DFC100 provides Dual-source Attitude-Based Digital Autopilot
Capability and Full-time Flight Envelope Alerting
In one of the most tortuous FAA certification delays in recent
memory, the FAA has finally coughed up some long-overdue paperwork
and given the much-anticipated Avidyne DFC100 its flying papers.
With both TSO and STC approval of the DFC100 Digital Flight Control
System, the autopilot provides the precision and reliability of a
dual-source attitude-based flight control system, as well as safety
enhancements such as a Straight & Level mode and full-time
Flight Envelope Alerting. This STC grants approval for the
installation of the DFC100 in Cirrus SR20 and SR22 aircraft.
Avidyne also received TSO approval for Release 9.2 software,
which provides DFC100 compatibility for the Entegra Release 9
system, and adds several other significant performance benefits
"The DFC100 takes advantage of the powerful capabilities of the
Entegra Release 9 system including attitude inputs from both IFDs
for added safety and redundancy and full FMS integration that
allows coupled VNAV descents, approaches, and missed approaches,"
said Patrick Herguth, Avidyne's Chief Operating Officer. "In
addition, we have certified the DFC100 with Full-Time Envelope
Alerting, which provides significant safety benefits, even when the
autopilot and flight director are not engaged."
"Entegra Release 9 was designed to significantly reduce pilot
workload and enhance safety and the DFC100 represents the next
building block in this fully-integrated system," said Dan Schwinn,
Avidyne's President and CEO. "Leveraging the power of R9 and the
DFC100, Cirrus owners can now have a truly-integrated flight deck
system that reduces heads-down time, enhances redundancy for
minimal disruption during failure modes, protects against
inadvertent departure from the flight envelope, and dramatically
reduces workload through all phases of flight."
Avidyne's DFC100 is an attitude-based autopilot with integrated
flight computer and control panel that is designed for Entegra
Release 9-equipped Cirrus SR20 and SR22 aircraft. The feature-rich
DFC100 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), Vertical Navigation (VNAV), Heading (HDG), and Navigation
(NAV, LOC/GS, LPV, LNAV/VNAV, LNAV+V).
The DFC100 also includes the following features:
- Full-Time Envelope Alerting (EA) - DFC100
provides innovative speed-based and attitude-based alerting even
when the autopilot is NOT engaged. EA is triggered when the DFC100
recognizes an underspeed, overspeed, or excessive bank condition
and alerts the pilot via aural and text alerts. Principally
designed to provide alerting even when the autopilot is not on,
scenarios like traffic pattern stalls are alerted to the pilot.
Smart logic in the DFC100 automatically suppresses alerts in
full-flap and near idle conditions.
- Straight & Level - The DFC100's "Straight
& Level" button overrides all autopilot modes and levels the
aircraft in both pitch and roll from a wide range of capture
attitudes for an added measure of safety.
Flap Position Input - Flap Switch position is used by the DFC100
to improve the accuracy of the Flight Envelope Protection and
Full-time Envelope Alerting triggers. The autopilot uses knowledge
of the flap position to compute true stall speed and thereby
providing better-defined underspeed protection and alerting.
- Dual AHRS support - The DFC100 is designed to
be able to use either of the R9 system's integrated
Attitude/Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) as its attitude source.
In the unlikely event of an AHRS failure, the DFC100 autopilot will
not disconnect and will continue to operate normally, flying right
through the AHRS failure.
- VNAV (Vertical Navigation) - With VNAV mode
engaged, the DFC100 captures and tracks the enroute, arrival,
approach, and missed approach legs of the active flight plan of the
R9 FMS. In enroute and descent operations, VNAV will hold current
altitude until the system reaches the computed Top of Descent (TOD)
point for the active leg, and then will start the descent when the
TOD point has been reached. During missed approach operations, VNAV
will climb to the target altitude and then level at that altitude
until the next waypoint is crossed. This provides an
Envelope-Protected, hands-free autopilot and one-button IFD
transition during missed approach scenarios.
- FMSVectors - An extremely popular feature
among current R9 users, FMSVectors now extends to the autopilot
with DFC100. When the HDG button on the autopilot is pressed, the
autopilot will follow the dashed magenta Vectors line on the HSI or
Moving Map. Depending on whether the line is drawn to intercept a
down path NAV leg or Approach procedure or not, an automatic
intercept and autopilot mode transition can occur.
- Enhanced Mode Selection Logic - The DFC100
provides one-button vertical and lateral mode engagement. With the
DFC100, a dual button press (IAS+ALT or VS+ALT or VNAV+ALT, etc) is
no longer needed to perform an altitude capture as was required
with the STEC55X. As an example, when the pilot presses just the
IAS button, IAS Hold mode will engage and the ALT (Altitude hold)
mode will also automatically arm. This mode selection logic is more
intuitive and reduces pilot workload.
- Roll Servo support - The initial release of
the DFC100 will support aircraft with the factory-installed roll
trim system, and in addition will support the aftermarket-modified
Roll Servo-equipped aircraft. At DFC100 install time, the installer
merely selects which configuration the airplane has and the rest is
automatic.
The list price of the DFC100 Digital Flight Computer for Release
9-equipped Cirrus aircraft is $14,990. Entegra Release 9 Gold
Packages including DFC100 autopilot for the Cirrus SR20 & SR22
start at $59,000.