Ahead of AirVenture 2021, Garmin released Smart Glide—the latest feature that’s part of the company’s Autonomi family of autonomous technologies, which also includes emergency Autoland. Smart Glide, which recommends a suitable airport that’s estimated to be within gliding range, also navigates to the terminal area so the pilot can execute the dead-stick landing. Moreover, when interfaced with a Garmin autopilot, Smart Glide automatically engages the autopilot and pitches for the aircraft’s best-glide airspeed.
Smart Glide requires at least one of Garmin’s latest GTN Xi-series navigators, plus a compatible Garmin display. These include the G5, GI 275, G500/600 TXi and the G3X Touch. Smart Glide is activated with an optional panel-mounted switch, or by pressing the navigator’s Direct-To button for two seconds. Once activated, it recommends an airport that’s estimated to be within gliding range and creates a direct-to route to the field.
The automation considers a number of factors when suggesting a landing destination, including terrain, winds, runway length and even weather sourced from a connected ADS-B and SXM system. It switches the flight display’s CDI to GPS mode and when connected to a Garmin transponder, provides a shortcut for the pilot to tune the 7700 emergency code and places the airport’s comm frequency in the standby tuning window. The pilot can also select alternate airports as recommended by Smart Glide, based on VFR or IFR conditions. During activation, the Glide Range Ring on the navigator’s Map page shows airports within range and dynamically adjusts it based on winds and terrain. Within 4 NM of the airport, the system advises the pilot (via aural and visual cues) that they are approaching the runway environment, while also offering AGL altitude information, distance and bearing to the runway.
Smart Glide will be available as a no-charge (installation is extra), dealer-installed software upgrade for compatible systems starting in August 2021. There will also be a $129 panel-mounted activation switch.
Awesome. This would save a lot of mental calculations done under high stress with incomplete variables and likely do a better job than even an experienced pilot. Too bad the hardware is so very expensive.
Nice.
What if there’s no airport within gliding range?
It tells you so, aurally and visually, while it continues to search for an airport.
Any mention of eventual backwards compatibility with the standard GTN 750?
Then it recites the Lords Prayer through the headset.
One of the safety features I enjoy about my Maule, pretty much every place is an airport.
Soaring computers have this feature. The shape of the available landing area, with airports showing estimated arrival altitude (and safe ones marked in green) is called the amoeba since it varies by glider polar, wind, direction of flight and altitude.
“Smart Glide requires at least one of Garmin’s latest GTN Xi-series navigators” – only for certified aircraft.
From Justin at Garmin: “For EAB aircraft a GTN Xi is not required. Smart Glide was developed in parallel across a few different Garmin systems, and of course for both certified and non-certified aircraft. The GTN Xi drives Smart Glide in certified installations, while it is natively driven in G3X Touch for EAB aircraft.”