Understanding Garmin Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP)

January 25, 2018

E-S-P. Three simple letters, with a compelling meaning: Electronic Stability & Protection. It’s a feature that Garmin designed to keep a watchful eye on an aircraft’s flight condition — and lend a helping hand if needed.

What is ESP? ESP is a safeguard created to help you maintain a safe, stable flight when hand-flying your aircraft. It monitors the aircraft’s flight condition, functioning independently of the autopilot, and it applies a controlled force toward stable flight whenever pitch or roll deviations exceed recommended limits. ESP can also recognize when under-speed or over-speed conditions are about to occur — such as a stall or too-steep of descent — and it makes appropriate adjustments to the controls. Plus, if the system detects that ESP has been activated for a specified period of time — such as in the event of pilot incapacitation — the autopilot will engage with the flight director in level mode to bring the aircraft back to level flight. However, if you’re training or practicing unusual attitude maneuvers, ESP can be manually disabled to allow such flight maneuvers intentionally.

LINKS:

Automatic Flight Envelope Protection Overview

FAA Approved AFM Supplement for G1000 NXi Rev 4