AEA: New Autopilot and ADS-B From BendixKing

BendixKing says it's back in the digital autopilot market with the KFC AeroCruze 230, a clean-sheet product designed to match the form factor of the popular KFC 150, 200 and 250 systems. The new AP features a touchscreen interface and uses existing servo brackets and wiring to cut installation time and cost.

The autopilot will be available for initial airframes by the end of 2018, according to BendixKing. And the company says there are some 13,000 KFC systems in the wild that will suitable for upgrades. Upgrading an old box will cost about $9995, while new installations will top out at about $19,995.

BendixKing is also targeting its ADS-B products for the retrofit market. It announced the CNI 5000 ADS-B upgrade to make a Citation Jet 2020 compliant. The company says downtime is minimized by using the existing tray and wiring rack. The system is a pin-for-pin replacement of the KT 70 transponder