The designers of the HeliSAS® Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System have a long history of research and development of flight control systems for civilian and military helicopters. Now Cobham makes the tremendous safety and workload reduction advantages of stability augmentation—once reserved for military and transport category helicopters—available for a wide range of rotorcraft models.
The HeliSAS stability augmentation system is designed to be engaged at all times—“SAS on” before takeoff and “SAS off” after landing—to provide unmatched stability and ease of handling. It dramatically reduces pilot workload while providing precise control during all modes of flight, regardless of wind conditions or shifts in weight
The attitude stabilization and force feel features enhance handling characteristics and mitigate inadvertent cyclic control inputs that could result in dangerous attitudes. The pilot may override the HeliSAS at any time with manual cyclic inputs. In cases where a pilot may lose visual reference due to limited visibility conditions, releasing the cyclic causes the helicopter to automatically return to a near-level attitude. With the HeliSAS Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System, Cobham sets a new standard in helicopter safety.
- Significant stability improvement: Pilots with no helicopter experience have successfully hovered a HeliSAS-equipped helicopter with very little practice.
- Automatic recovery to near-level flight: If the helicopter is inadvertently flown to an extreme attitude, releasing the cyclic when the HeliSAS is engaged will automatically return the helicopter to a near-level attitude (roll trim limits are +5o to -5o and pitch trim limits are +11o and -6o).
- Altitude
- Heading hold
- Track GPS course
- Track VOR
- Track ILS
- Backcourse localizer
- VNAV approach with WAAS-capable GPS
- VNAV enroute with Cobham EFIS
- Dimensions: 5.75” x 0.75”
- Weight: 0.48 lb
NOTE: All functions can be used in flight at airspeeds above 44 knots.
- HeliSAS Control Panel (HCP)
- Flight Control Computer (FCC)
- Roll Servo
- Pitch Servo
- Attitude Gyro
- TRIM Switch
- AP DISC Switch
- Cyclic Controls