Citation CJ3 pilots have a new route to meeting future avionics mandates, with the unveiling of a Pro Line Fusion flight deck upgrade by Rockwell Collins and Duncan Aviation. Replacing the CJ3’s factory-installed Pro Line 21 portrait displays with three 14.1-inch landscape touchscreen displays with synthetic vision, the upgrade provides turnkey compliance with airspace modernization deadlines.

Duncan is developing the supplemental type certificate for the installation, with certification expected by the end of 2016, and plans call for the upgrade to be available for additional CJ models in the future. No price has been set, but Rockwell Collins estimates the fly-away cost for the upgrade will be in the $315,000 to $325,000 range.

Like all Pro Line Fusion installations, the software will be upgradeable for easy updates, while providing the backbone for integrating future enhancements such as Rockwell Collins’s HGS-3500 Head-up Guidance system (head-up display), EVS-3000 Enhanced Vision System, MultiScan weather radar and Airport Moving Map.

The panel makeover was planned with the active involvement of owner/operator organization Citation Jet Pilots (CJP). “We are extremely excited with this development, and in particular how this upgrade will allow CJ3 pilots to utilize the very latest technological advances in the FAA’s NextGen air traffic control network,” said CJP president David Miller.

The upgrade follows the path blazed by the upgrade developed for King Air aircraft originally delivered with Pro Line 21 cockpits. The pilot displays and controls are replaced with Pro Line Fusion products while the CJ3’s modern and reliable autopilot and radios remain on the airplane.