Hi everyone,I'm building an EC135 panel for our rescue-heli-VA (and for everyone else, who want it :) ) It will feature many glass gauges like EFIS, vehicle & engine managment display, caution and advisory display, a 3-axis autopilot, a fully functional FADEC-System, etc.I also want to build in some sort of a stability augmention system (SAS). Something to make hovering more easy. Now I wanted to know, how you would like this?All this is made in XML, so everyone can adapt it to other helis, especially the autopilot :)regards,Franz

How would we like it? As soon as possible!!!:-) Joking aside, Antti's Dauphin was a revolution in panel design, incorporating autopilot etc, regardless of whether your design is original in concept, or building on what Antti started, it's great to see someone taking steps to produce something like this, and also something that is adaptable to other helicopters. I think the main lesson learnt from Antti's design is that some people found the initial set up quite daunting, so if you were able to produce something that is easy to install (copy, paste and go!) that would be a great start.As for the Stability Augmentation, I have no real world experience with this, however, I imagine something like an auto hover mode(possibly) controlled by a beep trim function to allow you to move in small increments, but I am just shooting in the dark, and I'm sure greater minds here could help with that.I wish you luck, and look forward to seeing what you produce (any sort of timescale available?), and if your looking for anyone to test fly...:-) CheersAlun

Hi,It will take some time until this project is finished. Now I'm working on linking the navigation display to the autopilot. In January, I'll visit an EC135-Pilot from the german police. The EC135 is equipped with a SAS, so he should be able to explain how it works. Screenshot follows...regards,Franz

Hi,What it looks like at the moment...regards,Franz

Oh dear, such a nice panel! Those vector LCD-gauges, are you making them with antialiasing? Iv'e seen this in a pair of panels now, and it makes hand flying such a joy!

hi,All of them are made using XML and MS Paint!Franz

Franz,Too bad I missed the pic, but I hope all is well with the project. I'm not sure if you have already talked to your friend in the Polizei, but I can give you a basic idea behind the SAS. SAS is nothing more then hydro-mechanical "help" with a computer brain. In a regular push-pull tube helicopter the pilot has to adjust constantly for wind, ground effect, rotor torque, etc. For example: Say you are on the ground in a Bell 205 (UH-1 Huey) and you pulled the collective all the way up, what would happen? Obviously the aircraft would lift off the ground but it would also begin to yaw to the right until you pressed the left pedal to center it. This happens because as you pull on the collective, the rotor blades add pitch, creating lift and torque. The body of the aircraft wants to react to the increase in torque by spinning in the opposite direction of the rotor head. Now say you are on the ground in a Sikorsky S-70 (UH-60 Blackhawk) and you do the same thing. The SAS computer is going to automatically adjust the tail rotor to minimize the spin and actually bring the nose of the helicopter back to the original heading you were on before you yanked the collective out of the floor. The SAS computer just makes flying the aircraft alot easier. I hope that this helps and I look forward to the completed aircraft. Crash"Tower, N15T2F, flight of 4 MD-600s on the active with information Mike. Requesting take-off to the east""N15T2F and flight, Tower, cleared for take-off to the east. Winds 250 at 7, Altimeter 3005.""3005, N15T2F on the go."

Hi,I've talked with the pilot from the german police a few days ago, and he has given me the same informations about SAS. I'll try to make the feeling as real as possible. The police pilot is flying FS also and so he can help me with testing and correcting it! :)regards,FranzCause you've missed the pic, here is it once again:

If anyone is interested there are two Cougars for FS2002 available at http://www.dirkfassbender.de/download/dlmaster.html with autopilot, SAS and hoverautomatic. Download also the hovergau.zip in the Gauges section. Some last minute debugging was necessary, so it is seperate.Arne Bartels

Thanks for the heads up Arne, I'm downloading it as we speak! I had coulpe of Dirks original Super Pumas/Cougars, which I still fly occasionaly (the bonus been that they were in Bristow and CHC Scotia colours... 2 aircraft that I work regularly at Aberdeen Airport!). Do you happen to know if I can transfer the textures from the old model to the new version? Probably not.Anyway, once again, thanks for the link!Alun

Thanks Arne, it looks pretty nice. Played around with it for five minutes or so and it was great. Noticed an FPS hit, but they still stay decent. Manual's a little thin, so I guess I'll have to play around with the buttons a little. What's great is it is so easy to setup, no messing with cfg files thank God! :)

Yep, I needed an hour or two until the autpilot worked for me the first time. The trick is to disble STAB mode (SAS), then you are in friction trim mode, there you can select an autopilot mode or override the friction lock with pressing button1 (Brakes) on the joystick.Fortunately I didn't have t learn to handle the hovergauge <g>.Arne BartelsArne Bartels