Garmin Gets FAA STC for Original Cessna CitationJet Flight Deck Upgrade; Autoland Fleet Passes 2,500 Aircraft
Why It MattersExtending glass-cockpit retrofits down to the oldest light jets shows avionics suppliers treating legacy business-jet fleets as an upgrade market, keeping early airframes flying instead of pushing owners toward replacement.
What happened
Garmin said it will showcase new developments at NBAA-BACE covering avionics retrofits, automated and autonomous systems, flight-planning software and database updates.
On Sept. 22, the company announced that it had received FAA supplemental type certification (STC) approval for a flight deck modernization of the original Cessna Model 525 CitationJet, which was certified in 1992. The upgrade builds on retrofit programs already offered for its successors, the Cessna Citation CJ1 and CJ2.
The package includes two Garmin G600 TXi touchscreen flight displays, GTN Xi navigators, a GFC 600 digital autopilot and GWX 8000 StormOptix weather radar.
Industry impact & what to watch
The certification pushes Garmin's retrofit line to the first-generation CitationJet, the oldest model in the family it now covers. For owners of a 1992-vintage airframe, the choice between modernizing the panel and replacing the aircraft depends heavily on what an avionics refit costs against the value of the airplane it is installed in.
Retrofit programs of this kind tend to be built outward from the newest successor models toward older ones, so each additional STC widens the pool of aircraft that can take a glass panel and digital autopilot. That matters to the used-jet market, where cockpit capability is one factor buyers weigh alongside airframe age.
The NBAA-BACE showing is the next point at which Garmin's retrofit, automation and software plans will be laid out in front of operators and owners.
