The list of aircraft eligible for Garmin’s integrated flight deck upgrade just got a little longer today when the company added the Cessna Citation Excel and XLS. Garmin estimates replacing the airplane’s original avionics will shave 200 pounds off a Citation, translating into additional baggage or fuel capacity.
The G5000 flight deck features three high-resolution 14-inch flight displays with dual touchscreen controllers using Garmin’s intuitive menu structures. The landscape-oriented flight displays allow the pilots to simultaneously view maps, charts, checklists, TAWS, TCAS, flight plan information, weather and more. Charts can be viewed across all three displays and are geo-referenced, including Garmin FliteCharts terminal approach procedures or optional Garmin ChartView powered by Jeppesen, as well as Garmin SafeTaxi airport diagrams.
The G5000 installation includes a fully digital automatic flight control system (AFCS) to optimize aircraft performance by supporting capabilities such as coupled wide area augmentation system (WAAS/SBAS) approaches, vertical navigation and flight level change (FLC) modes, as well as PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability.
The upgrade also adds an emergency descent mode automatically linked to the autopilot for use in the event of a loss in aircraft pressurization. Autopilot underspeed protection (USP) is an optional feature on the G5000 and allows the autopilot to assist with airspeed management. Fully coupled go-arounds are also enabled by this technology, greatly reducing pilot workload and bringing sophisticated flight monitoring and performance capability to these aircraft.
G5000 upgrades will also make these Citation models fully ADS-B Out ready for the FAA’s 2020 deadline.
