SA4550 Attitude Display Now An Approved Flight Director For S-TEC Autopilots

Just in time for next week's NBAA 2008 Convention in Orlando, Sandel Avionics and S-TEC announced Friday the successful testing of Sandel’s SA4550 Primary Attitude Display with S-TEC's System 55, 55X, 60-2 and 65 autopilots. S-TEC will list the SA4550 as an approved flight director for use with these autopilots.             

"This opens the door for numerous aircraft owners, especially in the turboprop market, who would like an affordable upgrade for their flight directors and autopilots," said Jerry Henry, Sandel's Director of Sales. "Our Product Support team worked with S-TEC to verify that our products are compatible and we are pleased that a combined solution is now available for our mutual customers."

"The Sandel high-definition attitude and navigation displays are fantastic replacements for worn-out mechanical flight instruments," added S-TEC's Director of Sales and Marketing, Greg Plantz. "Because they are modular replacements, they deliver an amazing array of digital display capabilities without needing to totally replace an entire panel.

"The ability to now do a simple Field Approval and be able to offer owner/operators the option of replacing their old-generation autopilot with a high-performance S-TEC autopilot/flight director computer system just makes the whole package that much more appealing," Plantz added.

The SA4550 Primary Attitude Display is a 4-ATI sized display, which uses Sandel's patented rear-projection display technology with LED-backlighting for maximum sunlight readability, 180-degree viewing angle, bright color rendition and an MTBF of over 10,000 hours. Both single- and dual-cue flight director command bars are supported and can be toggled by the pilot.

In many cases, the installation of the SA4550 will be covered under Sandel's Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) Approved Model List (AML). Otherwise, the installation can be approved through the Field Approval process of the FAA.

The SA4550 can also be combined with the SN4500 Primary Navigation Display which functions as an Electronic-HSI with a full-color moving map that has the capability to show flight plans, bearing pointers, Stormscope and optional traffic and weather overlays. The SN4500 is also compatible with S-TEC autopilots. List price of the SA4550 and SN4500 is $20,950 for each display.

S-TEC's System 55, 55X, 60-2 and 65 are very popular full function autopilots that have received STCs for installation in numerous aircraft, including turboprop models such as King Airs and Twin Commanders.

Sandel's products will be demonstrated in booth 4642 at the National Business Aviation Association convention. S-TEC will be located in booth 2293.

FMI: www.sandel.com, www.s-tec.com