Sierra Industries, a South Texas aircraft modification company, will host a “Pistons and Pixels” demonstration to showcase its avionics and airframe upgrade capabilities for a variety of high-performance aircraft. The event will be held at Gillespie County Airport (T82) in Fredericksburg, Texas, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 13. Owners and operators of high-performance single and twin-engine piston aircraft are invited to attend and discover the latest high-tech retrofits for their aircraft, company officials said.
Home to the well-known “Texas Top Ten” Hangar Hotel and Airport Diner, Gillespie County Airport features a 5,00-foot asphalt runway. The uncontrolled VFR airport is home base to some 50 fixed-wing aircraft.
The centerpiece of the event will be Sierra’s “Super Centurion” (SSC) demonstration aircraft. Combining state-of-the-art avionics with numerous exclusive Sierra modifications such as Sierra’s R/STOL, gear door conversions and a custom single-piece panel, the SSC up- grade showcases a complete 21st century transformation of the classic Cessna Centurion, according to company officials.
The avionics upgrades replace the Centurion’s original analog instrumentation with “glass cockpit” digital units, increasing situational awareness and minimizing the pilot’s workload. The integrated primary flight and multi-function displays combine graphic information about aircraft position, speed, attitude, altitude and more with color-coded alert features. The MFD sidefeatures a detailed moving-map display of the aircraft’s relationship to ground features, chart data, navigation aids and more with built-in terrain and navigation databases and available Jeppesen chart upgrades. This highly reliable digital information system is capable of restarting and re-establishing position and velocity references while the aircraft is in flight, officials note.
Numerous safety enhancements are available to alert pilots to proximity conflicts and weather information , including Class-B TAWS, XM Satellite Weather and Traffic Information Services (TIS) alerts. A fully refurbished glareshield with full underlighting is included in the package, as well as a 6-position intercom with auxiliary music input.
In addition to avionics, cockpit and airframe modifications, Sierra Industries also offers paint and interior refurbishment, as well as inspection and repair services.
Moreover, Sierra’s exclusive “Fly-Thru” maintenance program can help minimize inconvenient “down time” by providing a loaner aircraft while the aircraft modifications are performed. Depending on aircraft condition, typical installation times are approximately four to six weeks.
For more information: 888-8FLYERS or SIJet.com.
