Robinson Helicopter announced that its R66 turbine single is now available with optional Garmin G500H avionics and the Genesys Aerosystems HeliSAS autopilot. The price of the G500H system is $31,900, excluding the required GTN 600 or 700 navigator; the price for the autopilot is $46,000. The G500H must be installed to enable addition of the autopilot.

The HeliSAS autopilot was developed specifically for light helicopters. In primary mode, it functions as a stability augmentations system, applying corrective inputs to the cyclic to maintain a fixed pitch and roll attitude. Only light cyclic force is required to fly through the system. Additional autopilot modes include heading hold, altitude hold, navigation signal tracking and approach navigation including vertical guidance. The autopilot does not provide any collective or pedal inputs.

The R66 G500H installation may be interfaced with the Garmin GTX 33 remote transponder controlled via the GTN navigator and interfaced with FreeFlight’s RA-4500 radar altimeter, which displays information on the primary flight display. The GTX 33 installation includes ADS-B OUT. With or without the G500H system, other optional equipment for the R66 includes the Garmin GDL 69A XM receiver for digital weather data and entertainment audio; weather can be displayed on the G500H multi-function display or any GTN navigator.

The G500H is a combination primary flight display (PFD) and multi-function display (MFD) that provides flight instrument, moving-map navigation and situational awareness data on dual screens. Helicopter synthetic vision and terrain graphics are available as an option for the PFD; either Garmin FliteCharts or Jeppesen Chartview instrument charts are available as options for the MFD.