A Garmin GFC 500-equipped Cessna.

Garmin announced their aviation team will be conducting customer in-flight demos with the GFC 500 digital autopilot. Throughout the month of April, Garmin will be visiting select locations throughout the Midwest and Southeastern U.S., offering demonstration flights of the cost-effective retrofit autopilot solution that brings unprecedented levels of capability, reliability and affordability to single-engine, fixed-wing general aviation aircraft.

Built upon the popular G5 electronic flight instrument, the GFC 500 autopilot uniquely integrates with the G5 to provide an economical and highly capable autopilot along with a modern flight instrument. The autopilot mode controller contains large dedicated keys and knobs, a control wheel that allows for easy adjustments to aircraft pitch, airspeed and vertical speed, and a level button that returns the aircraft to straight-and-level flight. As a standard feature, pilots receive Garmin ESP with the GFC 500 autopilot, which works to assist the pilot in maintaining the aircraft in a stable flight condition.

The GFC 500 servos also contain a brushless DC motor and a gear train that eliminates the need for a mechanical slip clutch. G5 provides input and display of altitude preselect, heading, vertical speed target, airspeed target and Flight Director command bars for the GFC 500. An optional adapter allows the GFC 500 and G5 to interface with select Garmin GPS or VHF navigators. Several certification programs for the GFC 500 autopilot have been completed and additional aircraft types and models are in-progress and planned.

At each tour stop, Garmin experts will be on-site with the GFC 500-equipped Cessna 172 to answer questions and provide a first-hand look at the autopilot solution. All locations, dates and times are subject to change due to weather and maintenance.

Dates & Locations (subject to change):