No, not that Sixth Sense
Garmin says a new upgrade for its G1000 and G3000 avionics suites will give pilots a “sixth sense” in the cockpit.
The Electronic Stability and Protection system (ESP) aides a crew by ensuring stability and preventing stalls, spins or spirals if a pilot becomes distracted, disoriented or incapacitated while in flight. The system monitors airspeed, pitch and roll when a pilot hand flies an aircraft, adjusting the aircraft to stable levels whenever it approaches its limits.
The Garmin G1000 in a King Air 200.
A statement from Garmin says the option will appear on select aircraft, depending on manufacturers. The King Air 200 will be the first to offer it laster this year at an expected list price of $17,995.
“Until today, this type of stability augmentation system has only been available on fly-by-wire aircraft that cost millions of dollars,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing, in a company statement. “We’re thrilled to be the first to make this safety enhancing technology available to business and general aviation pilots.”
Read the complete release here.
Many King Air C90s can now fly faster on less fuel.
Hawker Beechcraft Services announced this week at its Wichita headquarters that it has completed testing and certification on a composite winglet for the King Air 90X.
The composite combines the aerodynamic benefits of a winglet with a gross-weight increase that increases handling, range and payload, a press release said.
The 90X package, first unveiled at last year’s EAA Airventure, now is available at all U.S. HBS service centers.
Read the entire release from Beechcraft here.