The first application for Garmin’s Emergency Autoland on a piston-powered airplane, Cirrus announced today that the FAA-certified Safe Return with autothrottle will be standard on the SR G7+ series models.
Congrats to Cirrus for continuing to innovate.
The “herrr derrr just land it in a field” and “Cirrus pilots bad” crowds are going to lose their minds when they hear about this.
Well, this is a lot better than totaling the plane by pulling a chute and later having to use a chain saw to remove the wings in order to transport it out of the landing zone.
I think this is really cool, although I’d wager that for the price of the option a person could get a very nice used 182 or a down payment on luxury home or an S Class Mercedes. On the other hand the S Class and other items mentioned will not save your life if you are a non pilot passenger and your pilot loses his or her mind or ability to control his or her body.
The extra hardware necessary to do auto throttle and auto mixture and auto brakes all add weight and complexity that did not exist before.
Automatic pitot heat is probably a good thing (most jets turn on probe heat automatically) but for a single engine piston airplane, this is still a very significant electrical load, so I hope there is a message or indication to the pilot that the pitot heat is on. I would also hope there is a way to manually turn it off in case load-shedding is necessary.
I guess in the not so distant future you really will not have to know how to fly an airplane, just program it and touch the screen. I guess that’s progress if that’s what you want to call it.
Push button, get Banana.
A “BMH Button” for the worst of the worst, with enough petty cash to afford a plane that will no longer require any skill, knowledge or ability to operate.
Pro: With the end of lead, the 70 year old dinosaur upfront will stop huffing and puffing.
Contra: The sky will be as safe, as a Chinese coder deemed necessary…
Are you sure they would use a chain saw to cut off the wings?
Chain saw or saws-all.
The wings are glued on so they re not going to come off with just a screw driver and a socket set like metal planes.
Getting closer to cockpit crew consisting of a pilot and a dog. Pilot’s job is to feed the dog. Dog’s job is to bite the pilot if he or she tries to fly the airplane.
Actually it seems like a good idea to have this feature. I keep reading where a pilot who should know better, gets themselves stuck in an IMC situation that is over their heads. Unfortunately far too many of them die along with their passengers.
I would like to know why the emergency Garmin Autoland now available on a variety of aircraft has to be considered emergency only i.e. pilot incapacitation or in over his/her head in severe weather etc. If the system is so good (as it appears to be) why can’t it be used routinely to conduct the landing as BEA (British European Airways) Tridents pioneered with the first performed the first zero-zero autoland November 4, 1966. Is it all about liability?