S-TEC and Ameriflight have received an STC for the installation of S-TEC's System Thirty autopilot on Beechcraft 99 turboprop aircraft including the A99A, B99 and C99 models.

'Ameriflight has been a customer of ours for a long time and when they approached us with the idea of obtaining an STC for the System Thirty on their fleet of Beech 99's we thought it was a great opportunity to bring new capabilities to a trusted legacy aircraft,' said S-TEC President Michael McMillan.

'This is proof that even commercial operated turboprop aircraft can benefit from the addition of a very affordable autopilot like our System Thirty.'

'Our goal is to enhance the safety of all of the aircraft in our fleet,' Ameriflight's V.P. Maintenance, David Fitzpatrick said. 'We see the ability for our pilots to have a feature like altitude hold as critical. With the touch of a button it will stabilize the aircraft so the pilot can concentrate on other routine procedures in the cockpit. It will also greatly reduce pilot workload on our longer routes.'

'We have 57 Beech 99s in our fleet,' he added.

'We believe that by installing the S-TEC System Thirty, we have found an affordable and effective way of extending the useful life of this reliable workhorse well into the future.'

'Priced at $14,680 (uninstalled), the System Thirty is by far the most cost-effective solution to add the safety and capabilities to their Beech 99s that Ameriflight is looking for,' added S-TEC Director of Sales, Greg Plantz. 'Along with the altitude hold, the System Thirty delivers other features like heading control and navigation tracking. All-in-all it is an extremely functional solution for a variety of cost-conscious operators.'

'Now that we have completed the STC process we are going to begin offering the upgrade to all of the other current Beechcraft 99 owners and operators through our worldwide dealer network,' Plantz continued.

FMI: www.S-TEC.com, www.ameriflight.com