GFC 700 Autopilot
Physical GFC 700 autopilot control unit — 3D-printed bezel, encoder knobs, illuminated pushbuttons, and CockpitConnect integration.
Overview
The Garmin GFC 700 is the integrated autopilot fitted to the 172SP G1000. Its control unit sits on the glareshield and provides AP engage, flight director, altitude hold, heading, NAV, VNAV, approach coupling, and VS/FLC modes.
This page covers the physical build of the GFC 700 control panel — the bezel, button layout, encoder knobs, and integration with X-Plane via CockpitConnect.
Panel Layout
The GFC 700 control unit has the following controls:
| Control | Type | Function |
|---|---|---|
| AP | Illuminated pushbutton | Autopilot engage/disengage |
| FD | Illuminated pushbutton | Flight Director |
| HDG | Illuminated pushbutton | Heading mode |
| NAV | Illuminated pushbutton | NAV/GPS track |
| APR | Illuminated pushbutton | Approach mode |
| VS | Illuminated pushbutton | Vertical speed |
| FLC | Illuminated pushbutton | Flight level change |
| ALT | Illuminated pushbutton | Altitude hold |
| NOSE UP / DN | Pushbuttons | VS pitch trim |
| HDG knob | Rotary encoder | Heading bug |
| ALT knob | Rotary encoder | Altitude selector |
Construction
The bezel is 3D-printed in PLA and painted to match the glareshield. Illuminated pushbuttons use 12mm momentary switches with integrated LEDs, driven by Arduino digital outputs. The encoder knobs are 3D-printed caps over 24-pulse rotary encoders.
X-Plane Integration
Each button maps to an X-Plane command via CockpitConnect:
sim/autopilot/servos_on → AP button
sim/autopilot/flight_director_on → FD button
sim/autopilot/heading → HDG mode
sim/autopilot/NAV → NAV mode
sim/autopilot/approach → APR mode
sim/autopilot/vertical_speed → VS mode
sim/autopilot/altitude_hold → ALT hold
sim/autopilot/altitude_arm → ALT arm
Status
Planning — bezel design not yet started.