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Garmins New Autopilots: Flawless Performers

While all eyes were on TruTrak and Trio this past year (both were knee-deep in earning STCs for experimental autopilots), Garmin was quietly working on its own retrofit autopilot. Actually, the company already had two: the one thats integrated within the G3X experimental avionics suite, plus the impressive GFC700 thats built into the G1000 and G3000 integrated avionics.

Larry Anglisano
Verified

While all eyes were on TruTrak and Trio this past year (both were knee-deep in earning STCs for experimental autopilots), Garmin was quietly working on its own retrofit autopilot. Actually, the company already had two: the one that’s integrated within the G3X experimental avionics suite, plus the impressive GFC700 that’s built into the G1000 and G3000 integrated avionics.

The technology in these systems ultimately trickled down to two retrofit autopilots—the entry-level GFC500 and higher-end, clean-sheet GFC600—both of which currently have limited STCs for aftermarket retrofit, but more are in the works. We recently flew with both of them during a visit to Garmin’s flight ops in Olathe, Kansas. Here’s a flight report.

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.