Garmin has unveiled its next foray into flight control systems—the new GFC 600H, designed to deliver new safety benefits to VFR and IFR helicopters. The first certification program for the GFC 600H is in Garmin’s Airbus AS350B2, and the design work and installation was done at Garmin’s Salem, Oregon facility. The VFR system will be first to market, with certification estimated in the fourth quarter.

The GFC 600H three-axis, attitude-based flight control system now installed in the AS350B2 consists of a servo installed in parallel to the controls. The yaw axis holds current heading in hover, and in cruise keeps the helicopter in trim with the turn coordinator “ball” in the middle. A collective position sensor allows the flight control system to automatically move the anti-torque pedals when the pilot moves the collective.

For pilots, the parallel servo system is designed to make flying easier while allowing full control of the helicopter. In fact, the flight control system can be switched on during takeoff and landing. The system’s basic stability augmentation system mode maintains the helicopter’s attitude, and provides force feedback when the pilot deviates from the attitude. A four-way or force trim switch on the cyclic is used to adjust to a new attitude.

A unique feature of the GFC 600H is that it incorporates Garmin’s Helicopter-Electronic Stability and Protection (H-ESP), which includes a “LVL” button that returns the helicopter to straight-and-level flight from unusual attitudes. Other H-ESP features include overspeed protection, limit cueing, and low-speed protection. “We hope no one has to use these features,” said Garmin flight-test manager Sean Doyle, “but we hope they will.”

The GFC 600H adds other features that “might be found in larger helicopters,” he noted. For example, hover assist or ground-position stabilization, which helps the pilot stay in a hover, “even in strong and gusty winds.” In the basic attitude-retention mode, the helicopter will maintain the same heading, even if not in heading mode and even if disturbed by a gust. When coupled with a Garmin PFD, the GFC 600H can capture a selected altitude. A flight director is optional. The GFC 600H can be installed by itself, without a display.

GFC 600H lateral modes include heading select, nav, and approach. Vertical modes are indicated airspeed, altitude, altitude select, and vertical speed. A beep switch on the cyclic is used to adjust some settings for vertical modes, such as vertical speed.

Components of the GFC 600H include a GFS 83 force-trim servo, GMC 605H mode controller and flight director computer, GSU 75H ADAHRS (for standalone installations without a Garmin display), and a collective position sensor. Total system weight is 13 pounds.

During a recent flight in Garmin’s AS350 equipped with the GFC 600H, I tested the features of the new autopilot. With the system switched on, the AS350’s controls felt more solid, and the pushback from the ESP started as a gentle nudge then became firmer the longer I held the controls, for example in a steep bank.

We programmed a search-and-rescue pattern in the new TXi touchscreen display in the helicopter, then allowed the GFC 600H to follow the pattern, allowing us to look outside for our search target. We simulated approaching the target for a pickup, followed by a simulated hospital drop-off in an urban area.

On the way back to McNary Field in Salem, Doyle placed the AS350 into an unusual attitude, and I pushed the LVL button to recover to straight-and-level, which worked perfectly. We also tested the overspeed protection, which automatically pulled the nose up to reduce speed. Finally, I set the GFC 600H to follow the visual approach available in the Garmin GTN 750 to the end of the runway, then landed, aided by the autopilot’s hover assist mode, which helped me to gently lower the helicopter to the ground.