Garmin International has received certification of its G5000 integrated flight deck for Textron Aviation’s Citation Excel and Citation XLS and is now available for installation. The G5000 modernises the cockpit, solves parts obsolescence and addresses mandate requirements, while also offering a lower cost of operation.

“With close to 50 customer commitments, the market has proven that the ever-popular Citation Excel/XLS is a perfect platform for the G5000,” says vice president of aviation sales and marketing Carl Wolf. “Based on the tremendous success of our integrated flight deck retrofits, as well as the reception of our early adopter programmes, Citation Excel and XLS owners and operators are excited to start flying behind the G5000 as it offers an unprecedented level of situational awareness, yields a significantly lower cost of operation and delivers an exceptional in-flight experience.”

The G5000 features three landscape-oriented flight displays with split-screen capability, allowing pilots to simultaneously view maps, charts, checklists, TAWS, TCAS, flight plan information, weather and more. Electronic charts and Garmin SafeTaxi airport diagrams are geo-referenced and can be viewed across all three displays. Intuitive touchscreen controllers serve as the pilot interface to the flight deck and contribute to the ease of operation and seamless transition between various pages.

The installation includes a fully digital Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), offering precise performance throughout the aircraft’s flight envelope. New to the Citation Excel, Emergency Descent Mode (EDM) is available as a standard feature with the G5000 and is enabled by the autopilot in the event of a loss in aircraft pressurisation. Safety enhancing underspeed protection (USP) is an optional feature that allows the autopilot to assist with airspeed management, while also enabling fully coupled go-arounds, greatly reducing pilot workload.

The upgrade for the Citation Excel/XLS comes as a fully integrated, FAA and EASA rule-compliant ADS-B Out solution. Additionally, operators gain access to more airports and lower approach minimums throughout the world as the G5000 has PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability.

Pilots can receive departure clearances faster using FAA Data Comm. Controller Pilot Data Link Communication-Departure Clearance (CPDLC-DCL) automates Clearance Delivery operations at over 60 of the busiest airports in the US and enables wireless receipt and automatic loading of the departure clearance into the G5000. Additionally, the G5000 supports En Route CPDLC capability, which allows the exchange of data link messages with air route traffic control centres (ARTCCs) in the US. This capability is expected to be available at all ARTCCs by the end of the year. European operators can also meet Link 2000+ requirements using this same technology. FAA Data Comm and Link 2000+ require optional equipment and services.

The G5000 also supports additional options such as SVT synthetic vision technology, which presents a 3D virtual depiction of terrain, obstacles, traffic and the runway environment; SurfaceWatch, which supports visual and aural cues to help prevent pilots from taking off and landing on a taxiway, on a runway that is too short or on the wrong runway based on performance data entered during preflight; Datalink weather, including access to global weather products and text/voice communication through the Iridium satellite network; and advanced Doppler weather radar features including ground clutter suppression and turbulence detection.

As an additional option for this upgrade, Connext wireless cockpit connectivity via the Flight Stream 510 enables wireless flight plan transfer and more between compatible mobile devices, including Garmin Pilot, FltPlan Go and ForeFlight Mobile. Owners and operators can more easily manage flight plans with the Flight Stream 510, while also receiving additional benefits such as the sharing of traffic, weather, GPS and more across multiple mobile devices in the cockpit. Flight Stream 510 also enables Database Concierge, the wireless transfer of aviation databases from the Garmin Pilot app on a mobile device to the G5000.

In conjunction with this certification, Garmin has launched two new eLearning courses that are tailored to the G5000 in the Citation Excel/XLS. These courses review a variety of features, operational considerations and scenarios so pilots can familiarise themselves with the capabilities of the G5000.

The G5000 integrated flight deck upgrade for the Citation Excel and Citation XLS is available immediately from Textron Aviation service centres and select Garmin authorised dealers.

“The Citation Excel and Citation XLS continue to be two of the most popular business jets in the world,” says Textron Aviation senior vice president, global customer support Kriya Shortt. “The G5000 will modernise the cockpit to offer customers additional situational awareness, lower cost of operation and an improved in-flight experience in the aircraft they already know and love.”

New to the Citation Excel, emergency descent mode is available as a standard feature and is enabled by the autopilot in the event of a loss in aircraft pressurisation. Additionally, operators gain access to more airports and lower approach minimums throughout the world as the G5000 has PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability.

US MRO Elliott Aviation has started its first installation on a Citation 560XL. The aircraft is also receiving Prizm cabin lighting and Smart Vision Shades, provided by Elliott Technologies. The STC was issued on 7 June, 2019, and the company currently has 16 more Citation 560XL aircraft booked for Garmin G5000 installations.

Elliott Aviation was the first company to complete a Garmin G5000 retrofit, in 2015, on a Hawker 400XP. It has now completed over 30 G5000 systems and has 17 sold and scheduled G5000 sales for the Excel/XLS. With 350 Garmin G1000 and G1000NXi systems installed in King Airs, it has installed 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 reduces the cost of avionics ownership. This solution also solves all coming CRT obsolescence issues that operators are facing. The STC will apply to nearly 700 aircraft.

For operators who are looking to just complete the ADS-B mandate and have a discount on a future G5000 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 this programme. In addition to ADS-B compliance, it provides significant financial incentive to purchase the Garmin G5000 at a later date.

The Elliott Technologies product, Prizm cabin LED lighting, features full colour spectrum mood lighting controlled through a mobile app or existing cabin lighting controls. It is available for up wash, down wash, lower accent, galley, lavatory and cupholders. The system has custom preset mood lighting configuration and allows for customer selectable preset lighting configurations. The Prizm lighting is expandable to meet the needs of most turbine powered business aircraft.

Smart Vision Shades are electronically dimmable inner window panes with multiple colours of dimmable film. When combined with Prizm cabin lighting, they can be controlled with an app available on a smart phone, or with the built-in controls. They feature individual variable control at each window and are 99 per cent UV blocking.

“We expect the Garmin G5000 programme for the Citation Excel and XLS to be a huge success,” says Elliott Aviation director of avionics sales Conrad Theisen. “We have seen a lot of interest from early adopters with 17 aircraft sold. Since the STC is now approved, we are now expecting another group of Citation Excel and XLS operators to make the upgrade to Garmin G5000.”