Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems has installed a new Garmin G5000 Integrated flight deck upgrade on a Citation XLS, its first. The upgrade was part of a major comprehensive and custom refurbishment project on the recently acquired 15 year old aircraft. Executed at the company's Greenville, South Carolina facility, the project also included custom exterior painting and complete interior refurbishment.

The project is one of the first ten North American G5000 retrofits for the Citation Excel/XLS with Garmin's recently approved supplemental type certificate (STC).

“Stevens is one of a select few MROs trusted by Garmin to install the new G5000 avionics suite for the Citation Excel and XLS,” says southeast region sales manager Terry Hawkins. Stevens was involved with Garmin well before the STC release, which helped to facilitate a very successful first aircraft completion, and he adds: “The long-term collaboration with Garmin was excellent, the results were spectacular and our customer couldn't be happier.”

The G5000 integrated flight deck features three high-resolution flight displays with split-screen capabilities, a digital Automatic Flight Control System and Emergency Descent Mode. The technology offers pilots extraordinary situational awareness, reduced cost of operation and enhanced safety features.

The interior refurbishment included a fully customised cabin featuring premium leather seating, cabinetry, galley reconfiguration and passenger amenities.

Stevens will begin its second G5000 installation on a Citation XLS later this month. It had previously installed the G5000 integrated flight deck on a Hawker 400XP.