Lakeland, FL, March 05, 2015 — Rick Garcia, President and CEO, Gulf Coast Avionics Corporation announced today that the company recently received an FAA field approval for an extensive digital panel upgrade on a legacy Cessna Citation 501 business jet.
“The customer wanted to upgrade the capabilities of his Citation 501 and the only way to do it cost-effectively was to work with the Orlando FSDO to earn the field approval,” Garcia stated. “I really have to complement our Chief Inspector, Sarah Smith and the entire engineering and installation group. This was not an easy task, but the result is a beautiful and very capable Citation.”
“As you can imagine there was a lot of paperwork and documentation that went along with the physical installation process. As far as we know, this was the first field approval for this package in the 501,” Ms. Smith stated. “We are very grateful to the Orlando FSDO representatives for all of their cooperation and guidance as we worked through the process.”
Ms. Smith explained that the Citation 501 panel upgrade included:
• Dual Garmin GTN 750 Touchscreen GPS/NAV/COMM/MFDs
• Dual Garmin GTX 33 transponders
• Garmin GMA 35 remote audio processor
• Garmin GDL 69 XM WX satellite receiver
• Garmin GPSS roll steering integration with the GTN 750 and legacy autopilot
• Garmin TAWS-B interface
• BendixKing RDR-2000 weather radar interface
• Jeppesen electronic charts capability
“Our engineering team also designed new metal instrument panels that were laid out to the owner’s specifications,” Ms. Smith said. “Interfacing the new avionics with the legacy radar, TCAS and autopilot was pretty straight-forward for our team.”
“The customer was absolutely thrilled when he saw it for the first time,” Garcia said. “While the finished panel is fantastic, it was the result of a lot of really hard work and dedication by our professional team. I can tell you that at every level this is not a project that many shops would want to take on.
About Gulf Coast Avionics
Founded in 1984 and located at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida, and with offices worldwide, Gulf Coast Avionics is a major supplier of avionics, instruments and pilot supplies to customers around the world. GCA is an FAA-approved Class 1, 2 and 3/Limited Instrument Repair Station (No. UB4R564M) and provides a full-array of avionics installation and repair services for certificated and kit-built aircraft. For a copy of their catalog or for more information, visit: www.GCA.aero
