Avidyne DFC90 Pilot'S Manual Download Page 83

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Limitations and Performance

6-2

PFD

Version

Version*

Wired for

Flap

Position?

Operational Notes

No Audio Fail alert

No Servo Limit alert

MSR Fail means no AP
Disconnect tones

Avidyne

8.0.3

1 or 2

Yes or No

Same as above except
that if the DFC90 is
Version 2, then the DFC90
will

not

disconnect during

AHRS-TC Miscompares
and the TRIMMING
UP/DOWN message may
be more prevalent

Avidyne

8.0.2

1 or 2

Yes or No

Same as above

* The Autopilot Version number can be obtained from the aircraft
logs or, on the Avidyne PFD, via page 1 of 6 on the SystemInfo
tab in PFD Maintenance Mode and displayed next to the

“DFC90

Top Level Part Number”, or on the Aspen PFD, via page 24 of 26
in the setup pages labeled

“DFC90 Autopilot Configuration and

displayed next to th

e “DFC90 SW Part Number” text. However,

the part numbers vary with airframe type and the DFC90
Installation Manual must be referred to for reference if not known
by the pilot.

Note: All DFC90-equipped Piper aircraft must have PFD Version
8.0.4 (or Aspen version 2.6) or later

and

DFC90 Version 2 or

later.

Note: All DFC90-equipped Cirrus aircraft must have PFD Version
8.0.2 (or Aspen version 2.6) or later.

Change 3

6-4 Limitations and Performance

Summary of Contents for DFC90

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Page 3: ... 1 2 Page Chg 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 5 3 3 6 3 3 7 0 3 8 3 3 9 0 3 10 0 3 11 0 3 12 2 4 1 2 4 2 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 6 3 4 7 2 4 8 3 4 9 3 4 10 3 5 1 2 5 2 2 5 3 2 5 4 3 5 5 3 5 6 3 5 7 3 Page Chg 5 8 3 5 9 2 5 10 2 5 11 3 5 12 3 5 13 2 5 14 2 5 15 2 5 16 3 5 17 3 5 18 3 5 19 3 5 20 3 5 21 3 5 22 3 5 23 3 5 24 3 5 25 3 5 26 3 6 1 3 6 2 3 6 3 3 6 4 3 6 5 3 6 6 3 Indx 1 3 IBC 1 OBC 3 Change 3 ...

Page 4: ...ngagement 1 16 FD vs AP 1 17 Dual PFD Operations 1 18 PFD Annunciations 1 19 2 Normal Startup Sequence 2 2 POWER CONSIDERATIONS 2 2 SELF TEST ALIGNMENT 2 2 BRIGHTNESS CONTROLS 2 2 PRE FLIGHT TEST 2 3 BEFORE TAKEOFF TECHNIQUES 2 4 3 Climb out Enroute 3 2 NORMAL OPERATING MODES 3 2 Pitch Mode 3 2 Roll Mode 3 2 Heading HDG Mode 3 3 Navigation NAV Mode 3 3 GPS Roll Steering GPSS Mode 3 4 Altitude Hold...

Page 5: ...D Equipped Aircraft 5 9 Total Loss of PFD Dual PFD Equipped Aircraft 5 9 Loss of Engine 5 10 OTHER ERROR MODES 5 11 General or Unknown Failures 5 11 AHRS TC Miscompare during Ground Operations 5 12 Built in Test BIT Failure 5 13 AHRS Aligning 5 14 No Communication With Autopilot 5 15 Trimming Up Down 5 16 GPSS Invalid 5 17 Nav Invalid 5 18 Glide slope Invalid 5 19 TC Fail 5 20 AHRS Miscomp 5 21 No...

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Page 7: ...ry location for bug target setting 1 5 Aural Alerts 1 5 Armed vs Engaged modes indications 1 6 Mode transition indication 1 7 Manual Electric Trim impact 1 7 Envelope Protection 1 8 Full Time Envelope Alerting 1 10 Baro Adjust 1 13 Engagement and Hold limits 1 14 Comparators 1 15 Autopilot Engagement 1 16 Autopilot Disengagement 1 16 FD vs AP 1 17 Dual PFD Operations 1 18 PFD Annunciations 1 19 Ch...

Page 8: ... safe use of the DFC90 that pilots give careful attention to the material contained within these NOTEs Boxed areas marked as WARNING within this manual identify certain situations or areas of operation having unique and heightened safety implications In order to avoid a diversion of attention from the task of safely taxiing pilots should avoid performing the described cockpit tasks while the aircr...

Page 9: ...Pilot Selectable Intercept Angles Control Wheel Steering not available in all aircraft NOTE Envelope Protection vs Envelope Alerting There is a distinction between Envelope Protection EP and Full time Envelope Alerting EA Envelope Protection EP will result in active driving of the flight control surfaces by the autopilot Full time Envelope Alerting EA will only provide visual and aural alerting bu...

Page 10: ...he autopilot or while the autopilot is engaged in AP mode ALWAYS A VERTICAL AND LATERAL MODE ENGAGED The DFC90 autopilot has been designed to always have both a lateral and vertical mode engaged If a specific lateral mode has not been selected by the pilot then the system defaults to Roll Hold mode If a specific vertical mode has not been selected by the pilot then the system defaults to Pitch Hol...

Page 11: ...on when the autopilot servos are flying the airplane and non coupled describes the condition when the servos are not flying the airplane and the pilot is expected to follow the flight director command bars if present Specifically aural alerts as defined in the parenthesis are provided under the following conditions Autopilot Disengaged approx 16 Disconnect beeps Underspeed during coupled operation...

Page 12: ... Armed modes are indicated by a cyan blue color on both the autopilot control panel and on the PFD mode annunciator strip An engaged mode is defined as a state that the autopilot is holding Engaged modes are indicated by a green color on both the autopilot control panel and on the PFD mode annunciator strip The images below Avidyne on top and Aspen in the middle demonstrate the armed and engaged c...

Page 13: ... stop flashing and the system reacquires the target values as required MANUAL ELECTRIC TRIM IMPACT Any attempt to engage manual electric trim MET via the cockpit controls will result in the autopilot disconnecting and then the trim running as commanded by the MET control NOTE Trim Behavior in DFC90 equipped Aircraft For some aircraft e g Cirrus if the airplane is equipped with a pitch servo actuat...

Page 14: ...ver conventional autopilots If for example a positive rate of climb was commanded and a low power setting is being held the autopilot will attempt to achieve the commanded state but as the energy of the airplane decays to approximately 1 2 Vs the autopilot will adjust bank angle and then pitch angle as required to maintain no lower than 1 2 Vs Bank angle may be reduced before pitch is adjusted in ...

Page 15: ... alert in the headsets and by a flashing of any engaged green autopilot mode annunciators The DFC90 is capable of taking flap position into account in Envelope Protection EP and Envelope Alerting EA calculations and as a result the definition of Vs changes depending on flap position in those aircraft with the flap wiring installed The use of this flap input is part of Avidyne s Adaptive Autopilot ...

Page 16: ...rovides speed based and attitude based envelope alerting when the autopilot is not engaged servos not coupled Requires Avidyne PFD Rel 8 0 4 or Aspen PFD v2 6 and DFC90 Rel 2 or later Full time Envelope Alerting EA is triggered when the DFC90 recognizes an underspeed Underspeed EA function is not available in SIU equipped Cirrus or any Aspen equipped aircraft when flaps are set to full overspeed f...

Page 17: ... has determined 1 2Vs has been reached Flap position bank angle and g loading are taken into account to define Vs at any point in time assumes max gross weight Similarly during high speed flight director operations the flight director command bars will continue to direct a pilot to fly to the commanded pitch and roll targets as defined by the bug and nav source entries but if an overspeed conditio...

Page 18: ...oximately every 6 seconds until the condition is no longer valid The trigger for this Envelope Alerting EA overspeed alert is when the system has determined Vne is about to reached If at any time and in any flight director or standby state the system detects an excessive bank condition a BANK LIMIT text alert is displayed on the PFD pages and a CAUTION EXCESSIVE BANK aural alert is played in the h...

Page 19: ...l consequence of maintaining backward compatibility BARO ADJUST Upon input of a new barometric altimeter setting the autopilot automatically re captures the previously set target altitude without further action required from the pilot In other words if the autopilot was in Altitude Hold for example changing the barometric pressure setting will result in the autopilot automatically correcting the a...

Page 20: ... to be within the published maximum hold limits value may vary with airframe The maximum engagement and hold limits are as follow Autopilot Mode Maximum Demonstrated Engagement Limits Maximum Hold Limits Roll Hold 60 bank 22 bank Heading 60 bank 22 bank but typically holds 1 standard rate of turn Pitch Hold 30 pitch 10 pitch IAS Hold 20 KIAS to Vne 1 2Vs to 185 KIAS VS Hold 1600 fpm 1600 fpm Strai...

Page 21: ...turn rate without accompanying heading change etc CROSSCHECK ATTITUDE annunciation on PFD for minor issues and indicator removal and replacement by Red X for major issues No change for Crosscheck Attitude conditions and potential disconnect for Red X conditions AHRS to Turn Coordinator TC Comparator only applicable for Cirrus SR2x or Piper PA46 aircraft in which the DFC90 is replacing a STec 55X M...

Page 22: ...ommand via the green flight director command bars whatever bank and pitch was present at time of pressing assuming within command limits It is still up to the pilot to maneuver the plane as required to follow those command bars Press STRAIGHT LEVEL autopilot servos coupled engages and drives the airplane from whatever attitude it is in to zero bank and a small positive pitch that approximates leve...

Page 23: ...that the function is not currently coupled to the autopilot or flight director in an engaged or armed mode In other words the autopilot and flight director are ignoring any hollow magenta bug The flight director command bars will indicate the required steering of the aircraft to achieve the commanded tracking of the autopilot In full autopilot mode both the AP and FD buttons will be lit on the aut...

Page 24: ...ight hand PFD to be the attitude and air data source for the autopilot There is not an automatic switchover capability to the right hand PFD in the event of an inoperative left hand PFD The ADAHRS source selection switch on the instrument panel must be toggled by the pilot to the right hand PFD For dual Avidyne PFD equipped aircraft that also are equipped with a Pilot Priority switch on the instru...

Page 25: ...d in order of priority If multiple alerts are received then the highest priority message is displayed Whenever UNDERSPEED or OVERSPEED are displayed while the autopilot is coupled all engaged green autopilot mode annunciators will flash The tables below are a listing of all annunciations that are possible with the DFC90 system DFC90 Annunciations Note In Aspen PFD equipped aircraft AP READY is sho...

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Page 27: ...Normal Startup Sequence 2 1 2 Normal Startup Sequence 2 2 POWER CONSIDERATIONS 2 2 SELF TEST ALIGNMENT 2 2 BRIGHTNESS CONTROLS 2 2 PRE FLIGHT TEST 2 3 BEFORE TAKEOFF TECHNIQUES 2 4 ...

Page 28: ...tion The normal self test indications are a lighting of lights on the autopilot control panel dwelling approximately 1 2 seconds on each color The lighting color order is White Cyan Green White Self test should be considered a success after the button lighting with no associated failure message along the top strip of the PFD The top strip of the PFD will display an annunciation that the autopilot ...

Page 29: ...per direction by the servos movement is slow and can be hard to see c Ensure HDG annunciation has replaced ROLL annunciation and that it is depicted in green on the PFD annunciator strip SERVO LIMIT may also be displayed this is normal in some aircraft 5 Press the AP Disconnect switch on the control yoke a Ensure the aural autopilot disconnect tone is heard in the headset b Ensure AUTOPILOT DISCON...

Page 30: ...munications between the autopilot and the PFD However the Pre Flight test does not check the function of every item essential to the use of the autopilot It remains the pilot s duty to monitor the autopilot for proper function upon activation and during use BEFORE TAKEOFF TECHNIQUES A normal technique is to set up the desired autopilot targets while still on the ground e g IAS or VS ALT and HDG bu...

Page 31: ...3 2 Heading HDG Mode 3 3 Navigation NAV Mode 3 3 GPS Roll Steering GPSS Mode 3 4 Altitude Hold ALT Mode 3 5 Indicated Airspeed IAS Hold Mode 3 5 Vertical Speed VS Hold Mode 3 6 Altitude Capture Mode 3 6 Straight and Level 3 9 Pilot Selectable Intercepts 3 10 Control Wheel Steering Mode 3 12 Change 2 ...

Page 32: ... was selected at time of autopilot entry There is no specific Pitch Hold button on the autopilot control head and no way to alter the commanded pitch once in Pitch Hold mode The autopilot modes annunciator indication is green PITCH ROLL MODE In Roll Hold mode the autopilot will maintain a constant bank angle from the moment of mode entry If the mode was entered at a bank angle that exceeds the max...

Page 33: ...AV MODE Nav mode is entered by pressing the NAV button on the autopilot control panel The system will light up the control panel button in green and track the lateral profile provided by the navigation source that is selected in the Primary Nav line select key LSK on the Avidyne PFD or the CDI Navigation Source Select button along the bottom edge of the Aspen PFD This could be GPS or it could be V...

Page 34: ...the GPSS button on the autopilot control head The system will light up the control panel button in green and track the lateral profile provided by the navigation source to the active GPS waypoint In GPSS mode the roll steering capable GPS Nav Com is driving the intercept angle and subsequent course tracking It is generally a more accurate intercept and tracking mode to be in than Nav mode Roll com...

Page 35: ...LT INDICATED AIRSPEED IAS HOLD MODE Indicated Airspeed Hold mode is entered by pressing the IAS button on the autopilot control panel The system will light up the control panel button in green and adjust the aircraft pitch as required to achieve the bugged indicated airspeed target and turn the IAS bug solid If already in IAS mode any subsequent adjustments to the IAS bug sets a new IAS target for...

Page 36: ... fpm to the current aircraft VS A secondary method is via a LSK on the Avidyne or a combination of a LSK and right hand knob on the Aspen PFD The autopilot modes annunciator indication is green VS There is no armed cyan VS mode ALTITUDE CAPTURE MODE Altitude captures can be performed using either IAS or VS To perform an indicated airspeed based altitude capture set both the IAS bug and the ALT bug...

Page 37: ...combination wasn t already preset the VS bug will jump to 500 fpm and then the aircraft will climb or descend as required If during a vertical speed based altitude capture either the target vertical speed or altitude are changed to become an illogical combination the aircraft will fly the target vertical speed A pilot throttle input may be required to sustain the target vertical speed In the case ...

Page 38: ...eg to an ATC assigned altitude and as the aircraft is approaching that original assigned altitude ATC issues a new assigned altitude that the pilot is in the process of entering into the system the autopilot will ignore the original target and keep climbing to the new target As soon as the edit mode is exited as indicated by the altitude bug value or button no longer being reverse highlighted the ...

Page 39: ...guration this could produce a climb steady altitude or a descent Straight and Level mode is entered by pressing the STRAIGHT LEVEL button on the autopilot control panel The system will light up the control panel button in green blinking and immediately change the bank and pitch as required to seek wings level 2 pitch angle conditions Once straight and level is achieved the Straight Level button on...

Page 40: ...AND LEVEL If the aircraft was not in a wings level zero flight path condition at time of mode entry then both the button and the mode annunciator will flash green while the aircraft is being maneuvered to achieve those conditions At that time both the control panel button and the mode annunciator stop flashing and turn steady green PILOT SELECTABLE INTERCEPTS The autopilot can be commanded to perf...

Page 41: ...d held and while that button is depressed press the NAV button When both are released the heading mode will be active and NAV mode will be armed just as intended To disarm the intercept press the HDG button To re arm the intercept press HDG and either NAV or GPSS again The autopilot modes annunciator indication for pilot selectable intercepts are a green HDG and a cyan NAV or GPSS As the lateral n...

Page 42: ...ring CWS the horizontal targets HDG or CRS remain unchanged and if either HDG or NAV modes were active immediately prior to engaging CWS the autopilot will automatically re establish its tracking of those modes and targets when the CWS button is no longer depressed If one of the commandable vertical modes ALT IAS or VS were active immediately prior to engaging CWS the bug associated with the activ...

Page 43: ... 2 APPROACH MODES 4 2 WAAS Approaches 4 2 GPS approach RNAV or Overlay or LNAV 4 5 VOR approach 4 5 Localizer approach 4 6 ILS approach including glide slope intercept 4 7 Procedure Turn ILS or Localizers 4 8 Back course approaches 4 10 Missed Approach 4 10 4 1 Change 2 ...

Page 44: ... to VLOC resulting in a hands free transition with the proper course dialed in the PFD Course setting If the navigator either doesn t have the capability or hasn t been set up to Auto toggle the ILS CDI selection or VLOC was manually selected in the Avidyne PFD Pri Nav field or AUTOCRS is disabled Aspen PFD configurations it is required that the inbound course be set using the PFD course set knob ...

Page 45: ...ll scale deflection This is essentially the same as a non WAAS GPS approach It is flown as any other non precision approach descend to MDA fly at MDA altitude to the MAP and execute the missed approach procedure if appropriate For this approach type a manual coupling to the autopilot is permitted Prior to FAF the NAV or APPR button on AP must be pressed There is no glide slope in a LNAV approach s...

Page 46: ...the glide slope needle just as though it were an ILS GS and continue all the way to DA before initiating a missed approach if appropriate This type of approach is automatically coupled to the autopilot meaning that somewhere in the vicinity of the FAF the system will automatically toggle the autopilot mode from GPSS to NAV APPR and GS will arm LPV Localizer Precision with Vertical Guidance The lat...

Page 47: ...hat NAV APPR or GPSS APPR is displayed in the PFD mode annunciator section Execute a missed approach if appropriate VOR APPROACH Ensure the Primary Nav LSK is set to a VHF source and tuned to a VOR Ensure the approach course is set in the Selected Course window Press APPR on the autopilot control panel or NAV and then APPR VOR approaches are the only types of approaches in which the APPR button mu...

Page 48: ...AV and APPR To arm NAV APPR while still in Heading mode press the HDG and NAV or HDG and APPR buttons at the same time Once armed the system will automatically capture the localizer signal and transition out of Heading Vectors mode on its own Ensure the Primary Nav LSK is set to a VHF source and tuned to a localizer Ensure the front course is set in the Selected Course window When cleared for the ...

Page 49: ...ess NAV or APPR on the autopilot control panel Approach mode will automatically arm if tuned to an ILS frequency when NAV is pressed The autopilot will enter NAV and Approach lateral modes or arms them if off course The autopilot will automatically arm the GS vertical mode retaining the existing vertical mode until capture see paragraphs below At this point NAV and APPR buttons along with the prev...

Page 50: ...ill automatically transition to engaged captured when two additional conditions are met 5 Glide slope signal is received by the selected VLOC and is considered valid 6 Glide slope signal is within approximately 1 dot of center beam Note that this can be from below or above both are equally valid with the DFC90 Glide slope is intended to be captured from below If so desired or required via NOTAM GS...

Page 51: ... wish the aircraft to turn When established on the front inbound procedure turn heading arm the NAV APPR modes by simultaneously pressing the HDG button and the NAV or APPR button If equipped with a combined DFC90 GNS430W or GTN set of equipment and if the procedure turn is activated in the GPS Nav Com then the autopilot can be flown in GPSS mode by pressing the GPSS button on the autopilot contro...

Page 52: ...button on the autopilot control panel either will work fine Note that the NAV and APPR button are lit in green on the autopilot control panel Note that NAV APPR is displayed in green in the autopilot modes annunciator section of the display MISSED APPROACH Prior to going missed approach disconnect the autopilot apply go around power ensure the aircraft is trimmed for the power setting establish a ...

Page 53: ... 5 7 Loss of Air Data 5 8 Total Loss of PFD Single PFD Equipped Aircraft 5 9 Total Loss of PFD Dual PFD Equipped Aircraft 5 9 Loss of Engine 5 10 OTHER ERROR MODES 5 11 General or Unknown Failures 5 11 AHRS TC Miscompare during Ground Operations 5 12 Built in Test BIT Failure 5 13 AHRS Aligning 5 14 No Communication With Autopilot 5 15 Trimming Up Down 5 16 GPSS Invalid 5 17 Nav Invalid 5 18 Glide...

Page 54: ...idyne If an anomalous behavior is observed with the autopilot pressing the GS button on the autopilot control panel multiple times will produce a series of events in the data log that will aid the Avidyne Service Center in finding and analyzing the data logs during troubleshooting operations Some failure modes identified in this section do not affect the functioning of the AHRS and therefore allow...

Page 55: ...Recommended Pilot Action Use the autopilot sync capability and count clicks to accomplish the intended action For example to accomplish an altitude capture one technique is to press the ALT button on the autopilot control panel to achieve altitude hold mode Then push to sync either the VS or IAS knobs on the autopilot control panel and twist the knob in the desired direction counting each click of...

Page 56: ... Lost The ability to enter altitude and heading autopilot commands and target bugs will be lost The ability to change which GPS Nav Com navigator is driving the PFD nav solution will also be lost Recommended Pilot Action Use the autopilot in the remaining usable modes e g Alt Hold NAV GPSS VS IAS Envelope Protection Consider pulling both PFD circuit breakers for less than 20 seconds to conduct a w...

Page 57: ...ugs will be degraded or lost The rest of the PFD remains functional in this case e g internal ADAHRS automatic communication with MFD and 3 rd party avionics etc The ability to change which GPS Nav Com navigator is driving the PFD nav solution will also be lost Recommended Pilot Action Use the autopilot in the remaining usable modes e g Alt Hold NAV GPSS VS IAS Envelope Protection EP Consider pull...

Page 58: ...he autopilot will not disconnect under these conditions if experienced in flight Functionality Lost One of the two attitude comparators see Comparators segment in Section 1 of this manual that is running in the background will be inoperative in this case If the turn coordinator is failed upon initial power up the autopilot will be prevented from engaging in any mode This special case is indicated ...

Page 59: ...by cycling both PFD circuit breakers for less than 20 seconds if Avidyne PFD equipped LOSS OF AHRS DUAL AVIDYNE PFD EQUIPPED AIRCRAFT Failure Indication A failure of an AHRS is identified by Red Xs over the attitude and HSI compass card If the cockpit ADAHRS source selection switch is set to the PFD with the failed AHRS then the autopilot will disconnect and a yellow AUTOPILOT INOP AHRS FAIL messa...

Page 60: ...ude Capture IAS Hold VS Hold Envelope Protection EP Recommended Pilot Action Press the STRAIGHT LEVEL button on the autopilot control panel OR manually disconnect the autopilot maneuver the airplane to the desired attitude and then re engage the autopilot via the AP button which puts the system into Roll and Pitch Hold All lateral modes are still fully functional including Heading mode as are Roll...

Page 61: ...t functionality TOTAL LOSS OF PFD DUAL PFD EQUIPPED AIRCRAFT Failure Indication A total failure of a PFD is indicated by both the display and bezel buttons all blank unlit on the problem PFD and a No Comm With Co Pilot PFD yellow alert box on the functional PFD If the cockpit ADAHRS source selection switch was set to the PFD that experience the failure the autopilot will automatically disconnect a...

Page 62: ...vent of engine out conditions The autopilot will adjust aircraft pitch as required to slow down or speed up to achieve Vg freeing up time to perform other cockpit duties during this emergency situation One minor variation of this technique is to set the IAS bug to Vg after climb out so that it is already preset to Vg In all cases Full time Envelope Alerting EA and Envelope Protection EP if an auto...

Page 63: ...t decipher the reason a yellow AUTOPILOT INOP message is displayed along middle of the PFD annunciator strip Functionality Lost All autopilot functionality will be lost for the duration of this message display meaning the autopilot would disconnect or prevent engagement It is possible that the autopilot will conduct an auto reset which would kick off any engaged autopilot mode but following a succ...

Page 64: ...d the Turn Coordinator are experiencing a miscompare during ground operations before a successful engagement a yellow AUTOPILOT INOP AHRS MISCOMPARE message is displayed along middle of the PFD annunciator strip Functionality Lost This message can only occur after system power application and if it does the autopilot will not engage in any modes while this alert is active This warning is designed ...

Page 65: ...ionality will be lost for the duration of this message display It is most likely experienced during initial power on of the autopilot during ground operations and therefore would not allow autopilot engagement Recommended Pilot Action If on the ground and the fault does not clear itself within 15 seconds consider cycling power to the autopilot either via the circuit breaker or the avionics master ...

Page 66: ...unctionality Lost Since the DFC autopilot requires a fully aligned AHRS for its attitude source the autopilot will remain non functional until the AHRS is aligned and the message is removed Recommended Pilot Action If on the ground wait until the AHRS has finished aligning before taking off If in the air follow the PFD Pilot Guide instructions for completing an in air restart before attempting to ...

Page 67: ...tion of this message display It is possible that the autopilot will conduct an auto reset which would kick off any engaged autopilot mode but following a successful reset all functionality would be restored and a manual re command of autopilot modes will be available Recommended Pilot Action Immediately transition to hand flying via the PFD display If the autopilot does not conduct a successful au...

Page 68: ...ases the trim system can be manually overridden with pilot controlled control stick yoke inputs Recommended Pilot Action Monitor the alert and if it is removed within a few seconds no further action need be taken the autopilot is operating normally If the alert is present for more than a few seconds consider disconnecting the autopilot manually trim the aircraft accordingly and if autopilot operat...

Page 69: ...y Lost Either a flight plan has not been entered in the governing GPS Nav Com and GPSS mode was selected on the autopilot control head in which case there is no lost of functionality or the system is unable to fly the flight plan in GPSS roll steering due to some anomalous GPS Nav Com situation or the ground speed is less than 40 knots Recommended Pilot Action Enter a flight plan into the navigato...

Page 70: ...ailable the flight path angle at the time the system displayed NAV INVALID Functionality Lost The ability to track a VHF lateral course VOR or Localizer from the selected GPS Nav Com navigator has been lost Recommended Pilot Action Consider switching the navigator that is driving the PFD CDI and autopilot If unable to select a usable alternative navigation source take the proper action when a navi...

Page 71: ... the ADI will be Red X d Functionality Lost The ability to track a VHF vertical course Glide Slope from the selected GPS Nav Com navigator has been lost Recommended Pilot Action Consider switching the navigator that is driving the PFD VDI and autopilot If unable to select a usable alternative navigation source take the proper action when the glide slope signal has been lost If on a published ILS a...

Page 72: ...ondition If the turn coordinator fails at any time after initially working during any given ground operation or flight then the only autopilot functionality that has been lost is the automatic behind the scenes comparator that is running between the AHRS and the blind mounted turn coordinator The autopilot will automatically disengage but will allow manual re engagement and will still function in ...

Page 73: ...ndition is experienced at any time after initially engaging the autopilot in any mode then the only autopilot functionality that has been lost is the automatic behind the scenes comparator that is running between the PFD AHRS and the blind mounted turn coordinator Recommended Pilot Action If on the ground during this condition cycle power to the turn coordinator by cycling the avionics master This...

Page 74: ...NO PFD COMM message is displayed on the PFD Functionality Lost All autopilot functionality will be lost Recommended Pilot Action Immediately transition to hand flying the aircraft Consider attempting a single PFD warmstart by cycling both PFD circuit breakers for less than 20 seconds if Avidyne PFD equipped Change 3 ...

Page 75: ...velope protection alerts will be absent Functionality Lost The autopilot will still be fully functional in all pilot usable modes but the on board data logging has likely stopped and all autopilot aural alerts will be unavailable Recommended Pilot Action Apply extra vigilance to the autopilot annunciator status messages along the top of the PFD due to the absence of the associated aural alerts Aft...

Page 76: ... alerting envelope protection alerts will be absent Functionality Lost The autopilot will still be fully functional in all pilot usable modes but all autopilot aural alerts will be unavailable Recommended Pilot Action Apply extra vigilance to the autopilot annunciator status messages on the PFD due to the absence of the associated aural alerts After the flight notify an Avidyne Service Center or A...

Page 77: ...fully functional but the roll axis may not follow the autopilot commands since the servo has reached its maximum limit Recommended Pilot Action Avoid making flight control inputs while in coupled autopilot mode operations aside from CWS and minor rudder input to maintain coordinated flight Moderate rudder or any roll input may result in an inability of the DFC90 autopilot to track the commanded ta...

Page 78: ...etermines that the aircraft has exceeded the POH bank limit a yellow BANK LIMIT message is displayed on the PFD In addition a Caution Excessive Bank aural alert is played in the headsets Functionality Lost None Recommended Pilot Action Reduce the manual bank angle command Change 3 ...

Page 79: ...nce 6 1 6 Limitations and Performance 6 2 LIMITATIONS 6 2 SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY AND NOTES 6 2 GENERAL PERFORMANCE CIRRUS AIRCRAFT 6 5 PERFORMANCE IN PITCH TRIM ONLY AIRCRAFT 6 6 PERFORMANCE IN NON CIRRUS AIRCRAFT 6 6 Change 3 ...

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Page 81: ...he Operational Notes column are when compared to DFC90 Pilot Guide 600 00252 000 Rev 05 PFD Version AP Version Wired for Flap Position Operational Notes Aspen v2 6 2 Yes this is required No Envelope Alerting Underspeed functionality when flaps are set to full Note that Underspeed is still functional in Envelope Protection Avidyne 8 0 6 2 Yes Full functionality per DFC90 Pilot Guide 600 00252 000 R...

Page 82: ...onality when AP is in standby AP Ready state Underspeed alerts are not suppressed in the flare and on rollout Avidyne 8 0 6 or 8 0 5 or 8 0 4 1 Yes or No No Envelope Alerting functionality No Excessive Bank alert DFC90 will disconnect during any AHRS TC Miscompare DFC90 has tighter engagement limits No Flap Overspeed alert Underspeed alert uses a more conservative no flap speed value Underspeed al...

Page 83: ...r on the Avidyne PFD via page 1 of 6 on the SystemInfo tab in PFD Maintenance Mode and displayed next to the DFC90 Top Level Part Number or on the Aspen PFD via page 24 of 26 in the setup pages labeled DFC90 Autopilot Configuration and displayed next to the DFC90 SW Part Number text However the part numbers vary with airframe type and the DFC90 Installation Manual must be referred to for reference...

Page 84: ...o limit has been reached a yellow SERVO LIMIT text message is displayed on the PFD WARNING Reaching Servo Limits Can Cause Uncommanded Rolls If the roll servo limit is reached the autopilot may stop following lateral commands This could appear to the pilot as an uncommanded roll or a failure to follow the commanded lateral target As a result it is highly recommended that a pilot avoid making fligh...

Page 85: ...ircraft dynamic conditions a slower reaction time in the vertical axis when experiencing vertical turbulence or other inputs like flap deployment retraction IAS mode tracking and unusual attitude recoveries using the Straight and Level button PERFORMANCE IN NON CIRRUS AIRCRAFT It is highly recommended that a pilot avoid making flight control inputs while in coupled autopilot mode operations aside ...

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Page 87: ...ls 2 2 Comparators 1 15 Engagement and Hold Limits 1 14 Envelope Protection EP 1 8 Envelope Alerting EA 1 10 Failure Modes PFD Display 5 3 Turn Coordinator 5 6 AHRS 5 7 Air Data 5 8 Bezel controls 5 4 PFD 5 9 Loss of Engine 5 10 Other error modes 5 11 Flight Director 1 17 General Overview Topics Armed vs Engaged 1 6 Baro adjust 1 13 Manual Electric Trim 1 7 Engagement 1 16 Disengagement 1 16 Gener...

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Page 89: ...g for product related help please have the following information available if able Customer Name Account Information Aircraft tail number DFC90 serial number PFD serial number and software versions A good description of the problem or question WARRANTY AVIDYNE WARRANTS THE PRODUCT MANUFACTURED BY IT AGAINST DEFECTS IN MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP FOR A PERIOD OF TWENTY FOUR 24 MONTHS FROM DELIVERY TO ...

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Page 91: ...CORPORATION 55 Old Bedford Road Lincoln MA 01773 P 781 402 7400 F 781 402 7599 Toll Free 800 AVIDYNE 800 284 3963 www avidyne com http www avidyne com products dfc90 index asp P N 600 00252 000 Rev 05 Change 3 ...

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