“Big things in small packages” is an expression that loosely translates to, “the things we value the most and find of the highest quality are often small.” In the case of Genesys Aerosystems’ HeliSAS, a package that weighs only 15 pounds, it brings a powerful full-authority digital autopilot and stability augmentation system to light single- and medium twin-engine helicopters. Beyond its size, the greatest value of HeliSAS is that it dramatically enhances safety by reducing pilot workload and has the lifesaving potential to recover the aircraft to a safe and stable attitude if the pilot becomes spatially disoriented.
According to Genesys, “HeliSAS is designed to be on all the time and helps return the helicopter back to straight-and-level flight in the event it is inadvertently flown into an unusual attitude or if the pilot becomes disoriented due to a loss of visual references.” As an example, if the pilot becomes disoriented during an inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), releasing the cyclic control will automatically return the aircraft to a neutral attitude (zero degrees roll and two degrees nose-up); the pilot can then manipulate autopilot controls to return the aircraft to visual conditions. In these scenarios, HeliSAS acts as a digital safety pilot.
More In Avionics
