Good Afternoon!
Things are heating up as Oshkosh Airventure 2021 is right around the corner. Several of the Garmin TeamX members will be representing at the show, and we look forward to getting the chance to meet many of our fantastic customers in person throughout the week.
The team has been hard at work throughout the year on many new features for our equipment. One which we are excited to announce is the latest addition to the Autonomi family of autonomous flight technology: Smart Glide for G3X Touch series flight displays.
In the event of the loss of engine power in a single-engine aircraft, a pilot faces the urgent, workload-intensive job of maneuvering the aircraft from its current position to a suitable landing location. Building upon, and in-part borrowing from, the Collier Award winning Garmin Autoland system introduced in 2019, Smart Glide is designed to assist the pilot by enhancing situational awareness and providing helpful automation during an emergency inoperative engine event.
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate
The G3X Touch is always monitoring nearby airports throughout a given flight. When Smart Glide is activated, it automatically activates a Direct To route to the Best Airport estimated to be within glide range based on several factors including runway length and condition; proximity; terrain; and available weather from sources such as FIS-B, or SiriusXM weather, in addition to current measured winds calculated by the primary flight display (PFD).
Smart Glide is engaged by pressing and holding the Direct To button, using the dedicated Emergency Databar menu, or by using a dedicated panel mounted switch.
If the G3X Touch system includes GSA 28 Autopilot Servos, with sufficient altitude Smart Glide activation also simultaneously engages the autopilot to pitch for best glide airspeed and initiates GPS navigation to the recommended airport, where the pilot will then take control of the aircraft and land. If excess altitude remains at the time the aircraft reaches the field, the autopilot will initiate a series of standard rate turns to descend until the pilot disconnects the autopilot. The pilot can deactivate Smart Glide at any time with the dedicated panel switch or using the Emergency page. In addition, the autopilot can be disconnected using the same methods during normal operation, such as the AP disconnect switch installed on the controls.
To save you time, Smart Glide will populate the destination airport’s CTAF or tower frequency into the primary COM standby. Also available are shortcuts to tune the transponder to squawk the 7700 emergency code and tune the standby COM frequency to 121.5 as shown above.
In the event the system estimates there is not an airport within glide range, the autopilot will automatically pitch for best glide speed, and roll wings level, quickly setting you up for a glide and allowing you to choose a suitable landing location.
We will be rolling out software to enable Smart Glide and other new features after the show and will provide Pilot's Guide and Installation Manual updates alongside it to help familiarize yourself with the system and provide further details.
Safe travels,
Justin
Things are heating up as Oshkosh Airventure 2021 is right around the corner. Several of the Garmin TeamX members will be representing at the show, and we look forward to getting the chance to meet many of our fantastic customers in person throughout the week.
The team has been hard at work throughout the year on many new features for our equipment. One which we are excited to announce is the latest addition to the Autonomi family of autonomous flight technology: Smart Glide for G3X Touch series flight displays.
In the event of the loss of engine power in a single-engine aircraft, a pilot faces the urgent, workload-intensive job of maneuvering the aircraft from its current position to a suitable landing location. Building upon, and in-part borrowing from, the Collier Award winning Garmin Autoland system introduced in 2019, Smart Glide is designed to assist the pilot by enhancing situational awareness and providing helpful automation during an emergency inoperative engine event.
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate
The G3X Touch is always monitoring nearby airports throughout a given flight. When Smart Glide is activated, it automatically activates a Direct To route to the Best Airport estimated to be within glide range based on several factors including runway length and condition; proximity; terrain; and available weather from sources such as FIS-B, or SiriusXM weather, in addition to current measured winds calculated by the primary flight display (PFD).
Smart Glide is engaged by pressing and holding the Direct To button, using the dedicated Emergency Databar menu, or by using a dedicated panel mounted switch.
If the G3X Touch system includes GSA 28 Autopilot Servos, with sufficient altitude Smart Glide activation also simultaneously engages the autopilot to pitch for best glide airspeed and initiates GPS navigation to the recommended airport, where the pilot will then take control of the aircraft and land. If excess altitude remains at the time the aircraft reaches the field, the autopilot will initiate a series of standard rate turns to descend until the pilot disconnects the autopilot. The pilot can deactivate Smart Glide at any time with the dedicated panel switch or using the Emergency page. In addition, the autopilot can be disconnected using the same methods during normal operation, such as the AP disconnect switch installed on the controls.
To save you time, Smart Glide will populate the destination airport’s CTAF or tower frequency into the primary COM standby. Also available are shortcuts to tune the transponder to squawk the 7700 emergency code and tune the standby COM frequency to 121.5 as shown above.
In the event the system estimates there is not an airport within glide range, the autopilot will automatically pitch for best glide speed, and roll wings level, quickly setting you up for a glide and allowing you to choose a suitable landing location.
We will be rolling out software to enable Smart Glide and other new features after the show and will provide Pilot's Guide and Installation Manual updates alongside it to help familiarize yourself with the system and provide further details.
Safe travels,
Justin