Avionics News February 2015 - 27
Creating an autopilot for helicopters isn't as
easy as it sounds, and their ability to hover is
one way to appreciate the challenge.
A
persistent idea or desire. This definition of "obsession"
certainly applies to Jim Irwin's dedication to the
certification of an IFR-capable autopilot that the
underserved market of small and medium helicopters can
afford. Cool City Avionics achieved this goal in 2014.
Designed with building-block digital technology that provides
a variety of two and three-axis autopilot and flight control
systems, they are the first autopilots certified under the latest
requirements spelled out by FAA TSO C-198 and RTCA DO325 minimum operational performance standard.
Irwin began work on this persistent idea and desire in the
early 1970s, when he led the 20-member supplemental type
certification team at Mitchell Industries, then the world's
largest manufacturer of small airplane autopilots. A U.S. Army
warrant officer, in the early 1960s Irwin flew helicopters in
Vietnam and taught others to fly them at Fort Rucker, so he
understood the beneficial contribution an affordable autopilot
would make to rotary-wing flight.
Creating an autopilot for helicopters isn't as easy as it
sounds, and their ability to hover is one way to appreciate the
challenge. Airplane wings create lift through forward motion,
and a helicopter's "wings" rotate. The cyclic controls pitch and
roll by tilting the rotor disk in the direction the pilot desires -
forward, left, right or backward. The anti-torque pedals control
yaw, and the needed left-right correction changes with every
input from the cyclic and the collective, which controls power
- the engine and the pitch of the main rotor blades, and their
respective revolutions per minute are intimately related.
Instead of being separate influences from the propeller
and wingtips, the aerodynamic consequences of torque and
adverse yaw are combined in the rotor blades. The easiest
way to summarize the complexity of its flight dynamics is that
helicopters require the full-time employment of the pilot's hands
and feet. This requires a number of contortions for otherwise
simple tasks of tuning a radio, or consulting a chart or checklist.
To earn IFR certification, which entails some of the Federal
Aviation Administration's most stringent and complex
requirements, a helicopter must be equipped with stabilization
and/or automatic flight control systems. To certify a helicopter
Continued on following page
Cool City Avionics' 55,000-square-foot facility is located on the
Mineral Wells Municipal Airport.
avionics news
*
february
2015
27
Avionics News February 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2015
Point of Communication
AEA Now
The View from Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
Rotorcraft Avionics
Member Profile
Cool City Obsession
Staying Power
Member Profile
What’s Working?
My Life in Avionics (part 2)
Business Basics
Before & After
A Conversation With...
Tools and Test Equipment
What’s New
Marketplace Classifieds
Avionics News February 2015 - Intro
Avionics News February 2015 - Cover1
Avionics News February 2015 - Cover2
Avionics News February 2015 - 1
Avionics News February 2015 - 2
Avionics News February 2015 - 3
Avionics News February 2015 - Point of Communication
Avionics News February 2015 - 5
Avionics News February 2015 - AEA Now
Avionics News February 2015 - 7
Avionics News February 2015 - 8
Avionics News February 2015 - 9
Avionics News February 2015 - 10
Avionics News February 2015 - 11
Avionics News February 2015 - The View from Washington
Avionics News February 2015 - 13
Avionics News February 2015 - International News and Regulatory Updates
Avionics News February 2015 - 15
Avionics News February 2015 - 16
Avionics News February 2015 - 17
Avionics News February 2015 - Rotorcraft Avionics
Avionics News February 2015 - 19
Avionics News February 2015 - 20
Avionics News February 2015 - 21
Avionics News February 2015 - Member Profile
Avionics News February 2015 - 23
Avionics News February 2015 - 24
Avionics News February 2015 - 25
Avionics News February 2015 - Cool City Obsession
Avionics News February 2015 - 27
Avionics News February 2015 - 28
Avionics News February 2015 - 29
Avionics News February 2015 - 30
Avionics News February 2015 - 31
Avionics News February 2015 - Staying Power
Avionics News February 2015 - 33
Avionics News February 2015 - 34
Avionics News February 2015 - 35
Avionics News February 2015 - 36
Avionics News February 2015 - 37
Avionics News February 2015 - Member Profile
Avionics News February 2015 - 39
Avionics News February 2015 - 40
Avionics News February 2015 - 41
Avionics News February 2015 - What’s Working?
Avionics News February 2015 - 43
Avionics News February 2015 - 44
Avionics News February 2015 - 45
Avionics News February 2015 - My Life in Avionics (part 2)
Avionics News February 2015 - 47
Avionics News February 2015 - 48
Avionics News February 2015 - 49
Avionics News February 2015 - Business Basics
Avionics News February 2015 - 51
Avionics News February 2015 - 52
Avionics News February 2015 - Before & After
Avionics News February 2015 - A Conversation With...
Avionics News February 2015 - 55
Avionics News February 2015 - Tools and Test Equipment
Avionics News February 2015 - 57
Avionics News February 2015 - 58
Avionics News February 2015 - 59
Avionics News February 2015 - 60
Avionics News February 2015 - 61
Avionics News February 2015 - 62
Avionics News February 2015 - 63
Avionics News February 2015 - What’s New
Avionics News February 2015 - 65
Avionics News February 2015 - 66
Avionics News February 2015 - 67
Avionics News February 2015 - 68
Avionics News February 2015 - 69
Avionics News February 2015 - Marketplace Classifieds
Avionics News February 2015 - 71
Avionics News February 2015 - 72
Avionics News February 2015 - Cover3
Avionics News February 2015 - Cover4
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