Garmin Autoland/Autothrottle: Enhancing Safety While Reducing Workload

Company now offers this functionality for the iconic King Air if you happen to own one that meets specific parameters.

Richard Scarbrough

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 08:31 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

A King Air 200 graces an airport runway at sunset. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Garmin's Autoland and Autothrottle systems can be installed in legacy King Air aircraft via a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), offering advanced safety and pilot workload reduction benefits.
Autothrottles enhance flight safety by managing power, preventing engine exceedances, assisting in critical situations like engine failure, and improving fuel efficiency across all flight phases.
Autoland is an emergency feature designed to autonomously land the aircraft in scenarios such as pilot incapacitation, handling airport selection, ATC communication, and passenger information.
Implementing these upgrades typically requires a comprehensive avionics overhaul to the Garmin G1000 NXi Flight Deck, involving a meticulous installation process and adherence to specific airworthiness requirements.

See a mistake? Contact us.

As new technology emerges that increases the capability and safety of new aircraft, the same or similar functionality finds its way into the legacy fleet via the supplemental type certificate (STC) process.

Upgrading aircraft, especially avionics and automation, enables owners to reinvest in an aircraft that may already be fully depreciated rather than purchasing new or late-model aircraft for significantly more money—if you can afford the downtime.