ALTITUDE HOLD & HOVER STABILIZATION SYSTEM
Photos courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
DRS’s Altitude Hold and Hover Stabilization (AHHS) System provides a low-cost solution for increased flight safety and situational awareness during low visibility conditions.
The AHHS System is fielded on USAF HH-60G PAVE HAWKs, MH-53M PAVE LOWs, the Israeli Air Force CH-53 and is being tested on the Republic of Korea Air Force HH-60P SAR Helicopter.
The AHHS System provides hands-free cyclic and collective control for cruise, low-altitude hover operations, automatic landing, and precision hover and drift control. AHHS delivers precise control capabilities that allow aircrews to safely operate in environments that would otherwise be impossible such as brownout/whiteout conditions, over-water hover operations, and tight LZs. AHHS is integrated with the aircraft's existing flight control systems and is capable of interfacing with a myriad of on-board sensor inputs (including barometric and radar altimeters, INS, GPS, EGI, accelerometers, gyros, etc.) and data bus architectures. DRS ICAS, LLC. has over 15 years experience in development, integration and production of AHHS Systems, with proven performance on a number of helicopter platforms. The result is an efficient, cost-effective solution that significantly enhances flight safety and operational capabilities, making it the after-market flight control enhancement system of choice. AHHS System
HIGHLIGHTS • Improves aircrew and helicopter flight safety by reducing pilot workload, increasing situational awareness and operational capabilities, especially in low/no visibility conditions • Provides hands-free altitude hold, precision 3-D hover, controlled drift, and automatic landing capabilities • Qualified for rotary wing platforms: Environmental per MIL-STD-810E and EMI/EMC per MIL-STD-461 • Proven performance on HH-60G, CH-53 and MH-53M aircraft
GLARE SHIELD INDICATOR Dimensions
3.91 W x 1.50 H x 2.50 D inches (9.93 W x 3.81 H x 6.35 D cm)
Weight
0.3 lbs. (0.14 kg)
Cockpit Indicators providing qualification and cyclic/collective engagement status COLLECTIVE SERVO Dimensions
5.22 W x 5.73 H x 10.62 D inches (13.26 W x 14.68 H
KEY SYSTEM COMPONENTS
x 26.97 D cm) SYSTEM ELECTRONICS UNIT Dimensions
Weight
Weight
13 lbs. (5.90 kg)
3.75 W x 7.69 H x 16.00 D
Installed in H-60 helicopter applications (as required)
inches (9.53 W x 19.53 H x
Provides collective control for AHHS altitude hold modes
40.64 D cm)
Provides collective trim capability during non-AHHS flight
9 lbs. (4.08 kg)
Power and control via SEU
Monitors AHHS system and aircraft sensor health GENERAL FEATURES
Receives sensor input, performs AHHS flight control algorithm and outputs flight control command signals Interfaces Power
OPERATING MODES
MIL-STD-1553, ARINC
Barometric altitude cruise (maintains pressure altitude)
429/575, RS-422
Radar altitude cruise (maintains AGL altitude)
28 VDC, 3.5 Amps
Hover velocity hold (maintains 3-D heading/drift velocities and AGL altitude)
AHHS CONTROL PANEL Dimensions
5.75 W x 4.50 H x 4.73 D inches (14.61 W x 11.43 H
AGL altitude) 3-D coupled approach (follows selected glideslope to
x 12.01 D cm) Weight
Hover position hold (maintains 3-D true position and
programmable lat/long landing zone)
3 lbs. (1.36 kg)
Go-around (departure to a preset altitude and velocity)
Aircrew system interface panel providing mode selection/indications
KEY SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Adjust Hover and Approach settings
Nighttime and over water operations
Failure indications and status reporting Provides O-Level maintenance and troubleshooting
ENHANCEMENT SCENARIOS
Interfaces
RS-422
Brown/white out conditions
Power
28 VDC, < 1 Amp
Tight landing zone conditions General workload reduction during low-altitude, low-speed operations
Specifications subject to change without notice. Copyright © DRS ICAS, LLC 2010. All Rights Reserved. Export of DRS ICAS, LLC products may be subject to U.S. Export Controls. U.S. Export licenses may be required.
DRS ICAS, LLC. 2601 Mission Point Blvd., Suite 250 Beavercreek, OH 45431 Tel: 937.429.7408 Fax 937.429.7176 www.drs-ds.com marketing@drs-ds.com (ISO 9001:Registered Company)
Cleared by US DoD/OSR for Public Release under OSR case number 06-S-1827 dated 09.25.2009.
DRS BEA V6 8/10/10