Avidyne Press ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseAvidyne Announces FAA Certification of Flight Envelope Protection for DFC90 Autopilot Avidyne first to certify innovative Underspeed Protection that guards against autopilot-induced stalls; Full-rate shipping of DFC90 Autopilot begins. Lincoln, MA – Thursday, July 22, 2010 – Avidyne Corporation, a leading provider of integrated flight deck and safety systems for general aviation aircraft, announced today they have received an amended Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for their recently-certified DFC90 Digital Flight Control System which enables speed-based Flight Envelope Protection. “Avidyne’s Flight Envelope Protection guards against autopilot and flight director-induced stalls and overspeeds, which lead to a significant number of GA accidents,” said Patrick Herguth, Avidyne’s Chief Operating Officer. “The DFC90 with Flight Envelope Protection provides significant safety enhancement, especially for pilots in high work-load IFR environments.” “The certification of Flight Envelope Protection is a significant achievement for Avidyne, as well as a considerable step forward in general aviation autopilot performance and safety,” said Avidyne President and CEO, Dan Schwinn. “Avidyne is committed to continuously enhancing safety for all of our customers, and Flight Envelope Protection as well as the Straight and Level function and other capabilities of the DFC90 establish a new watermark in general aviation autopilot performance and safety.” About Flight Envelope Protection One example scenario is where the pilot is descending at reduced power to the Final Approach Fix, where the autopilot captures the preseleced altitude. If the pilot were to get distracted on the radio or for other reasons and forgets to apply adequate power to maintain altitude, the DFC90’s aural and visual “Underspeed” warning would make the pilot aware of his dangerously decaying airspeed and prompt him to take action, and the autopilot’s Flight Envelope Protection would gently reduce the pitch of the airplane to maintain a 20% margin above stalling airspeed (1.2X Vs). Another observed scenario shows how Flight Envelope Protection provides protection even in an engine out situation. In a Turbo airplane at high altitude, due to an oxygen system failure or oxygen exhaustion, the pilot has been incapacitated from hypoxia. The autopilot is engaged and holding altitude. The aircraft flies along until fuel starvation on the selected tank occurs causing the engine to stop. With existing autopilots, the autopilot will continue to try and hold the pre-selected altitude and fly the airplane into a stall. With Flight Envelope Protection, the autopilot would instead reduce the pitch of the airplane as airspeed declines due to lack of engine power, inducing a smooth descent. At a lower altitude with higher pressure and adequate ambient oxygen, the pilot could recover, assess the situation, switch tanks, perform a restart, and have a much more favorable outcome. For Flight Envelope Protection, available lift and speed margin are calculated constantly whenever any autopilot or flight director modes are in operation. As the aircraft approaches stall, the autopilot gradually reduces bank (if in a turn) and pitch just enough to maintain a 20% airspeed margin over the stall speed, while visually and audibly annunciating the condition to the pilot. As a result, departure from controlled flight is prevented with the least impact on achieving mission-level objectives like navigation, climb or approach. Overspeed is handled similarly, with anticipation and minimal but effective inputs. In Flight Director modes, all these actions appear as guidance cues with corrections blended into the "V-bar" commands. About the DFC90 The Release 8.0.2 software and Mod 55 PFD hardware upgrades enable the DFC90 autopilot to take advantage of the precision attitude information of Entegra’s integrated Air Data and Attitude Heading Reference System (ADAHRS), without the need for costly wiring changes to the aircraft. The DFC90 has all the standard vertical and lateral modes of operation of a turbine-class autopilot system, including Flight Director (FD), Altitude Hold (ALT), Airspeed Hold (IAS), Vertical Speed Hold (VS), Heading (HDG), and Navigation (NAV, APPR, LOC/GS, GPSS). Customers upgrading from the STEC 55X will notice several major performance and feature improvements including:
Pricing & Availability The cost of Release 8.0.2/Mod 55 is $3,895 for PFDs that are at Release 7. The cost of Release 8.0.2/Mod 55 is $5,395 for PFDs that at are currently at Release 6 or older. DFC90s are now shipping, and PFDs with Release 8.0.2 and MOD 55 enhancements are available through Avidyne’s Platinum Exchange program. *Prices do not include installation costs or shipping charges. STEC55X unit must be returned to Avidyne. About Avidyne Corporation (www.avidyne.com) Editorial ContactsTom Harper
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