We Fly: Garmin Autoland for the Beechcraft King Air 200

A new level of support for single-pilot ops in the twin turboprop.

Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 08:00 AM ET

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Following Autoland’s debut in the Piper M600, Garmin pursued an STC in a fleet leader, the King Air 200. [Photo: Glenn Watson]

Key Takeaways:

Garmin's Autoland emergency landing system, introduced to general aviation in 2019, combines precise GPS navigation, digital autopilots, and FADEC-enabled engines to provide autonomous landing capabilities.
The system, which has been integrated into aircraft like the Piper M600, Daher TBM 940, Cirrus SF50, and is expanding to the King Air series, incorporates features such as an autothrottle, enhanced electronic stability and protection (ESP), emergency descent management (EDM), and a radar altimeter.
Automated landing technology has existed since 1937 for military aircraft and became commercially available in transport jets by the mid-1960s, predating its recent adoption in general aviation by decades.
Autoland is seen as a significant safety breakthrough for general aviation, offering a crucial tool for emergency situations while also holding potential for assisting pilots in abnormal circumstances beyond just emergencies.

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When it comes to the capability of an airplane to “land itself,” we shouldn’t ask why it can now—but rather why that it didn’t come to general aviation a lot sooner.

The technology has been around since before World War II in military airplanes (see “How Can It Land Itself?” below) and from the mid-1960s in transport category jets. But if necessity is the mother of invention, then market demand is its directional guidance. When Garmin Aviation unveiled its Autoland emergency landing system in 2019, we saw the intersection of relatively inexpensive and precise GPS navigation, digital autopilots, and the FADEC-enabled turbine and turboprop powerplants capable of responding elegantly to an autothrottle.