The G

GWX
WX 70
Garmin’s
21st Century Radar
G
armin now has a truly 40 watts will do with the GWX 70. echoes would be smeared out to
modern airborne radar. It has to work a lot less to do its job. six miles, front to back, making it
Back in 2006, the company almost impossible to differentiate
introduced its GWX 68, which was, Since it can hear better, the weather echoes from terrain when
in several respects, far ahead of its result is a crisper-appearing echo. a long display range is selected.
time. However, it was designed on Not much, but it’s there and the Another plus for the advanced
the chassis of a much-older radar, boundaries of each color are more engineering that Garmin’s engineers
which had actually started life as exact. Plus, for your pocket book, applied to the GWX 70.
a King Radio product. The new solid-state is far more reliable than
the heavy old magnetrons, meaning Beyond that, the GWX 70 has
GWX 70 is a clean-sheet design by
fewer shop visits and expense. the usual me-too “features” that
Garmin’s radar engineering staff,
have been added to civil airborne
under the direction of Joel Andrews. In truth, solid-state pulse radars, by first one then another
generators are not that new; they’ve radar manufacturer, over the past 30
The major item making it a been around for 50 years in military years; integrated R/T/A section from
21st -Century radar is that it’s radars and Collins introduced them Bendix in the late 1970’s, “WATCH”,
engineered around a solid-state in airline-category radars 30 years an adaptation from Collins’
pulse generator. Solid-state is a ago. But, the GWX 70 is the first ancient “PAC” and Honeywell’s
70-year leap forward, compared to to employ the device in radars for “REACT”, and “Doppler Turbulence
the traditional coaxial or strapped singles, light twins and smaller jets. Detection,” another oldie that
vane magnetron pulse generators
Garmin is promoting as though it’s
of most other radars. Why is this Is there no downside to it? Yes.
totally new and unique, although it
solid-state device so great? First For a low-wattage solid-state device
was first introduced by Collins far
and foremost, frequency stability. to send a usable pulse out beyond
back in the last century. Most all
The old magnetrons, conceived by 90 or so miles, transmission times
experienced pilots consider Turb
the British before WWII, spewed per pulse must be much greater. To
Detection interesting, but useless.
out a garbage of frequencies. overcome that, Garmin’s engineers
Consequently, radar receiver gates used “pulse compression” on the Garmin has even expanded
had to be wide to hear that mess, GWX 70, an engineering trick for “Doppler” to create a “Ground
then to work hard to pick out their making a pulse of radar energy act Clutter Suppression” feature,
own pulses from all the static – their like it’s shorter than it is. Again, which has been around, but not
own voice, as it were. Not so with it’s ancient high-tech engineering, really working as claimed, since the
the solid-state device. It can easily used in military radars for years, Collins WXR 850 of 1985. (Just why
hear itself and ignore all the other but this is a first for low-end civil terrain features must be suppressed
chatter and static in cyberspace. As radars. On the GWX 70, when a long is a mystery anyway; pilots who
a result, transmitted pulses can be range is selected for viewing, pulse can’t tell the difference between
sent out with greatly-reduced power. compression shrinks the echoes weather echoes and ground detail,
Instead of the common 5,000 to down to just a mile in “range smear.” and use that detail for enhanced
10,000 watts of the old days, a mere Were it not for pulse compression, safety, haven’t got enough gray
14 • TWIN & TURBINE JUNE 2015
matter between their ears to be dropping on your head. Don’t ever guys and gals. Garmin’s version of
pilots in the first place.) fly under it. Of all the gizmos that Sector Scan is a bravo addition.
have been added to radars over the
The GW X 70 has another years, VP is the only feature that In a left-handed sort of way,
feature that taps into Doppler: actually increases safety. Garmin’s engineers also deserve a
“Altitude Compensated Tilt”. No big thanks for making it simple to
doubt, it will be made much of by Another very useful carry-over overcome a major fault on all the
Garmin salespersons, but it’s not from older radars is Sector Scan, newest radars. Missing on the GWX
just worthless, but misleading. which has been around for eons. 70 is magenta symbology, to indicate
Actually, all radars have “Auto Tilt” But, beginning with their earlier an extremely vicious storm. That’s
– a “Parked Position”, as it were. GWX 68 radar, Garmin added an no fault of Garmin’s. Ten or so years
It’s simply with Tilt set at 0º with enhancement that makes it 10 ago, an FAA/RTCA Committee,
10 and 12-inch antennas and -1º times more useful than in pre- most likely egged on by radar
with an 18-inch one. (Incidentally, 21st Century times. That feature manufacturers’ legal departments,
Garmin’s “ACT” requires a GPS is now carried over to the GWX decreed that magenta may not be
input to function.) It’s called the 70 as “Variable Sector Scan”, used to warn pilots of extreme
“parked” position for tilt and is meaning you can cause it to scan a hazards. Why? Because it’s needed
necessary to see radar shadows, smaller sector, down to only 20º, for course lines and such on
which is a positive indication of and at virtually any direction EFIS displays. Their logic was
where the storms are relative to you choose. Most likely, only most likely an assumption
terrain objects. professional aviators will that pilots need only see red
to know there’s a hazard and
The GW X 70 ha s turn tail. But pilots must also
“Extended Range STC”, know what degree and kind
adopted from the ancient of hazard a storm presents.
Sperry line, another ancient Without that knowledge, how
engineering hocus-pocus are they to decide how much
that’s simply a reduction, circumnavigation distance
a miscalibration, in the is prudent?
thresholds for the colors
beyond 40 or so miles. The Fact is, when you see red
result is red echoes that in an echo, research data tells
aren’t really red now but us only that it’s raining, period.
will be when you get closer Seventy-percent chance is, that red
to them. It’s of benefit echo’s only a rain shower. However,
only for ill-trained pilots to make safe avoidance decisions,
who don’t understand that pilots must know if it’s just light rain
radar energy gets weaker or a gully-washer type deluge. And
the greater the distance from is it only rain, or is it water turned
the source, just like a light gets into hailstones? If the latter, are the
dimmer the greater the distance hailstones small or large? The old
from its source. magenta, now seen only in course
appreciate it, lines on your EHSI, revealed all that.
GWX 70 engineers did pick up a But, the bureaucrats have taken it
but the ability to choose a Sector
major safety feature along the way: away from us.
Scan down to only 20º and to move
Vertical Profile, an innovation added
it to any of many different sectors
at Bendix/King in about 1985 and Fortunately, there’s a way to fool
is outstanding.
picked up by Garmin for its GWX the GWX 70’s four-color display
68 and 70. VP may be the most For starters, Sector Scan results into revealing all those critical
valuable new radar feature since in a greatly-increased display update facts about a thunderstorm. Since
flat-plate antennas. Scanning the rate. Helicopter operators, who tend radar engineers mess with color
vertical structure of a storm reveals to use radar more for navigation calibration to achieve “Extended
much about the hazards within it. than for weather, will just about Range STC,” pilots can do a similar
For example, when there is an echo swoon over it on rainy, foggy nights thing to switch the mandated four
aloft but nothing below it, or only when trying to pick up a hospital colors into, in effect, five colors.
a weak return down low, you’re rooftop. And it’ll make navigating to (Bless the Garmin engineers for
looking at a very high risk of having the landing pad on an offshore rig making it so easy with their CAL
millions of tons of water suddenly much less sweaty for the petroleum control and display.) The GMX 70
JUNE 2015 TWIN & TURBINE • 15
 calibration is such that switching
from WX to MAP mode causes red
to switch to deep blue. So, when you
see a red weather echo, switch to
MAP for a sweep or two. If deep blue
isn’t in that echo, it’s only a shower.
If you see any blue, even a little bit,
it’s a thunderstorm of at least Level
4 intensity. Add a mile or two to the
circumnavigation distance.

What’s the major thing to not

like about this radar? It’s another
standard fault with all other
manufacturers’ radars since about
1975 (the only exception being the
Honeywell Primus 440/660/880
series). It has various names,
ranging from XXX to WATCH, and
AOPA Insurance Agency it’s an attempt to cause radars to
compensate for the attenuation
Half Page behind an echo. Common logic
tells you that a thunderstorm tucked
4/C Ad behind a thunderstorm, or detected
through rain, will appear weaker
than fact.

So, in searching for new and

wonderful features, a bright young
fellow came up with a scheme to
correct attenuation, many years ago.
When the idea was presented to a
wise old engineer at RCA named
George Lucche (before it became
Honeywell), he demonstrated that
it doesn’t work as theory says, and
can even cause echoes to become
miscalibrated when a terrain object
is detected. Therefore, Honeywell’s
Primus series radars (offshoots
from RCA) have an OFF switch on
their REACT; Garmin’s WATCH on
the GWX 70 doesn’t. So, the GWX
70’s feature can cause echoes to
be miscalibrated under certain
conditions. Fortunately, that
misrepresentation is to the safe side,
and is only a factor on echoes inside
about 35 nm.
Aviation Technology Inc.
Second possibility, if you want
Sixth Page to determine whether it’s merely
a thunderstorm or if it’s a hail-
4/C Ad producing bugger, when you see red
in WX mode, reduce the Cal control
down to about 1/2 scale. If any red
remains, assume it’s producing large
hail and avoid it by a minimum of
16 • TWIN & TURBINE JUNE 2015
10 nm upwind, 20 nm downwind showers from bad storms, one at all ranges, greater reliability,
– and those distances are from all must first switch knob and button lower maintenance costs, reduced

•
parts of it, green as well as red. function selections, which requires weight and, perhaps most important
punching and turning odd things of all, greater bragging rights over
Compared to other radars that do
put on the MFD for other than radar owners of last century radars. T&T
not display the fifth color, magenta,
use. (For instance, Tilt selection on
the ease with which the GWX 70
the prototype unit we flew worked
can be, tricked, – miscalibrated
backwards from logic; to raise Tilt
– into revealing Level 5 and 6 Archie Trammell’s credentials
you pushed down on the lever, to are 34 years as an instruc-
echoes is a meaningful and positive
lower tilt, lift the lever up.) As a tor and lecturer on airborne
safety feature.
result, those with fat fingers, twitchy weather radar and convective
One downside to that: The digits and/or who tend to become storms avoidance. His clients
procedure requires careful tweaking flustered in panic situations, may have included most major air-
of the Tilt and Cal controls. But, have big fumble-finger problems. lines, all five military services
and numerous government
the GWX 70 displays on one of The advice is to practice, practice, agencies, including the FAA,
Garmin’s several MFDs. (At prices practice. Which, in fact, is critical NASA and NTSB. His research
ranging from $16,000 to $30,000 advice when operating any radar. has been exhaustive and has
extra – free if it comes with the included more than 4,000
Summing up, Garmin’s 21st hours of inflight thunderstorm
new aircraft.) On any MFD, radar
century radar is indeed a step research, both in his own air-
controls are timeshared with levers,
forward into another era. At only craft and from the jump seat
switches, buttons and knobs put for airline clients. He’s a pilot
$22,995 (plus MFD) it has all the
there for other purposes, many of and CFII, with much twin
features of a 20th century radar,
which aren’t remotely connected and turbine experience. His
including several worthy ones from
with radar operation. monthly web site, www.ra-
Garmin’s earlier GWX 68, plus a dar4 pilots.com, has been up
Therefore, to tweak Tilt and solid-state pulse generator, pulse monthly since May 2005.
Cal as necessary to sort out rain compression for superior echo detail

English Field Aviation

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JUNE 2015 TWIN & TURBINE • 17