Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Avidyne has released an upgrade for its Vantage 12 avionics suite for Cirrus SR-series airplanes, including a new autopilot and compatibility with Garmin GNS and GTN navigators.
The new DFC110 autopilot adds vertical navigation (VNAV) capability and is a slide-in replacement for the DFC90 and legacy S-TEC 55 autopilots. With the DFC110, Cirrus owners who upgrade to the Vantage 12 avionics will gain autopilot-coupled VNAV when equipped with dual Avidyne IFD navigators.
The advantage of GNS/GTN compatibility is that owners can upgrade to the large-display Vantage system without immediately having to replace their navigators and while retaining the DFC90 autopilot. To add the additional VNAV capability, they can later upgrade to IFD navigators, which are slide-in replacements for the GNS units. In addition, “GTN owners now have a straightforward path to large-screen Vantage displays,” according to Avidyne.
The DFC110 autopilot costs $14,276 for new installations, with a $2,000 exchange upgrade for existing Vantage/DFC90 customers. The Vantage GNS/GTN enablement, which requires Vantage software 12.1, costs $3,500 but is available for free for customers who register in advance and take delivery of a Vantage system before Dec. 15, 2026.
Avidyne expects the Vantage 12.1 software and DFC110 autopilot to be certified and available in the fourth quarter of 2026.

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