Garmin Announces G5000 Upgrades For Citation Excel, XLS

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today announced it will expand its portfolio of integrated flight deck upgrades to now include a G5000 modernization program for the popular Citation Excel and Citation XLS. The Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) is targeted for approval in late 2018 and will be available from select Garmin dealers, as well as Textron Aviation Service Centers.

"For over five years and across multiple airframes, the G5000 has received the enthusiastic praise from aircraft operators as it offers an unprecedented level of situational awareness, yields a significantly lower cost of operation and delivers an exceptional in-flight experience," said Carl Wolf, Garmin vice president of aviation sales and marketing. "With this, we're excited to grow our integrated flight deck upgrade programs to include the ever-popular Citation Excel and XLS, providing these customers with an attractive path to achieve global airspace modernization initiatives with a state-of-the-art avionics suite."

The G5000 integrated flight deck modernization program for the Citation Excel and Citation XLS will feature three high-resolution 14-inch flight displays situated alongside dual touchscreen controllers. Intuitive menu structures contribute to the ease of operation and straightforward user interface. The G5000 offers optimal situational awareness, which features landscape oriented flight displays with multi-pane capability, allowing pilots to simultaneously view maps, charts, checklists, TAWS, TCAS, flight plan information, weather and more. Geographical map overlay within the HSI is also available on the PFD.

Charts can be viewed across all three displays and are geo-referenced, including Garmin FliteCharts(TM) terminal approach procedures or optional Garmin ChartView powered by Jeppesen, as well as Garmin SafeTaxi(R) airport diagrams. The G5000 flight deck for the Citation Excel/XLS is estimated to provide a weight savings of 200 pounds or more compared to the current system, allowing additional baggage, passenger and/or fuel load flexibility.

The G5000 installation on the Citation Excel/XLS will include a fully digital Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), offering optimized performance throughout the aircraft's flight envelope. The G5000 system supports a wide range of capabilities including coupled wide area augmentation system (WAAS/SBAS) approaches, vertical navigation and flight level change (FLC) modes. New to the Citation Excel and available as a standard feature on both the Citation Excel/XLS, emergency descent mode is automatically enabled by the autopilot in the event of a loss in aircraft pressurization.

Safety enhancing autopilot underspeed protection (USP) is an optional feature and allows the autopilot to assist with airspeed management. Fully coupled go-arounds are also enabled by this technology, greatly reducing pilot workload and bringing sophisticated flight monitoring and performance capability to these aircraft.

The G5000 upgrade offers lower cost of operation, exceeds modern airspace initiatives and solves parts obsolescence among the Citation Excel/XLS with zero-time avionics. With the G5000 upgrade, these aircraft will receive a fully integrated, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) rule-compliant Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out solution.

Owners and operators have access to more airports throughout the world when incorporating the G5000 integrated flight deck into their Citation Excel/XLS aircraft, which features PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability. Pilots are provided an elevated level of situational awareness with optional synthetic vision technology (SVT(TM)), which presents a 3D virtual depiction of terrain, obstacles, traffic and the runway environment so the image on the display replicates what the pilot would see outside the cockpit on a clear day.

SVT works seamlessly with Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) alert coloring and voice alerts to warn pilots of potential ground hazards by displaying obstacles and terrain that may pose a threat to the aircraft. The G5000 offers TAWS-A alerting as standard, providing alerts such as excessive closure rate and large glideslope deviations. This upgrade will also support Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) operations.

An option for this upgrade, Connext(R) wireless cockpit connectivity can enable wireless flight plan transfer and more between the Garmin Pilot(TM) app on a mobile device and the G5000 integrated flight deck. Owners and operators can more easily manage flight plans with Flight Stream, while also receiving additional benefits such as the sharing of traffic, weather, GPS and more across multiple mobile devices in the cockpit.

The G5000 flight deck modernization program will also support additional options, including: - Advanced weather radar capabilities, including turbulence detection and ground clutter suppression - Wind shear alerting - SiriusXM Aviation weather for the U.S. and Canada, providing comprehensive weather data such as NEXRAD radar imagery, METARs, TAFs, lightning, winds aloft, echo tops and more - Access to global weather products and text/voice communication through the Iridium satellite network - Active and passive traffic surveillance using TCAS II/ACAS II technology, featuring Garmin patented CLEAR CAS(TM) (Correlated Location Enhanced ADS-B Receiver Collision Avoidance System), which uses a blended surveillance method of active interrogation and passive reception of ADS-B data - SurfaceWatch(TM), 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 - FAA Data Comm operational support, including Link 2000+ and CPDLC

The G5000 integrated flight deck is a modernized avionics suite that is equipped to meet and exceed industry requirements, while also offering a lower cost of operation and a three-year warranty. For additional information regarding the G5000 modernization program for the Citation Excel/XLS, contact Dave Brown at 913-440-1714. Visit the Garmin exhibit (1900) at the National Business Aviation Association Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Orlando, Florida, November 1-3, 2016 for additional information.

Garmin's aviation business segment is a leading provider of solutions to OEM, aftermarket, military and government customers. Garmin's portfolio includes navigation, communication, flight control, hazard avoidance, an expansive suite of ADS-B solutions and other products and services that are known for innovation, reliability, and value. For more information about Garmin's full line of avionics, go to www.garmin.com/aviation.

For decades, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary business units, including automotive, aviation, fitness, marine, and outdoor recreation. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at garmin.com/newsroom, contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200, or follow us at facebook.com/garmin, twitter.com/garmin, or youtube.com/garmin.

About Garmin

Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN). Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin, Connext and SafeTaxi are registered trademarks and G5000, SVT, FliteCharts Garmin Pilot and CLEAR CAS are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

Editorial StaffAVweb