With STC's on nearly 1,000 airframes and more than 40,000 autopilots shipped, S-TEC is the recognized digital and analog autopilot leader for commercial, military and government aircraft around the world. Genesys Aerosystems, a Moog company, is building upon and strengthening its leadership role in the Autopilot market by collaborating with JETTECH LLC to certify its S-TEC 5000 digital autopilot flight control system for retrofit in FAR Part 23 and Part 25 Cessna Citation series of aircraft. The initial STC will include the Citation S550, Encore, Ultra, and V models.
Genesys Aerosystems’ S-TEC autopilots are certified on many different fixed wing and rotary wing makes and models for general aviation and special mission aircraft including factory fit Part 25 aircraft, however this collaboration represents the first autopilot specifically for retrofit Part 25 aircraft.
We recognize that autopilots in this segment of the market are becoming obsolete and expensive to maintain,” states Jamie Luster, Director of Sales and Marketing for Genesys Aerosystems. “Not only are we offering enhanced capabilities with this upgrade, but also decreasing recurring costs with new technology and a 2 year warranty.”
The Cessna Citation platform is a popular aircraft type with over one thousand S550, Encore, Ultra and V model aircraft in operation and many are flying today with older avionics that require increasingly expensive repair and maintenance. The older avionics installed from the factory have reached the point where upgrading to the latest technology, such as the digital S-TEC 5000 Autopilot, makes economic and operational improvement sense to keep these aircraft flying more efficiently in today’s crowded airspace and operating within the requirements of the modern Next-Gen NAS airspace such as Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures, RVSM, WAAS GPS satellite navigation & approaches, and others.
About the S-TEC 5000 Autopilot
The S-TEC 5000 is an advanced 3-axis digital , attitude based autopilot designed for every phase of flight of high-performance jets and turboprop aircraft. Unlike traditional legacy autopilots that rely on roll information from a turn coordinator, and pitch information from a pressure transducer, the S-TEC 5000 makes precise corrections based on very accurate AHRS data. This is most evident on windy days where the wind isn’t blowing in alignment with your approach path. The digital S-TEC 5000 will hold the localizer and glideslope steadily down to Category I minimums. The S-TEC 5000 digital autopilot is the ideal system to increase mission efficiency, and reduce downtime. Pilots / operators of turboprop and jet aircraft will appreciate the advanced features that make every phase of flight easier, safer, and more reliable. Advanced capabilities help reduce pilot workload while significantly improving mission efficiency. From “wheels up to wheels down” the S-TEC 5000 integrates with your digital EFIS or FMS to deliver effortless command and control, and the precision that is absolutely essential in today’s crowded airspace. The S-TEC 5000 is RVSM compatible and provides advanced features such as Flight Level Changes through IAS and Altitude Preselect, Straight and Level Recovery, EFIS Integration, Envelope Protection/Alerting, Precision Approaches/Missed Approaches and other features.
Envelope Protection/Alerting
Loss of control is one of the largest contributors to general aviation accidents. The S-TEC 5000 helps minimize the chance of entering into an inadvertent stall, unusual attitude, over-speeds or excessive banking situation caused by aggressive autopilot inputs. For example, should your aircraft approach a stall while the S-TEC 5000 is engaged, the system will automatically alter the maximum pitch angle necessary to quickly return the aircraft to a safe speed. In addition, visual and aural annunciations will alert you to the situation.
Straight and Level Recovery
Should you inadvertently enter into an unusual attitude situation, the S-TEC 5000’s Straight and Level button (LVL), delivers fast and simple automatic recovery to level flight from an unusual attitude no matter what the external visibility conditions. Once engaged, Straight and Level instantaneously overrides previous autopilot inputs to safely return and hold your aircraft at a neutral attitude while you get things sorted out.