October 12, 1999

Garmin® Goes On Board with VisionAire Vantage

VisionAire Corporation's sleek, state-of-the-art business aircraft to feature Garmin's advanced avionics suite

OLATHE, Kan. – Garmin International, the aviation industry's leading manufacturer of GPS, is pleased to announce a new agreement with VisionAire Corporation. The Missouri-based airplane manufacturer will outfit its new Vantage, single-engine business jet with Garmin avionics.

"VisionAire is giving businesses another option when it comes to owning an airplane, by offering an alternative between turbo props and more costly twin engine jets," said Gary Kelley, director of marketing, Garmin International. "The Vantage is an exciting concept that will offer high-quality, luxurious aircraft design at an affordable price. Now with the addition of Garmin's top-of-the-line IFR stack as standard equipment, the Vantage will be even more impressive."

Every Vantage that rolls off the production line will be equipped with dual GNS 530s -- an integrated IFR GPS/Comm with VOR, LOC and glideslope, which also contains a full-color moving map. The GNS 530 is a larger version of Garmin's popular GNS 430 multi-function box that has revolutionized the general aviation industry. At the center of this sophisticated navigation system is a five-inch, diagonal color display that makes it easy to read and interpret map data for the best in situational awareness. Extensive interface capabilities allow the GNS 530 to offer true MFD information. Among the data that can be displayed on this unit is valuable weather and traffic information. The GNS 530 will provide the display interface for both the BF Goodrich STORMSCOPEÆ WX 500 Weather Mapping Sensor and the SKYWATCH Traffic Advisory System.

The GNS 530 also features a 2280 channel comm with 8.33 kHz spacing and a 200 channel ILS/VOR. In addition, this "one box" contains a built-in Jeppesen® database with a convenient front-loading area for the data card. Garmin's GNS 530 will be upgradable to the WAAS TSO C146 for stand-alone approach procedures.

Garmin will also equip the Vantage with dual GTX™ 327's -- a digital transponder -- along with a GMA 340 audio panel. The GTX 327 is a solid state Mode C digital transponder with a high contrast DSTN display. The transponder does not contain a cavity tube and as a result uses only one-third the power of other transponders and requires no warm-up time. The GMA 340 audio panel features a user-friendly front panel layout for the ultimate in reliable switching functions.

The VisionAire Vantage is a six-place, single-engine business jet, which offers the prestige and comfort of a jet at a lower price. The Vantage will be available at about half the purchase price of a comparable jet aircraft and will operate at roughly a 30 percent lower cost. Since the concept for the Vantage was announced, VisionAire has received more than 140 orders for their airplane.

The Garmin-equipped VisionAire Vantage will be available beginning the first quarter of 2002.

VisionAire Corporation is located in Chesterfield, Missouri. The company is the manufacturer of the soon-to-be released Vantage single-engine business jet. For more information on VisionAire Corporation, please call (314) 530-1007 or visit their Web site at www.visionaire.com.