Story ID: 391 Thales Autopilot
Thales Develops Small Autopilot for Helicopters
By: AIN Staff
Caption: The autopilot can fit on all aircraft, including the lightest platforms.
Word Count: 351
Engineers at Thales (Booth 2628) have come up with a small autopilot for helicopters that is so compact that it “can fit on all aircraft, including the lightest platforms, both as a line-fit or a retrofit,” according to Thales.

The Thales Compact Autopilot does this by the deletion of the flight control computer. The new autopilot “relies on an innovative architecture based on two sets of three Smart actuators that can be configured on three or four axes with advanced modes, such as hover and departure,” according to Thales.

The design of the Compact Autopilot makes it lighter—the smallest and lightest autopilot on the market, Thales says—and less expensive. The actuators provide stability without cyclic stick displacement. Based on simulated test flights, this feature—stability without displacement of the cyclic—“makes use of this autopilot a lot more comfortable and intuitive for pilots without need of additional training to compensate for cyclic displacement,” Thales explained.

Thales is targeting the VFR (Part 27) and IFR (Part 29) markets for the Compact Autopilot. The Smart actuators are mounted inline with the flight control system, Thales explained, "providing seamless stabilization with a high level of safety (fail safe). It can be upgraded with parallel actuators to increase the authority, still with no dedicated computer." Specifically, the autopilot is installed between the swashplate and trim actuators. "Movements from the autopilot are going to the swashplate due to resistance from the trim actuators or from adjustable control friction in the cockpit." Although the autopilot can be installed without a control head, just needing an on/off switch to engage basic stability, Thales said a control panel can be used for flight director modes. 

Although Thales is targeting lighter aircraft without autopilots, and particularly those used in demanding missions, such as SAR, EMS and homeland security, the Compact Autopilot is also suitable for heavier aircraft. A typical VFR helicopter installation would weight about two kilograms. Pricing or the timeline for certification are not yet available, but Thales said, "we are working to [achieve] certification as quick as possible."