Now that it’s winding down, we can say it definitively: 2019 had some blockbuster stories, the top ten of which we’ve recognized here. As is always the case in aviation, where nothing except the planes themselves go very fast, many of the stories are high, or low, points in long-running tales while others are encapsulations of movements that have been hinted at before and that arrived fully formed in the past year. All of them, it’s safe to say, have roots in the past along and will surely continue to affect GA, some of them for years or decades to come.
3. The Rise of Automation
With the ascendency of drones in the universe of aviation, people piloted planes were sure to get some of the attendant autonomous tech, and they now have. Earlier this year Garmin International announced the availability of its groundbreaking Autoland utility in the Piper M600 SLS and Cirrus Vision Jet. The system will pick out an airport and runway, configure the plane on the approach, come in for a smooth landing and brake to a full stop, all without human intervention.