Elliott Aviation has signed its 50th Garmin G5000 retrofit, this time for a 2000 model year Citation Excel.

For operators not yet able to make an upgrade, Elliott Aviation has a Garmin ADS-B STC bridge programme that replaces the current transponders with Garmin GTX 3000 smart transponders. Over 150 Citation Excel/XLS and Beechjet 400A/XPs have completed the bridge programme that, in addition to ADS-B compliance, provides a significant financial incentive to purchase the Garmin G5000 at a later date.

Elliott Aviation was the first company in the world to install a Garmin G5000 retrofit and has now installed over 30 Garmin G5000 systems in Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP aircraft. It is also leading the industry in sales for the Garmin G5000 system for the Citation Excel/XLS and has installed over 350 Garmin G1000 systems in King Airs, more than all other dealers in the world, combined.

The Garmin G5000 Citation Excel and XLS retrofit completely replaces all existing Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics, including the flight director system and autopilot, and greatly reduces cost of avionics ownership. It offers ADS-B out, WAAS/LPV, weight savings, dual channel digital flight control system and an integrated engine indication and crew alerting system (EICAS). The Garmin G5000 also includes many options including synthetic vision, turbulence detection, SurfaceWatch, underspeed protection and Chartview. Additional options like CPDLC Link 2000 services, FANS 1/A, lighting and hail prediction will be added as future options. This solution also solves all coming CRT obsolescence issues that operators are facing. The STC will apply to nearly 700 aircraft.

The Garmin G5000 retrofit programme for the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP replaces the entire avionics suite and includes a new Garmin autopilot system. The G5000 instrument panel consists of three 12” LCD displays that provide the pilot and copilot with all the latest technologies like synthetic vision, electronic charts, XM weather, WAAS/LPV, ADS-B compliance, engine indication and MFD range rings.

“We have been Garmin's leading aviation retrofitter for many years,” says director of avionics sales Conrad Theisen. “Our long-standing partnership with Garmin has led the G5000 programme to be a huge success for Elliott Aviation.”

The Citation Excel and XLS Garmin G5000 programme is currently undergoing certification with STC expected in the spring of 2019.