Pretty amazing. Full article here:
https://www.aopa.org/News-and-Media/All-News/2020/January/Pilot/hands-off?utm_source=ebrief&utm_medium=emailMain point:
"The system is the newest addition to a family of automated flight technologies that Garmin has dubbed Autonomí. After the introduction over the past few years of the two other parts of Autonomí; Emergency Descent Mode (EDM) and Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP), autoland is the next logical step.
Combined with autoland, the three form what is basically a digital parachute for the pilot and passengers. If a pilot becomes incapacitated or disoriented, the systems take over either automatically or when activated by the pilot or a passenger, and first stabilize the airplane and if necessary land it.
ESP debuted several years ago and is basically an always-on autopilot that only kicks in when the pilot attempts to stray outside the flight envelope or if the pilot does not respond to keep the airplane flying safely inside the envelope. It will gently nudge the flight controls to keep the airplane out of over- or underspeed situations and to limit bank angle. If a pilot fights ESP for a period of time, as one might if disoriented in the clouds, the system turns on the Level mode of the autopilot. If the pilot doesn’t turn it off after a period of time, the new Autoland system turns on and begins the landing sequence. The pilot can deactivate Autoland a number of ways, including by touching the Autopilot button on the autopilot mode controller or by hitting the red autopilot disconnect button on the yoke. If that happens, a message pops up on the multifunction display on how to reactivate the system in case a passenger inadvertently disconnects it.
Meanwhile, EDM kicks in when the pilot hasn’t interacted with the panel or flight controls within a certain time period. It first poses the question on the cockpit displays: “Are you alert?” If no one touches a button on the panel, it assumes the pilot is incapacitated and descends to a breathable altitude and levels off. In the case of a pressurization problem, it activates immediately.
But then what?
Well, now, with certification pending for Autoland on the M600 SLS and shortly thereafter on the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet, the Garmin panel goes to the next step of beginning an automated sequence of events that results in a safe touchdown on a runway, where it rolls the airplane to a stop, shuts down the engine, broadcasts a message on the local frequency that the airport is closed because of a disabled aircraft on the runway, and plays a video on the multifunction display that instructs the passengers how to open the door and get out."
- oldman
