In yet another panel-retrofit development, Garmin International announced that it is in the midst of earning a supplemental type certificate (STC) that will allow the installation of its G1000 avionics suite in the Cessna CitationJet.
The CitationJet, or CJ for short, entered service in 1993. CJs with serial numbers from 0001-0359 are eligible for the retrofit. The retrofit includes WAAS/LPV capability, RVSM compatibility, Class B terrain awareness, Highway-in-the-Sky flight guidance, synthetic vision, XM WX datalink weather, and Garmin’s SafeTaxi airport charts and FliteCharts. Thanks to the G1000’s lightweight and modular design, the G1000 installation results in a weight savings of approximately 100 pounds.
Garmin SafeTaxi includes more than 950 U.S. airports and helps pilots navigate unfamiliar airports while taxiing by identifying runways, taxiways, runway incursion hotspots, and hangars, as well as the aircraft’s exact location on the field. FliteCharts is an electronic version of the departure procedures, standard terminal arrival routes, approach charts, and airport diagrams, and may be viewed directly on the multifunction display (MFD). ChartView is available as an option, and it allows pilots to overlay the aircraft’s position on an electronic version of Jeppesen’s charts and airport diagrams.
The G1000 installation on the CJ has a large 12-inch MFD and two 10.4-inch primary flight displays (PFD). It also includes Garmin’s GFC 700 three-axis, fully digital, dual channel, fail passive automatic flight control system (AFCS). The GFC 700 includes features you would expect in this class of aircraft such as coupled Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) approaches, vertical navigation, and flight level change (FLC).
STC approval is expected by the early second quarter of 2010. After approval, CJ owners can have the retrofit performed at Cessna-owned Citation Service Centers. Owners and operators should contact a Cessna Citation Service Center for pricing, and to schedule an installation.
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