Owners of the more than 200 Cessna Citation CJ2s built through 2006 will be able to have their jets’ avionics upgraded with a Garmin suite at Textron Aviation service centers once Garmin receives the FAA supplemental type certificate by July.
The upgrade features two G600 TXi touchscreen displays with features specific to the CJ2, including stabilized approach monitoring and aural V-speed alerting during takeoff, as well as Garmin’s engine indication system. Two GTN Xi navigators enable vertical navigation (VNAV) using the GFC 600 autopilot, including coupled VNAV descents and coupled go-arounds.
Available options include Garmin’s GWX 8000 StormOptix weather radar. The optional PlaneSync GDL 60 connected aircraft management system uses 4G LTE cellular or Wi-Fi for remote automatic avionics database updates and aircraft information sharing.
The first customer for the upgrade will be CJ2 owner Rod McDermott. “One of the things I appreciate is how excited Textron Aviation is to offer this upgrade and breathe new life into an amazing aircraft platform that could be flying for another 20, 30 years,” he said. “By working with Garmin, they’re giving the CJ2 a whole new utility level for single-pilot operation. And the fact that Textron Aviation is supportive of upgrades for aircraft no longer in production—that makes me really excited about working with this company.”