Beechcraft King Air 200s are now flying with Garmin’s auto-land system after two aircraft service companies recently delivered aircraft retrofitted with the technology.
The first delivery, revealed in late December, was the first of a King Air 200 equipped with the Garmin system.
The milestones reflect the ongoing success of a technology that entered the market in 2020 and is now offered on eight small aircraft.
Garmin confirms that Texas aircraft maintenance and support company Blackhawk Aerospace Technologies recently completed the first installation of auto-land on a King Air 200.
Blackhawk said one week ago that it had delivered that aircraft with both auto-land and auto-throttle – features integrated into the twin-turboprop’s Garmin G1000 NXi avionics package.
Blackhawk calls the aircraft “the first aftermarket King Air” with those features.
Then on 3 January, Illinois-based maintenance firm Elliot Aviation said it also delivered a King Air 200 modified to have Garmin auto-land and the G1000 NXi avionics.
Garmin has achieved significant success with the auto-land feature, which is designed to take over during emergencies. The system, activated in flight by a button in the cockpit, identifies an appropriate airport and lands the aircraft without pilot assistance.
The Federal Aviation Administration in 2020 first certificated Garmin’s auto-land technology for use on Piper’s single-turboprop M600 SLS.
The FAA has since green-lighted the technology for use on Daher’s single-turboprop TBM 940. Other aircraft with the system include TBM 960s, Cirrus Aircraft’s single-turbofan-powered Vision Jet, Honda Aircraft’s HA-420 HondaJet Elite II variant and Beechcraft’s in-development Denali, which is scheduled for certification in 2025.
Garmin in July 2023 revealed it was offering auto-land as a retrofit for existing King Air 200s and King Air 300s. The King Air 300’s auto-land certification remains outstanding and will likely be issued by the FAA in the second half of this year, Garmin says.
