US maintenance, repair and overhaul provider Elliott Aviation has installed the 500th Garmin G1000 integrated flightdeck for a Beechcraft King Air, nearly 10 years after the system was introduced as an aftermaket upgrade for the twin-engined turboprop family.
The milestone flightdeck was retrofitted on a B200 for Canadian operator and long-standing Garmin customer Keewatin Air, which operates a fleet of nine King Airs, records Flight Fleets Analyzer. It uses the twin-turboprops to provide air ambulance services within the Canadian Arctic archipelago.
The company also operates a pair of Bombardier Learjet 35 business jets and a Pilatus PC-12 single-engined turboprop, Analyzer shows.
Des Moines, Iowa-headquartered Elliott is the largest installer of the G1000 for the pre-owned King Air market, having completed 300 of the 500 retrofits to date, including the first G1000 NXi – an upgraded version introduced by Garmin earlier this year.
“As one of the most successful avionics retrofits in this class of aircraft, we have seen G1000 installations in King Air aircraft of varying backgrounds – from fleet workhorses to individual operators,” says Carl Wolf, Garmin vice-president of aviation sales and marketing.
Source: Flight International