1000 capabilities.

Frasca looks forward to the continued integration of Garmin’s advanced avionics suites into flight simulators as the G3000 and G5000 series flight decks become more prevalent in business aircraft.

About Frasca International Inc.
Frasca International of Urbana, Ill., has over 55 years of experience manufacturing flight training equipment for airlines, flight schools, universities, and military organizations worldwide. The product range includes Flight Training Devices (FTDs), Synthetic Training Devices (STDs), Cockpit Procedure Trainers (CPTs), Full Flight Simulators (FFSs), and more for all aircraft types, fixed wing and rotary. Over 2,500 devices have been installed worldwide.