Cirrus Design is now offering its top-of-the-line SR22 and turbo models with a panic button. The customized $48,000 Garmin Perspective integrated cockpit option includes a bright blue emergency switch called LVL to return the airplane to straight-and-level flight. The LVL button can recover the aircraft from an attitude of 75 degrees of roll and 50 degrees of pitch, even if they occur simultaneously. Read more on AOPA Online.

The world is truly messed up. Cirrus is selling a wing-leveler (panic) button for only 48k. Couldn't you buy a three-axis digital autopilot for about 20k and then just paint the "on" button blue?

            Plus, I thought the whole deal with Cirrus is that they already have a panic switch. It's called the parachute deployment handle. It is red and when you are seriously in the FUBAR closet, you just give it a yank.

            Geeze. It seems to me that we could start selling used Mooneys with their built-in wing-leveler -- remember?  You had to put a rubber cane-tip over the control wheel to turn the damn thing off -- for around 48k and pocket about 20k profit.

            I called it the Mooney Can't-Turn-This Fricking-Airplane leveler device. Hated it. Cirrus will have the AOPA crowd wetting its collective pants on this "blue" panic button. And, if the Cirrus driver should get lost, I hear they're planning a "yellow" panic button that automatically dials AOPA for directions. Low on fuel? Hit the Green PB (Panic Button), and a Cirrus Air Tanker permanently holding in the area draws you in with its tractor beam, hooks up the refuel boom and with a friendly wave and a quick in-flight wipe of the windshield, you're on your way again. It's flight at its zenith.

            Ercoupe pilots could only dream of this day. All you had to do in an Ercoupe was pull off the power. With its patented, "holy crap!" sink like a friggin brick technology, you'd be on the ground in no time!

            If you landed on or near a highway, well… you could just drive it home like a VW bug. Just remember to brush off the wings using oncoming traffic and you'd be home by dinner.