Full glass. Full custom. Full 2026 standard. One Meridian.
From concept to cockpit — our client's Meridian vision brought to life. Dual Garmin G500 TXi, dual GTN 750Xi, GMA 35c audio, GFC 600 autopilot and GI 275 standby, on a custom-built instrument panel tailored for the aircraft he wanted to fly.
The completed Piper Meridian, home at Hangar 202, Lanseria.
Some upgrades start with a job. This one started with trust — and a vision.
Our client is a returning customer, and we were glad to host another of his aircraft. When he came to us about the Piper Meridian he'd bought for his long-haul business flying, he already knew exactly what he wanted. Inspired by a Meridian panel he'd seen internationally — full Garmin glass, dual displays, dual touchscreen navigators, a single Garmin source from front to back — he had a clear picture of how his cockpit should look and feel. Our job was to help make that real.
The brief
The aircraft was an older Piper Meridian, bought specifically for the long-haul business flights our client operates. It performed well, but it needed an upgrade to meet 2026 standards and regulations — top to bottom, including a full panel overhaul.
Three priorities came out of the brief:
- ADS-B In/Out compliance — done properly and permanently, not patched.
- LPV approach capability, coupled — complete lateral and vertical guidance on the autopilot.
- The panel setup that inspired him — the exact Garmin TXi and GTN configuration, integrated into his aircraft.
Before: the original older-equipment Meridian panel.
Once we had the brief, we worked through panel layout options with him and settled on a full strip-and-rebuild — new wiring harnesses and sheet metal from the ground up.
The Garmin equipment we designed around and installed
Dual Garmin G500 TXi — 10.6-inch widescreen primary flight displays for pilot and co-pilot sides. Synthetic vision, terrain, traffic, weather, engine indications, and moving map in one integrated view per pilot, instead of eight separate instruments to scan.
Dual Garmin GTN 750Xi — touchscreen WAAS/SBAS navigators. LPV lateral and vertical approach capability, full VHF nav/comm, ADS-B In/Out compliant transponder integration. Two independent units for redundancy and pilot/co-pilot independence.
Garmin GMA 35c remote audio panel — a digitally controlled, remote-mounted audio unit operated via the GTN 750Xi displays. Removes the need for a physical audio panel and cleans up the instrument layout.
Garmin GFC 600 autopilot — Garmin's flagship autopilot for high-performance piston and turboprop aircraft, with envelope protection, a level button, coupled approach capability, and direct integration with the TXi and GTN suite.
Garmin GI 275 electronic flight instrument — standby PFD in a compact 3.125-inch bezel, with its own internal battery and independent AHRS, giving a full backup instrument scan if the primary system ever goes dark.
Dual Garmin GSB 15 USB charging ports — one panel-mounted at each pilot's station, aviation-certified dual USB-A ports delivering regulated DC power for EFBs, phones, and other devices now essential in modern cockpits.
Bose ANR jacks, both sides — dual LEMO 6-pin sockets wired to full active noise reduction spec on the pilot and co-pilot sides, powering the ANR headsets that make long-haul legs quieter and less fatiguing at every altitude.Garmin provides a single-source solution for certification, support, and parts across the aircraft's lifespan.
The Garmin suite in place on our client's Meridian: dual GTN 750Xi, GFC 600 control head and pilot-side G500 TXi.
A custom panel designed specifically for this Meridian
This is a part most owners never see us do. We didn't just swap out old components — we built the new instrument panel from the ground up, designed to neatly house the TXi and GTN units, laid out to deliver the cockpit feel the client wanted, with the standby, annunciators, and audio controls exactly where he wanted them.
The panel was then built in our own sheet-metal workshop — custom-cut, drilled, and shaped to the precise specifications of the Garmin units and our client's layout. Every label, legend, and warning was laser-etched in-house: sharp, permanent, and perfectly aligned with the equipment behind it. Finished to modern turbine-cockpit standards, ready to fly.
Panel out, wiring harnesses exposed, rebuild in progress.
While the panel was out, our client's yokes and centre throttle stack came out too, and we refurbished them alongside the avionics work. At the same time, a trusted specialist supplier refurbished the aircraft's interior — in parallel, not in sequence. One aircraft, one downtime, one coordinated project: panel, wiring, avionics, autopilot, standby systems, yokes, throttle stack, and interior, all moving together.
In parallel, cowlings open, work across the aircraft coordinated as one project.
The custom-built panel installed and ready for power-on.
The final outcome for our client
An older Piper Meridian, upgraded to the Garmin glass panel he'd been inspired to install:
- Full Garmin glass cockpit — pilot side and co-pilot side.
- ADS-B In/Out compliance — completed, filed, permanent.
- LPV approach capability, coupled — vertical and lateral guidance operated by the GFC 600.
- Redundant electronic flight instrument — full standby scan on the GI 275.
- Integrated single-source Garmin panel — one manufacturer, one warranty position, one support line.
- A customised instrument panel — designed and built in the same hangar the aircraft arrived at for the upgrade.
- Refurbished yokes, throttle stack, and interior — the whole cockpit, not just what's in front of the pilot.
Pilot-side G500 TXi: engine indication, PFD, terrain map — one integrated view. Powered on. Full glass. Full 2026 standard.
The aircraft returned to service as a modern, ADS-B-compliant, LPV-capable, glass-panel long-haul business aircraft — a panel that started as sheet metal in our workshop and now flies every leg the owner takes.
Our capability
At Aeronautical Aviation, we design, build, wire, install, and certify custom aircraft panels — from single-engine pistons and high-performance turboprops to rotary-wing and restoration projects. Beyond panel work, we also look after the aircraft with ongoing avionics maintenance, defect rectification, and line maintenance, so it stays in trusted hands between flights and through every scheduled inspection.
Whether you've been inspired by a cockpit you've seen, have an ADS-B upgrade you've been putting off, or just want an aircraft you fly regularly kept in the same hands that installed the panel — this is the work we do.
Come and have a conversation over a coffee. We'll help you shape what makes sense for your aircraft and bring it to life.
Ready to fly.
Aeronautical Aviation · SACAA AMO No. 1033 · Hangar 202, Lanseria International Airport. Africa's largest accredited Garmin dealer · Six consecutive Platinum Elite Performance awards, 2019–2024. +27 11 659 1033 · sales@aeronautical.co.za · Exceptional in Avionics.
