CubCrafters of Yakima, Washington, announced FAA approval of an integrated EFIS avionics suite as primary instrumentation for its XCub light airplane. The FAA approved installation of the Garmin G3X Touch system as an amendment to the XCub’s Part 23 type certificate, which the agency granted in June 2016.

CubCrafters said it is the first manufacturer to receive such approval for a complete primary flight instrumentation suite on a Part 23-certified aircraft panel.

“The introduction of the XCub in June of last year served as a catalyst for this certification effort,” said Randy Lervold, CubCrafters president. “At the time, we recognized that the FAA’s revised ‘risk based’ certification philosophy was forthcoming, so we chose to initially offer an analog day/night VFR panel on the new model. Longer term, we were determined to offer the same functionality, safety and value as we do in our Carbon Cub family of aircraft.”

The new XCub glass panel includes the Garmin G3X Touch flight display plus angle-of-attack indicator as standard equipment. It also incorporates Garmin’s GTR 200R comm radio and GTX 335R transponder. The GTX 335 includes an integrated WAAS/GPS position source enabling ADS-B Out functionality, meeting the FAA’s mandate for ADS-B compliance in 2020.

Garmin’s dual-axis autopilot, including the GMC 307 control head, is available as an option. The new panel is also “float-ready” and accepts the control head for Wipaire’s 2100 amphibious floats. For an introductory period, the panel will include the Sandia SAI 340 Quattro multifunction indicator at no additional charge. 

The Garmin panel will be available on CubCrafters’ 2018 XCub models scheduled for delivery in January.