Garmin has announced the release of a product for the Experimental market that automatically brings airplanes back to a safe flight attitude if they go beyond certain pitch, bank and airspeed limits. The Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) concept has already been available in certified airplanes for some time, but now (ESP-X) is also available for aircraft equipped with G3X or G3X Touch avionics with autopilot servos.
The operator can personalize the pitch, roll and airspeed parameters beyond which the ESP-X will begin to nudge the airplane back toward a stable state. If the pilot takes corrective action, ESP-X fades and turns off. However, if the pilot does not take corrective action within 15 seconds, as in the case of pilot incapacitation, the system automatically brings the airplane to a level attitude.
