Avionics
StableLight Autopilot Adds Big Helo Capability to AStar
System improves safety in all helicopter flight regimes
Thales test pilot Nico Couder
Thales test pilot Nico Couder demonstrated the StableLight four-axis autopilot during last year’s Verticon show in Dallas. © Matt Thurber/AIN

Introduced in 2021, the Thales/StandardAero StableLight autopilot is the first four-axis light helicopter autopilot, and the two companies have targeted the popular Airbus Helicopters AS350/H125 AStar as a large market opportunity for the upgrade. The system received FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval in late 2023. Heli Austria is the European launch customer and will install the autopilot under EASA validation of the U.S. STC.

Unlike helicopter autopilots that are adapted from fixed-wing products, the StableLight autopilot derives from four-axis autopilots designed for larger IFR helicopters such as Sikorsky’s S-76 series.