Expert Autopilot Design Team Comes Up With New, Cost-Effective Autopilot System For Light Helos

There are autopilots... and there are autopilots... especially when you look at the differences that occur in terms of the job that they do. The differences between a fixed wing autopilot and a rotorcraft autopilot are intense... hence the reasons that an economical new generation of autopilots for helicopters tends to create some buzz. And the buzz comes to us courtesy of Cool City Avionics.

Cool City Electronics, Inc. was formed in 2001 to produce commercial electronic products for the transportation industry. Initial products included control systems and wiring harnesses for highly-sophisticated three-wheeled vehicles. In 2003, the company started work on the architecture for a new line of IFR-capable helicopter Automatic Flight Control System products. And in the fall of 2004, Cool City Avionics was formed to design, manufacture and market a line of innovative, affordable digital flight control systems for general aviation helicopters and airplanes. From there, it got REALLY interesting.

Cool City Electronics personnel have over 300 years of combined experience in the automatic flight control industry; specifically in designing, manufacturing and installing automatic flight control systems for general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, coupled with more than 40 years of experience in the helicopter industry. That team has spent the better part of a decade readying a whole new cadre of products.

The HAP-100 is a digital, full-function, 2-axis (pitch/roll) autopilot system for light and medium-sized helicopters. The HAP-150 is a digital, full-function, 3-axis (pitch/roll/yaw) autopilot system for light and medium-sized helicopters. The HFC-100 is a digital, full-function, 2-axis (pitch/roll) autopilot with a 2-axis (pitch/roll) stability and control augmentation system for light and medium-sized helicopters. The HFC-150 is a digital, full-function, 3-axis (pitch/roll/yaw) autopilot with a 2-axis (pitch/roll) stability and control augmentation system for the light and medium-sized helicopters.

And the SAS-100 is a stability augmentation system designed to improve basic rotorcraft stability and stability in turbulence. The system defaults to “ON” and operation is transparent to the pilot.

Join ANN's Jim Campbell and Cool City's Jim Irwin as we take an initial look at what Cool City Avionics has in store for the rotorcraft industry. 

FMI: www.coolcityavionics.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews