The new Chelton Flight Systems Heli-SAS autopilot should be certified on the Bell 206 and 407 late this year, according to Chelton president Gordon Pratt. Chelton and Bell subsidiary Edwards & Associates will jointly develop the supplemental type certificate (STC) for the HeliSAS, which will be first available for new and retrofit installations on the 206 and 407.
Chelton has logged 250 hours of flight testing on the HeliSAS STC program. The system weighs 12 pounds installed and should cost less than $100,000, including installation. HeliSAS (helicopter stability augmentation system) is a parallel-only system, Pratt explained, with a single servo powered by a Moog brushless motor attached to the bottom of the cyclic. While HeliSAS works only on helicopters with hydraulic flight controls, the system does not interface with the hydraulic system, so installation is far simpler and should take less than 40 hours of labor.
