Story ID: 
Nighthawk Guardian Avionics Begin Delivery in December
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: New avionics platform simplifies installation and maintenance
Word Count: 558
Nighthawk Flight Systems plans to begin delivering its new Guardian avionics displays in December and has released pricing for the single- and dual-display systems. Initial availability will be for a single-display system for Part 23 level 1 and 2 airplanes (zero to one seat and two to six seats, up to 6,000 pounds), Part 22 (light sport aircraft under the new Mosaic rules), and experimental aircraft.
In 2022, Nighthawk acquired the primary flight display business started by Sandel Avionics, which made projector-based large-format displays that are still supported by Nighthawk. Sandel’s pioneering Avilon flight deck for Beechcraft King Airs never made it to market but would have been disruptive at its projected price of $175,000, including pre-wiring that was intended to save a lot of installation time.
The Nighthawk team has reimagined typical avionics display configurations, choosing a design with a thin (about four-tenths of an inch) but powerful display connected to the remote-mounted Nest core. Individual cards in the Nest add whatever functionality the customer desires.
The first Guardian products available from Nighthawk include the single- or dual-display systems with a Nest, priced respectively at $33,200 and $39,900. Touchscreen displays measure 11.6 inches and have full HD sunlight-readable resolution and integrated tactile controls. Nighthawk is offering initial capabilities that include high-resolution 3D synthetic vision covering North America, triple-redundant MEMS-based ADAHRS, TAWS, charts and maps, and integration with Garmin and Avidyne GPS navigators. In the first quarter of 2026, more functionality via Nest blades and 7-inch displays is set to be available.
For other functions that it hasn’t developed, Nighthawk will use products such as the Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics Standby Attitude Module (SAM), Electronics International’s engine monitoring system, Moog for the Genesys autopilot, PS Engineering’s audio panel, and chart information from Aircraft Performance Group’s Seattle Avionics. “These collaborations not only enhance the Guardian platform today but also pave the way for an expanded suite of capabilities in the future,” said CEO Paul Martin.
Flight testing of the single-display Guardian avionics was done in Nighthawk’s Cessna 340, integrated with an S-Tec (now Genesys) autopilot. DO-160 environmental testing is also underway. “Everything is looking on track,” he said. “We haven’t had any surprises.”
This flight testing will be followed by the dual-display setup, but with two of the large displays, two 7-inch displays, the Mid-Continent SAM, a Genesys 3100 autopilot, and Electronics International engine monitoring. The dual-display system for level 1 and 2 Part 23 airplanes should be certified “pretty quickly into 2026,” Martin said. The testing will include placing the Nest in various locations so that customers will have flexibility on where it is mounted.
Plans call for adding new blades for the Nest with radios and certified GPS navigation by next April. For redundancy, buyers will be able to install two GPS blades, although the Guardian mission computer does have its own GPS, which isn’t certified for navigation. Another option for customers will be new regions for the synthetic vision system database.
In terms of certification, the level 1 and 2 Part 23, Part 22 Mosaic, and experimental aircraft ranks include about 300,000 eligible aircraft. Nighthawk will add approved model list supplemental type certificates to cover more aircraft, and in mid-2026 plans to add level 3 and 4 Part 23 aircraft and, in about a year and a half, move into the Part 25 transport category segment.