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and tested method to glide an air- plane from a left downwind in an engine-out scenario. Every pilot of a single-engine airplane should be able to do this. Plus, Smart Glide navi- gates you to a point over the runway where the airplane can be spiraled down to a left downwind. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Smart Glide won’t fly the approach and landing, but it will put the pilot in a position where a safe landing can be made, and that is 90 percent of the battle in an engine-out landing. The engine-out landing is “for all the marbles.” There is no go-around. It is a one-shot opportunity to excel, and every single-engine airplane pilot should feel comfortable practicing the engine out landing from the left downwind. And, if your aircraft is so equipped, Smart Glide positions the airplane to give the pilot the best shot at making a safe engine out landing.
Interestingly, if you buy a brand- new airplane from Piper or Socata, Smart Glide will not be available. It seems that the logic required to process at the data rate required for Smart Glide is available in the GTNs but not in the G1000Nxi or the G3000 avionics suites. This shows that GTN-upgraded airplanes are just as, if not more capable, than brand- new airplanes. I can take an early Piper Meridian and remove the entire panel from the factory, then install a completely new GTN-based panel (G500Txi, GTN750i, GFC600) and have an extremely capable panel, as compared with a brand new M500 from Piper. Yes, the screens will be bigger in the M500, but Smart Glide will not be available in the latest air- frames. Similarly, a new Socata TBM 960 will not have Smart Glide, but you can install a completely new panel in an older TBM and have an (arguably) equally robust panel.
The power of the GTN-based panels makes the older airframes extremely attractive. Autoland and Autothrottles are only available in the newest airframes, but some of the most intriguing features (like Smart Glide) are only available on the GTN-based panels.
As an instructor in pressurized, single-engine, turbine and piston airplanes, I love Smart Glide. It is a tool in the pilot’s toolbox. Smart pilots have a toolbox full of solutions to solve the worst problems that can creep up while flying. If you have an engine-out scenario, Smart Glide is one of the most effective tools ever installed on an airplane. Can you live without Smart Glide? Sure. But, if my engine fails, I want all the tools I can muster to help me get on the ground safely. My hat is off to Garmin for developing a tool that makes the single-engine community safer.
Joe Casey is an FAA-DPE and an ATP, CFI, CFII (A/H), MEI, CFIG, CFIH, as well as a retired U.S. Army UH60 standardization instructor/ex- aminer. An active instructor in the PA46 and King Air markets, he has accumulated 16,000-plus hours of flight time, with more than 5,200 dual-given as a flight instructor. Contact Joe at joe@flycasey.com or 903.721.9549.
May 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 7