A Comprehensive Guide to Garmin G5000 - Elliott Aviation

A Comprehensive Guide to Garmin G5000 - Elliott Aviation

The Garmin G5000 is one of the most advanced avionics systems on the market. After nearly a decade of sales of the Garmin G1000 retrofit in the King Air, one of the most successful avionics retrofits in aviation history, Garmin set its sights on the retrofit market jets. The Garmin G5000 was first available as a retrofit in August of 2016 with the certification of the system in the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP. This marked the first time that a Garmin avionics retrofit was available in a jet aircraft. In June of 2019, the STC was approved to install the Garmin G5000 in the Citation Excel/XLS. In addition, Phase II upgrades are also available for the Citation Excel/XLS. This update gives operators many new hardware and software upgrades to give operators even more features.

The Garmin G5000 for the Citation Excel/XLS and the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP give operators new glass displays, touchscreen controls, an all-new autopilot, and many other amazing features. The system allows for WAAS/LPV approaches, which can give ILS-like approaches for thousands of airports. The G5000 also allows for voice calling, texting, as well as database and flight transfers to your phone or tablet through Garmin’s Connext™ feature.

Elliott Aviation has completed more Garmin G5000 retrofits in both the Citation Excel/XLS and Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP than any other dealer. For Citation Excel/XLS operators, we offer a four-week guaranteed downtime on all standalone Garmin G5000 installations. We provide ground familiarization at no additional charge using our in-house Garmin G5000 demonstrator and flight familiarization during aircraft delivery. All of our installations for all Garmin G5000 systems can include the optional Elliott Aviation STC to install the Mid-Continent LCD standby attitude module (SAM), the MD-302. The addition of the SAM provides attitude, altitude, airspeed, and slip information in a self-contained digital standby instrument. Elliott Aviation is an Authorized Service Facility (ASF) for the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP. In addition, we are a 145 repair station for the Citation Excel/XLS, where we average half a dozen maintenance events every month. All Garmin G5000 systems include a three-year warranty. In addition, this upgrade will meet current, and upcoming FAA & ICAO changes from area navigation (R-NAV) to required navigation performance (RNP) and performance-based navigation (PBN) requirements. This prevents costly upgrades at a later date and ATC prioritization during periods of heavy traffic. Find out more about our G5000 installations here.

The High Costs of Maintaining Your Current Avionics

Just keeping up with your current outdated avionics could be costing you much more than you might think. Upgrading avoids costly repairs, can reduce AOG events and excessive downtimes for replacement parts or repairs, and eliminates the need to pay for an additional avionics maintenance warranty program.

Average Citation Excel/XLS Five-Year Upkeep Costs with WAAS/LPV Upgrade

• WAAS/LPV: $140,000
• USB Dataloader: $12,000
• Average Yearly Avionics Upkeep Cost - $30,000/year (x5 years): $150,000
• Total: $302,000

In addition, if your Citation Excel or XLS is equipped with the Garmin GTX-3000 transponders as part of an ADS-B upgrade, you automatically receive a $50,000 credit toward a G5000 in your airplane. Taking these costs and credits into account equates to nearly 70% of the cost of a G5000 with little added resale value. While a Citation Excel/XLS with a partially upgraded legacy avionics system has little resale value, G5000-equipped Citation Excel/XLS aircraft typically maintain 70-80% of their value.

Average Beechjet/Hawker 400XP Five-Year Upkeep Costs with WAAS/LPV Upgrade

• AHRS Obsolete: $80,000
• WAAS/LPV: $70,000
• USB Dataloader: $12,000
• Average Yearly Avionics Upkeep Cost - $30,000 (x5 years): $150,000
• Total: $312,000

For the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP, all of these sunk costs add up to nearly 75% of the cost of a G5000 with little to no resale value.

The Hardware for the Garmin G5000

The Garmin G5000 retrofit in both the Citation Excel/XLS and the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP requires a complete replacement of an existing avionics suite. New hardware is installed in the airplane, which includes a new autopilot. In addition, all existing cockpit wiring is replaced in the airplane from nose to tail. During a Garmin G5000 retrofit in a Citation Excel/XLS or Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP, a customer can expect the following hardware upgrades:

• All-new metal instrument panel
• Dual integrated radio modules, providing WAAS-certified GPS, VHF navigation with ILS, and VHF communication with 16-watt transceivers and 25 kHz or 8.33 kHz channel spacing (GIA 64W)
• Dual touch screen controllers (GTC 575)
• Dual digital air data computers (GDC 7400)
• Three-axis digital Automatic Flight Control System (GFC 700)
• Four-color digital weather radar with stabilization (GWX 75) with optional GWX 80
• Integrated Class-A TAWS terrain alerting with worldwide terrain and U.S. database
• XM satellite radio datalink receiver (GDL 69A)
• RVSM airframe certification

The Most Feature-Rich Avionics Suite on the Market

These hardware upgrades combine to create the most feature-rich avionics suite on the market. These features can help improve the safety and operation of your aircraft, increase situational awareness, and reduce pilot workload.

Summary of Available Features

• Full WAAS FMS integration and new, dual-channel digital flight control system
• Compliance with global airspace modernization initiatives and provides a modern platform for future growth requirements
• Widescreen displays with integrated engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) and split-screen functionality
• Dual touchscreen display/controllers and an intuitive, graphical menu interface for ease of system interaction
• Optional SVT™, data comm/Link 2000+/CPDLC, SurfaceWatch™ and Connext® cockpit connectivity
• Pilot/copilot audio system with XM radio input
• Full reversionary display capability
• En route CBDLC capability
• Emergency Descent Mode
• Underspeed protection

Phase II Software Upgrades Available in Citation Excel/XLS Include:

• Takeoff and Landing Data (TOLD)
• Steep approach
• Reactive wind shear
• Stabilized approach

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