Elliott Aviation Completes 100th Garmin G5000 Retrofit on Centennial Jets Citation XLS
Why It MattersRetrofit volume concentrating at a single dealer shows that avionics modernization of older Citation and Hawker airframes is becoming a repeatable, installer-led business rather than a one-off project for each owner.
What happened
Elliott Aviation announced on October 12, 2026 that it has completed its 100th Garmin G5000 flight deck retrofit. The milestone installation was performed on a Citation XLS operated by Centennial Jets. The company says it has completed more Garmin G5000 retrofits than any other dealer in the world.
Bill Forbes, Senior Vice President of Sales and Avionics Programs for Elliott Aviation, said the company was the first organization to complete a Garmin G5000 installation in a Citation Excel. Elliott Aviation operates four dedicated Garmin flight deck installation teams focused on avionics modernization projects. The company also states it has installed more Garmin G1000 and G1000 NXi integrated flight decks in King Air aircraft than any other dealer worldwide, accounting for nearly half of all installations globally.
Captain Rohan Bhatia, CEO of Centennial Jets, said the company chose Elliott Aviation for its experience and track record, and that the quality of the installation and the team's professionalism exceeded expectations.
The Garmin G5000 integrated flight deck offers advanced situational awareness, enhanced safety features, improved navigation capabilities and wireless connectivity. Elliott Aviation's G5000 program currently supports Citation Excel/XLS aircraft, the Beechjet 400A and the Hawker 400XP. Founded in 1936, the company provides avionics, maintenance, paint and interiors, and parts services for business aircraft.
Industry impact & what to watch
A hundred completed installations on one flight deck platform points to how the avionics upgrade market works for mid-size jets. Once a dealer has certified procedures, dedicated crews and repeat experience on a given airframe, each additional retrofit becomes more predictable in scope and downtime. That favours installers who build programs around a specific platform over shops that treat each upgrade as a custom job.
For operators of older Citation Excel/XLS, Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP aircraft, a retrofit is an alternative to replacing the airframe. It adds the situational awareness, navigation and connectivity capabilities the G5000 offers to a fleet type already in service. Centennial Jets' stated reason for choosing Elliott, experience and track record, reflects the criterion that tends to decide dealer selection when the work takes an aircraft out of service.
The dealer-leadership claims here, most G5000 retrofits worldwide and nearly half of all G1000 and G1000 NXi King Air installations, are Elliott Aviation's own statements. The G5000 program's list of supported types, Excel/XLS, Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP, is the clearest marker of where its retrofit capacity is currently aimed.
