The latest option for owners of Challenger 604 business jets is the enhanced version of the Safe Flight AutoPower system, which was installed and certified under a supplemental type certificate by Bombardier Business Aviation Services in Tucson, Ariz. The system will be offered as an option on new production aircraft or a retrofit item on older 604s.

John Race, director of flight operations for Bombardier, pointed out that the Enhanced Automatic Throttle System developed by Safe Flight Instrument of White Plains, N.Y., “ties together and enhances all of the features of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 automatic flight control system, which in itself represents a finely tuned blend between engineering capability and pilot need for flight guidance and control.” He added, “Handling is very smooth and precise and the system keeps airspeed within a range of five knots, even during hard capture.”

New features, Bombardier reports, include full-regime thrust control for all phases of flight, engine synchronization and integration with the new Bombardier PrecisionPlus avionics upgrade to the Challenger 604 flight management system. The system includes full-time N1 engine synchronization and pilot selectable N2 engine synchronization in cruise. It is said to be capable of controlling engine thrust from takeoff to touchdown with autopilot or flight control system vertical modes and Vnav plan speed. It uses the FMS thrust management table-based N1 limit and target calculations as shown on the EICAS fan speed displays.

Claude Chirac, general manager of programs for Bombardier, said that since certification of the previous version of AutoPower was announced at the 1998 NBAA meeting, the system has been one of the airplane’s most popular options. “The Challenger 604,” he said, “is the first aircraft in its price range to offer such a system.”