Revolutionary
helicopter flight control system brings advanced safety features to
Bell 505 owners and operators
Garmin® International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd.
(NASDAQ:GRMN), today announced that the GFC™ 600H flight control system has received
Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for installation on
the Bell 505 helicopter, providing a cost-effective flight control
solution that reduces pilot workload and improves mission
effectiveness. The GFC 600H provides a number of
helicopter-tailored safety features, including attitude hold with
speed stability, the innovative hover assist mode, Garmin
Helicopter Electronic Stability and Protection (H-ESP™), dedicated
return-to-level (LVL) mode, as well as overspeed and low-speed
protection, and more.
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the full release here:
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The GFC 600H flight control system brings
advanced safety features to the Bell 505 helicopter. (Photo:
Business Wire)
“The GFC 600H provides a highly capable and advanced flight
control solution while aiding to reduce inflight workload to the
many Bell 505 owners and operators,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin vice
president of aviation sales and marketing. “We are proud to build
on Garmin’s proven flight control capabilities and safety-minded
aviation technologies with the state-of-the-art GFC 600H and its
fly-through technology to better assist pilots in conducting their
important missions.”
“The Garmin autopilot provides a significant pilot workload
reduction during every phase of flight, including hover,” said Yann
Lavalee, Bell senior test pilot. “Not only does the autopilot fly
the helicopter smoothly, it also includes advanced safety features
like automatic altitude leveling airspeed and low G protection. The
GFC 600H integration with the advanced G1000H and G1000H NXi
avionics system offers ease of operation and precise
navigation.”
The GFC 600H features a console-mounted mode controller with
push-button controls and a night vision goggle (NVG) compatible
display. Its robust architecture allows for both 2-axis and 3-axis
configurations to provide the features and handling characteristics
needed for a helicopter. Integrated smart servos provide pitch and
roll inputs as commanded by the system, and the collective sensor
and the optionally available third servo provide yaw axis control
capability, including a new yaw trim feature, to provide smooth
flight control adjustments when the pilot moves the collective.
Digitally controlled, high-performance servos allow for faster,
crisper, more powerful response, which enables the GFC 600H to
perform with smooth efficiency and advanced capability.
Thanks to the innovative hover assist mode, the system can also
automatically detect a hover condition and allow for flight control
inputs to help maintain position over the ground. In addition, when
equipped with the optional yaw axis control, the GFC 600H can hold
heading in hover. With the GFC 600H, aircraft navigation works in
conjunction with the G1000H® or G1000H NXi integrated flight deck
and uses navigation information to automatically fly approaches,
provide enroute navigation guidance, fully coupled missed approach
procedures including holds, as well as search and rescue
patterns.
The advanced AHRS technology and redundant, cross-checking
sensors of the GFC 600H support smooth handling throughout the
flight envelope. Further, attitude-hold mode reduces pilot workload
by maintaining a specified altitude, while also providing inputs to
help stabilize the helicopter when hand-flying. Designed with the
pilot in mind, the GFC 600H incorporates cyclic-mounted trim
controls and new yaw trim controls on the collective to allow for
seamless control of the system without taking a hand off of the
flight controls during basic operations. Additional modes include
altitude hold, altitude select, vertical speed, indicated airspeed
and heading select.
The GFC 600H offers tremendous safety tools including overspeed
protection and low-speed protection as well as Garmin H-ESP to help
the pilot remain within a safe flight envelope when hand-flying the
helicopter. H-ESP works in all modes – even when the system is not
engaged – and can be manually disabled to allow for maneuvering
flight. A dedicated LVL button is included on the GFC 600H and can
be engaged by the pilot to return to straight-and-level flight,
helping to avoid potential disorientation in degraded visual
environments (DVE), such as inadvertent entry into instrument
meteorological conditions (IIMC).
With a speed of 125 knots (232 kilometers per hour) and a useful
load of 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms), the Bell 505 is designed with
safety in mind to help make flying easier while providing unmatched
value to the operators. The GFC 600H will be available as the
preferred factory-installed option in new Bell 505 helicopters. The
GFC 600H for the Bell 505 is also expected to be available in
August as a retrofit through authorized Garmin dealers. The Bell
505 joins the AS 350 BA, B2, B3 and B3E in Garmin’s collection of
available retrofit helicopter flight control systems. For
additional information, visit www.garmin.com/GFC600H or
www.garmin.com/aviation.
Garmin’s aviation business segment is a leading provider of
solutions to OEM, aftermarket, military and government customers.
Garmin’s portfolio includes navigation, communication, flight
control, hazard avoidance, an expansive suite of ADS-B solutions
and other products and services that are known for innovation,
reliability, and value. For more information, visit Garmin's
virtual pressroom at garmin.com/newsroom, contact the Media
Relations department at media.relations@garmin.com, or follow us at
facebook.com/garminaviation, twitter.com/garminaviation,
instagram.com/garminaviation, youtube.com/garminaviation or
linkedin.com/company/garmin.
About Garmin International, Inc. Garmin International,
Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN). Garmin Ltd. is
incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are
located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin
and G1000H are registered trademarks and GFC and ESP are trademarks
of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and
service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All
rights reserved.
Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding
Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on
management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and
circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual
results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown
risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not
limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 26, 2020, filed by Garmin with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number
0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-K is available at
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/company/investors/earnings/. No
forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and
Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210720005230/en/
Conor McDougall 913-397-8200 media.relations@garmin.com
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