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Garmin® Receives FAA’s First AML-STC for GPS/WAAS Avionics on Helicopters

Dépèche transmise le 4 mai 2009 par Business Wire

Garmin® Receives FAA’s First AML-STC for GPS/WAAS Avionics on Helicopters

OLATHE, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, announced today it has been granted the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) first ever approved model list supplemental type certificate (AML-STC) for Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) avionics installed in a helicopter. The AML-STC is for the installation of the Garmin GNS 400W/500W series and includes approval for IFR flight and steep approach lateral-precision with vertical (LPV) guidance. With this comprehensive AML-STC, GNS 400W/500W series units may be installed in approximately 50 different makes and models of helicopters including the Bell 206, Enstrom 280FX, Agusta A109, Eurocopter EC135, MD Helicopters 600N-NOTAR, Robinson R22 and R44 and many more.

“Receiving an STC for a single helicopter is an impressive feat, but to receive an AML-STC for approximately 50 helicopters is an accomplishment many thought would never happen because of the complexity and differences between helicopter models,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. “We are very pleased that this AML-STC will make it easier for operators of the world’s most popular helicopters to install the GNS 400W/500W series. These pilots will now have access to the unmatched technological advantages and safety enhancements that come with a fully integrated GPS/WAAS product.”

The GNS 400W/500W series received the FAA’s highest level of certification for WAAS navigation. The units utilize satellite-based navaids for precise lateral and vertical approach guidance — similar to Instrument Landing System (ILS) operations — without the need for ground-based navaids of any kind. The FAA has already published over 1,500 LPV and 5,600 LNAV and LNAV/VNAV approach procedures, which exceeds the number of ILS approaches.

The WAAS system improves the accuracy, reliability and integrity of the GPS signal. GPS-WAAS navigators that meet the FAA’s WAAS regulations may be used for sole means of navigation for all phases of flight, including en route through precision approach at airports and heliports – wherever they may be. With WAAS LPV approaches, pilots will have stabilized lateral and vertical navigation, and will be able to navigate as low as 200 feet above the touch down point under instrument flight rules.

As part of the IFR certification, the GNS 400W/500W series is also certified for custom steep LPV approaches for up to six degrees, flying by hand or with a fully coupled autopilot. These custom approaches help law enforcement and medical teams land in areas with urban rooftops, such as hospitals, in the most extreme weather conditions and below public en route minimums.

“Using customized steep LPV approaches will ultimately help save lives because flight crews can increase the services they provide as they pick up patients in need of transport,” said Kelley.

Garmin is already delivering GNS 400W/500W series products. Visit www.garmin.com for additional information or a complete list of authorized Garmin dealers.

About Garmin International Inc.

Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on forward-looking statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.