Story ID: 474
Genesys Certifying New Part 25 Digital Autopilot
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: The S-Tec 5000 will offer owners of Part 25 jets a new option for retrofitting a modern digital autopilot with envelope-protection features.
Word Count: 542
Genesys Aerosystems is well into the STC process for the new S-Tec 5000 digital flight control system (DFCS) autopilot, which was introduced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in July. The autopilot received TSO approval in July, and the next big step is the STC for the Citation 501 and (the company’s first such approval for a Part 25 jet) the 550 Citation II.

Genesys expects to receive the STC for the S-Tec 5000 in June next year. “The Part 25 STC cycle is much longer than [that for] Part 23,” said Jamie Luster, Genesys Aerosystems director of sales and marketing. “This is a completely new autopilot, from the ground up, certified to DO-178B Level A software.”

The S-Tec 5000 brings to the Part 25 market features that haven’t been available as retrofits, specifically envelope protection and level recovery capabilities with a straight-and-level button. “We’ve talked to a lot of pilots,” she said, “and it’s clear that these features are regarded as ‘must-haves’ for this category of aircraft—especially in higher-workload, single-pilot applications.” Later Genesys plans to add automatic descent capability for pressurization emergencies.

The three-axis S-Tec 5000 offers altitude preselect, IAS hold, compatibility with RVSM avionics, flight director, precision approach and missed approach (go-around mode), GPSS, course intercept and all-new servos for $125,000. All-axis trim is an option.

In the Citation 501 and 550 STC, the S-Tec 5000 flight control computer is panel-mounted, because some of those jets have a mixture of analog gauges, older EFIS displays and sometimes modern equipment. “We want to be able to install it in any model [of these jets],” Luster explained. Genesys is also developing remote-mount flight control computers that would interface with modern avionics displays. The company is working with some OEMs that are considering adopting the S-Tec 5000 autopilot, she added.

The S-Tec 5000 offers a retrofit autopilot option in a market where there aren’t many products that are affordable or even available, she said. For older airplanes with autopilots, those “are becoming obsolete or expensive to maintain,” Luster said. “For slightly more than the cost to repair an old autopilot, I can install a new autopilot with a new warranty.”

So far Genesys has tested the S-Tec 5000 in its Beech Baron and in a Casa C-212 and Dornier Do-228. “It’s gone well,” she said. “It’s smooth, and when you capture an altitude it doesn’t fly through and then jerk you back down, which is nice in a large aircraft. You don’t have to [manually] slow down the rate of climb.”

After the Citations are STC'd, Genesys plans to certify the S-Tec 5000 in the Beech 1900D twin turboprop, then other aircraft. “We’ll start looking for more partners to determine which ones to pursue next,” she said. “The autopilot could be installed in any size business jet. It’s just a market we’ve seen neglected for retrofit autopilots. Since we are the autopilot people, we want to make sure we help address that. It gives owners a cost-effective way to upgrade the avionics without a full cockpit redesign.”

For the 400 Genesys dealers, the S-Tec 5000 opens up new opportunities for retrofit sales, especially in the Part 25 market, Luster said.

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