Avionics News January 2014 - 50

Cobham
Introduces
a New DFC
for Jets and
Turboprops
Cobham took advantage
of this year's National
Business Aviation Association
Convention to introduce
its new S-TEC 5000 digital
flight control system, which
is targeted for higherperformance jets and
turboprops.
According to the company's
announcement, the S-TEC
500 is an RVSM compatible,
three-axis configurable
autopilot designed to
integrate with fully digital
or combination analog and
digital interfaces found
aboard Part 25 aircraft.
Along with the host
of capabilities that have
made S-TEC autopilots so
popular, the new model 500
introduces three-axis trim
capability, straight-andlevel recovery, envelope
protection and altitude stepdown sequencing during an
approach.
According to Roger
Smith, Cobham Integrated
Systems general manager,
"Our philosophy is to
offer excellent value for
a sophisticated autopilot
with the flexibility and
functionality to meet the
needs and aspirations of
many platforms and cockpit
configurations." q
50

avionics news

january

2014

AUTOPILOT UPGRADES
Continued from page 49

demonstrated range of pitch and roll, the Straight & Level button, like
the Envelope Protection mode, will return the aircraft to level flight in a
smooth and coordinated manner.
"It's not going to crank the wings off or let you stall by trying to hold
straight-and-level until the aircraft is positioned to do that," he said. "Our
friends at AOPA actually flew our Cirrus inverted and used the Straight &
Level button to right the ship. We shot air-to-air video that you can see on
our website at www.dfc90.com."
BUT BEFORE YOU TEAR OUT
YOUR CURRENT AUTOPILOT, READ THIS
While next-generation autopilots like Garmin's GFC 700 and Avidyne's
DFC90 offer incredible operational and safety advancements, there is one
tiny drawback - they can't be installed in every type of aircraft.
Because new-generation autopilots require AHARS inputs to work
their magic, Garmin's GFC 700 requires the G1000 avionics suite, and
Avidyne's DFC90 must be integrated with either its Entegra glass or
Aspen's EFD1000 Pro PFD display unit. If you have a customer's aircraft
with Avidyne's Release 9 suite, they also have the DFC100, which offers
similar capabilities to the DFC90.
And like all avionics, even if you have the required display, you still
need a supplemental type certificate to install the autopilot into a particular
aircraft type.
Right there, as they say, is the rub of the whole issue of introducing
new technology into general aviation. It just isn't easy, especially when
you are talking about a highly sophisticated and critical component like
an autopilot.
While manufacturers are able to garner approvals for some installation
types thorough an umbrella approved model list, this is not the case with
autopilots. And that is a huge speed bump in bringing new safety capabilities to current aircraft.
"For a lot of Avionics News readers, it's like, 'That's all great, but I can't
get one for my 1972 Bugsmasher 3000;' and they're right," Schwinn said.
"And they never will be able to until we solve an economical way to gain
group certification through the FAA."
Schwinn explained the autopilot must be individually certified for every
model and model variant separately. That's not only time consuming, but
also incredibly expensive and labor intensive.
"Something must happen certification wise, and we are working with the
FAA now," he said. "They seem to be open to it. If we can make a good
case that this is a big safety enhancement, which it is, maybe they will
work with us on a solution. We know plenty of people within the FAA realize it and are willing to take a new look at the process.
"Otherwise, as far as the DFC90 goes, it's going to be 182s, the Cirrus,
Barons and Bonanzas, and that's it. That would be a real shame for everyone else." q

http://www.dfc90.com

Avionics News January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2014