Page 14 - TNTApril2018

The Garmin GFC600 autopilot is bringing safety features and precision to the autopilot retro t market at a reasonable install price.
I test-f lew the GFC600 in a Beechcraft Bonanza A36 owned by Tom Hass with Park Rapids Avionics. Tom allowed me to put the GFC600 through all sorts of f light regimes. From just after takeoff to just before touchdown, I never had to touch the controls. And, I f lew the airplane from one end of the envelope to the other. It provides complete “envelope protection,” has the “straight-and-level button,” and it will fly a go-around (missed approach) with the pilot only having to advance the power and clean up the airplane. I was completely blown away by the features, precision and affordability.
And it’s not just Garmin. An owner of a Cessna 300/400 series airplane can look forward to Genesys Aerosystems soon having STC approval for the fully-digital STEC 3100 autopilot. I fly the STEC 1500 autopilot often in the Piper Meridian, and if the STEC 3100 is anything like the STEC 1500, it is going to an excellent autopilot. The STEC 3100 will have envelope pro– tection, a “straight-and-level button,” a
Garmin is currently in certi cation testing of its G5000 integrated ight deck retro t for the Citation Excel.
12 • TWIN & TURBINE
April 2018
Banyan