Avidyne founder Dan Schwinn said the pioneering avionics firm’s new DFC90 autopilot will be a technology foundation for a variety of upcoming safety features.
The autopilot offers new “flight envelope protection” features that guard against critically high or low airspeeds and prevent autopilot-induced stalls, Schwinn said July 27 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. The DFC90 also has a “straight and level” button that automatically recovers aircraft from unusual attitudes.
Avidyne has sold several hundred DFC90s for retrofits on existing aircraft with Entegra glass cockpits. The attitude-based autopilot has a retail price of about $13,800 installed.
Schwinn said collision-avoidance systems are another bright spot for the Massachusetts-based company. Avidyne’s TAS605 system has a retail price of $8,450 and other systems range up to $21,000. Avidyne has delivered more than 10,000 of the airborne warning systems to date.
“You’ll see surveillance becoming an even more significant part of our business in the future,” Schwinn said.
