Garmin has added to the list of aircraft approved for its GFC 500 digital autopilot. The company announced today (July 19) that owners of Cessna 172D (1963) and 172P (1981- 1986) Skyhawks and North American/Rockwell Commander 112B, TC/TC-A, and 114 models are now eligible to have the autopilot installed under a supplemental type certificate (STC).
Installation options include interfacing the GFC 500 with Garmin’s GI 275 and/or G5 electronic flight displays. The autopilot can also be installed with Garmin’s G500 TXi or G3X Touch flight displays, with either the GI 275 or G5 as a standby indicator and interfacing with the GFC 500.
While legacy autopilot features include altitude hold, vertical speed and heading functions, the GFC 500 adds altitude preselect, VNAV2, underspeed and overspeed protection, among other features. The autopilot is capable of coupled approaches, including GPS, ILS, VOR, LOC and back course approaches when paired with a compatible Garmin GPS navigator.
The list of aircraft models approved for the GFC 500 autopilot continues to grow. For the most up-to-date aircraft STC lineup, to see the current list of certification programs nearing completion or to request information about possible approvals for specific aircraft makes/models, visit www.garmin.com/GFC500.
If only Garmin could find a way to support older G1000 configurations that came with a KAP140… there’s quite a few of such planes (Cessnas, Diamonds, …) out there.
Garmin doesn’t want to support their older generations. They want to sell you a new one. Just like the cellular phones and everything else. I still have my original smartphone from 2011. In said telephone is a navigation system from a company that went out of business years ago. The program still works, and I still use it as a backup just in case.