We’re dedicated to the passionate pursuit of active, safety-enhancing technologies that make flying easier and provide advanced capabilities designed to help make flying safer. It’s a bold vision that grows directly from our legacy of innovation and leadership in aviation. That tradition continues with Autonomí, a family of solutions that adds automated, safety-enhancing tools for the pilot and passengers.
Flying has always been rewarding — for pilots and passengers. Yet, with friends, family and colleagues on board, the pilot is responsible for keeping that precious cargo safe. Now there’s a new way to help protect them — Garmin Autoland. It takes complete control of the flight to land the airplane in an emergency where the pilot is unable to fly1.
We are proud to announce that Garmin Autoland has been awarded the prestigious 2020 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association. Awarded annually, the trophy recognizes “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving performance, efficiency, safety in air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.” We are honored and humbled by this recognition.
Garmin Autoland can engage automatically when it determines the pilot is unable to fly — or passengers can press an activation button2.
The system selects the best airport for landing, considering runway length, distance, fuel range and other factors.
Garmin Autoland navigates around hazardous terrain, obstacles and weather as it flies to its destination.
It automatically communicates its intentions and routing to air traffic control and passengers.
At the destination, Garmin Autoland lands the aircraft and stops on the runway so emergency services can reach passengers3.
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Electronic Stability and Protection (Garmin ESP™) — first introduced in 2010 — is a safeguard that assists pilots to maintain safe, stable flight by monitoring the aircraft’s flight condition to help prevent loss of control. While the pilot is always in full control, Garmin ESP helps the pilot realize and react to potentially unsafe flight conditions with control inputs and alerts.
Garmin ESP detects when the pitch of the aircraft’s nose rises too high or drops too low or when the aircraft rolls left or right beyond the preset limits.
The pilot feels pressure on the flight controls that guide him or her back to recommended flight limits.
Control forces increase the farther the aircraft strays outside of recommended limits. The pilot is able to overpower these corrections or manually disable them with the press of a button.
If Garmin ESP has been activated for a prolonged period of time, the autopilot engages level mode so the aircraft returns to level flight.
At high altitudes, pilots and passengers need supplemental oxygen or a pressurized cabin to survive. If those systems fail, emergency descent mode seeks to protect occupants by descending to lower altitudes where these devices aren’t required.
The system monitors cabin pressurization and/or pilot interactions with the aircraft and avionics.
Emergency descent mode activates if the pilot doesn’t respond to repeated queries.
It quickly and automatically descends the aircraft to a lower altitude.
The autopilot levels off at the lower altitude, providing the opportunity for the pilot to resume flying the airplane.
When an engine fails in a twin, the pilot must act quickly to correct the potentially hazardous aerodynamic effects of flying with only one operating engine. Garmin Smart Rudder Bias provides additional assistance in these situations. It identifies the affected engine and provides control inputs to help give the pilot time to stabilize the aircraft, so they can fly to a suitable airport for emergency landing.
Smart Rudder Bias is available after the airplane reaches minimum controllable airspeed, and it monitors the aircraft through the entire flight. It offers protection both when the autopilot is on and when it’s off.
Smart Rudder Bias determines a one-engine inoperative condition by comparing power output between the two engines and detecting when the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold.
The system identifies which engine is affected, allowing the pilot to more quickly confirm the failure and complete procedures to maintain control of the aircraft.
Smart Rudder Bias immediately applies control force to the rudder to help overcome yaw tendencies from the loss of power and added drag.
The system applies modified Electronic Stability and Protection (Garmin ESP™) control inputs if the bank angle exceeds preset limits to help the pilot correct for roll tendency — even in turns.
Smart Rudder Bias also applies Garmin ESP inputs to the elevator to help pitch for safe airspeed and avoid a stall.
Once stable flight is reestablished, Smart Rudder Bias can be deactivated with a panel-mounted switch. If the pilot is able to restore power to the failed engine, it can be re-armed to provide continued protection during two-engine flight.
In the event of the loss of engine power in a single-engine airplane, a pilot faces the urgent, workload-intensive job of safely flying the aircraft. Our Smart Glide function — available on GTN™ Xi series navigators with compatible flight displays — provides assistance, helps the pilot efficiently navigate to an airport in range and, with a compatible autopilot, can even fly the aircraft en route, allowing the pilot to focus on key tasks essential to this emergency operation1.
After an engine failure, the pilot activates Smart Glide mode with the press of a dedicated panel-mounted button, through the GTN Xi navigator or via a compatible flight display.
Considering the aircraft’s estimated glide range (including terrain and obstacles), the system recommends a suitable airport for landing and offers a list of alternatives, or it alerts if no airport is estimated to be within glide range. If an airport is available, it creates a Direct-to route to the selected airport.
Smart Glide automatically switches the CDI to GPS mode, engages the Garmin autopilot in IAS mode at best glide speed and activates flight director command bars on the compatible flight display. With compatible third-party autopilots, the pilot can activate the appropriate autopilot modes to receive lateral GPS guidance.
In addition to activating the Garmin autopilot, the system automatically loads the selected airport’s CTAF frequency in the primary Comm standby position, and it offers a shortcut for loading the 7700 squawk code2. So, the pilot can focus more attention on checklists, communication and passengers.
The system displays a glide range ring and provides destination airport information, including bearing and distance, runway orientation, elevation and winds (if available). Aural alerts advise the distance and bearing to the airport — as well as when the pilot should begin maneuvering for landing.
Once the aircraft is near the airport, the pilot resumes control and prepares the aircraft for arrival — for example, bleeding off altitude and making the final approach to the selected runway — then lands the aircraft.
With Autonomí, we’re creating the systems that will take us into a new era of flight and further enhance efficiency and safety — from personal and business aviation to urban air taxis. And we’re just getting started. We’ve been an instrumental part of the dramatic changes occurring in aviation today, and we’ll lead as it changes even more tomorrow.
1See Autoland system requirements and limitations
2Pilot can later deactivate Autoland at their discretion
3Aircraft may require maintenance after Autoland use
4Autoland availability varies by model year. Please contact your aircraft manufacturer for more information.
1Availability varies by aircraft model
1Availability varies by aircraft model
1See Smart Glide system requirements and limitations
2Requires a compatible transponder
