6 May 2025
Cirrus Aircraft has launched a major update of its SR Series piston aircraft: the G7+. The highlight of the G7+ is the inclusion of Safe Return Emergency Autoland —an emergency landing system that allows passengers to land the aircraft at the push of a button should the pilot become incapacitated.
This is the first time the technology, developed with Garmin, has been integrated into a single-engine piston aircraft, bringing automation previously reserved for turbine types to a wider audience.
Once activated, the system autonomously navigates to a suitable airport, communicates with air traffic control, and lands the aircraft — completely hands-free. For reference, a ‘suitable’ airport is one with a runway that’s at least 4,500ft (1,372m) long and 75ft (22.9m) wide, and that is served by a GNSS approach with vertical guidance.
We weren’t able to travel to the U.S. to see the G7+ Autoland in action ourselves, but Ivy McIver at Cirrus kindly recorded a flight for us during which she activated the system. You can watch that demo, along with our recent conversation with Ivy, above.
Other updates in the G7+ include automatic database updates via Cirrus IQ PRO, improved runway safety alerts, and a ‘smart’ pitot heat system that turns on automatically depending on the outside air temperature.
We’ll bring you a full review of the G7+ later in the year.
