Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced that MD Helicopters, a leading manufacturer of commercial and military helicopters, has selected the G500H as an optional avionics package for the MD series helicopters. The G500H, is a certified, all-glass avionics system designed specifically for the VFR Part 27 helicopter market.

"The G500H is a perfect complement to the MD 500 series," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "MD Helicopters has been a great partner and we're excited to offer their customers an avionics flight deck that gives pilots the big picture on flight management, weather, terrain and traffic on a large PFD and MFD."

The G500H has been optimized for rotorcraft and offers features like helicopter synthetic vision technology (HSVT™), helicopter-specific databases with over 7,000 heliports and nearly 30,000 additional low-altitude obstacles, XM WX Satellite Weather with NEXRAD, and the ability to display video from a forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera or other video sources.

The bezel framing the G500H's primary flight display (PFD) and multi-function display (MFD) (10"w x 6.7"h) allows for easy installation into the instrument panel. The G500H system includes a solid state Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) for superior reliability and accuracy. Garmin's AHRS features rapid alignment while moving, including in-flight dynamic restarts.

The G500H also supports Garmin's helicopter-specific synthetic vision technology (HSVT™). By adding the optional Garmin HSVT to the G500H, the PFD will display an "out-the-window" view of the surroundings, regardless of the weather conditions. HSVT seamlessly blends information about the rotorcraft's position with topographic databases to create and display real-time 3D images. Land, water and sky are clearly differentiated with shading and textures that are similar to the topographical colors found on the MFD moving map. HSVT alerts pilots of potential ground hazards by displaying terrain and obstacles which pose a threat to the aircraft.

The G500H includes SafeTaxi®, which features detailed diagrams of over 900 airports that assist pilots while maneuvering in the airport environment. A trial version of Garmin FliteCharts® is included, which allows pilots to quickly find and view airport diagrams on the MFD. Pilots may also select the optional ChartView, an electronic version of Jeppesen's extensive library of charts and airport diagrams.

MD Helicopters expects first G500H-equipped helicopter deliveries in third quarter of 2011. Additional information about the G500H or Garmin's complete line of helicopter products is available at garmin.com/helicopters.