Avidyne Vantage has New Autopilot, Garmin Integrations

Avidyne has released an upgrade for its Vantage 12 avionics suite for Cirrus SR-series airplanes, including a new autopilot and compatibility with Garmin GNS and GTN navigators.

The new DFC110 autopilot adds vertical navigation (VNAV) capability and is a slide-in replacement for the DFC90 and legacy S-TEC 55 autopilots. With the DFC110, Cirrus owners who upgrade to the Vantage 12 avionics will gain autopilot-coupled VNAV when equipped with dual Avidyne IFD navigators.

The advantage of GNS/GTN compatibility is that owners can upgrade to the large-display Vantage system without immediately having to replace their navigators and while retaining the DFC90 autopilot. To add the additional VNAV capability, they can later upgrade to IFD navigators, which are slide-in replacements for the GNS units. In addition, “GTN owners now have a straightforward path to large-screen Vantage displays,” according to Avidyne.

The DFC110 autopilot costs $14,276 for new installations, with a $2,000 exchange upgrade for existing Vantage/DFC90 customers. The Vantage GNS/GTN enablement, which requires Vantage software 12.1, costs $3,500 but is available for free for customers who register in advance and take delivery of a Vantage system before Dec. 15, 2026.

Avidyne expects the Vantage 12.1 software and DFC110 autopilot to be certified and available in the fourth quarter of 2026.