With years of experience providing its G3000 and G5000 integrated avionics suites for new light and midsize jets, Garmin has leveraged that capability into supplemental type certificates (STCs) for suitable jet platforms in the aftermarket. Of course, Garmin’s King Air G1000 STCs have been highly successful, but few avionics manufacturers have developed modern integrated flight deck STCs with new autopilots for Part 25 airplanes. The Citation Excel/XLS is a good example of a jet that is still in production, has a loyal customer base, and has hundreds of examples flying, many with old avionics that can't be upgraded.
Garmin’s first G5000 aftermarket upgrade was for the Beechjet 400, and 57 of those have been accomplished since it was FAA approved in mid-2016. But in just two years since the approval of the Excel/XLS STC, Garmin dealers have already done 68 G5000 upgrades. And there are about 700 of these models that qualify for the upgrade, according to Garmin retrofit sales manager Dave Brown.
More In Avionics
