Given how the general aviation pilot corps is aging (myself not included, of course), it's reassuring that companies like Hawker Beechcraft and Rockwell Collilns have come up with a panic button of sorts to help resolve situations where pilots either lose the ability to fly, or they become incapacitated, or worse yet, die behind the controls. I'm reminded of the King Air incident in April where a very rusty owner-pilot came to the cockpit to land his aircraft after the pilot died along the way.
Coming to the rescue in light aircraft in the not-too-distance future will be "digital parachutes".
Hawker Beechcraft recently completed the successful flight and landing of an experimental fly-by-wire Bonanza equipped with a customized Rockwell Collins Athena 411 guidance and control package. Built for unmanned aircraft, the Athena is made by Rockwell Collins' control systems experts, the gurus formerly known as Athena Technologies.
Flying out of Hawker Beechcraft's headquarters in Wichita, the Bonanza was made to perform a series of hands-off landings (pictured). The three guys on board were there to "observe and monitor system operation and to provide a backup control capability", says Hawker Beechcraft.
Look for more such flights in the near future as Rockwell Collins makes a concerted effort to bring these technologies to the broader general aviation market.
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