Textron Aviation announced this week that the Garmin Autoland system would be a standard feature of the new Denali single-engined turbo-prop.
Autoland is a system that enables passengers to press one button and the aircraft will select an airport and land itself in a case where the pilot becomes incapacitated. It is already optional on Piper's M600, Daher's TBM 960 and the Cirrus SF50 Vision jet.
“The Autoland system is an excellent addition to the Beechcraft Denali and the G3000 avionics suite, and we’ve included it in the program as a direct response to continued conversations with our customers,” said Lannie O’Bannion, senior vice president, Sales & Flight Operations.
“The feature makes the Denali even more desirable to a wider audience as it adds yet another element of assurance and peace of mind for pilots and passengers.”
Textron is aligning the Beechcraft Denali aircraft certification timing to the certification timeline for the new GE Catalyst engine, which means the first examples are due to be delivered to customers in 2025.
“We continue to experience great progress with the Denali development program, and we believe the aircraft will be a game changer in the single-engine, high-performance turbo-prop segment,” said Chris Hearne, Textron senior vice president, Engineering.
“Our customers are excited for the Emergency Autoland feature on the Denali and, while our goal is to achieve type certification as quickly as possible, it is of greatest importance to assure that every detail is completed with the highest quality.”
Textron is using three Denali flight test articles in the certification program, which currently have exceeded a collective 1300 hours.
