In-flight engine failure can occur due to several factors, and it becomes an emergency as the pilots struggle to bring the aircraft safely to land. With such an increased workload for the pilots, committing errors could be heightened, and this may prove fatal.
With the raft of autonomous driving and flying applications currently in the tech space, Garmin International has announced its Smart Glide flight safety tool to help pilots effectively respond to emergencies resulting from an engine failure.
The Garmin Smart Glide will be available from August 2021 on the GTN Xi series navigators. It will be available as a software upgrade for free but the Smart Glide activation button sells for $129.
The Garmin Smart Glide will reduce the pilot’s emergency workload by automatically engaging the autopilot and steering the aircraft toward the nearest airport.
In the event of an engine failure, the pilot is faced with several decisions and precise calculations to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew. These tasks include putting the aircraft on the correct glide angle, setting the autopilot, trying to restart the engine, looking for the nearest airport, and sending off a Mayday message, while also keeping a calm mien.
The Garmin Smart Glide works with other navigational technologies to seamlessly and efficiently take over some of the emergency tasks both automatically and manually.
The device uses all the necessary details to set the correct glide angle and speed while also interfacing with Flight Control and providing important details to the pilot. In the situation where there is no airport within range, the Smart Glide notifies the pilot and continues searching. It also helps the pilot to switch the transponder to transmit the 7700 emergency code quickly.
The Garmin Smart Glide tool is just one of the fast-expanding array of autonomous flight tools from the stable of Garmin.
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