Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. (IS&S) has been awarded European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for its ThrustSense® Full Regime Autothrottle for the King Air.
The company reports that the approvals mark over 40 countries outside of the U.S. to approve its revolutionary autothrottle technology, joining Australia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa and Taiwan. Expanding along with the number of countries currently certifying ThrustSense, are the actual numbers of different King Air configurations now compatible with the IS&S autothrottle. Categories of newly customized ThrustSense King Airs include special mission, extended range, heavy-weight and Blackhawk Aerospace aircraft.
The IS&S ThrustSense Autothrottle with LifeGuard™ Protection is a full regime system from takeoff roll to landing phases of flight including go-around. ThrustSense’s FADEC-like engine protection prevents both engine and airspeed exceedances that can and have become safety challenges during situations of high pilot workload. Most critical to safety, ThrustSense provides protection against VMCA, via the first ever system (LifeGuard™) that proportionally reduces engine power to maintain directional control, thus mitigating the most dangerous “low-and-slow” challenge associated with twin-engine operations. The ThrustSense Autothrottle system, currently in operation in the Beechcraft King Air, automatically controls engine output by computing and adjusting to the exact appropriate power levels, thus significantly reducing pilot workload at critical phases of flight.
ThrustSense is the first and only certified autothrottle for King Air 200 and 300 aircraft and is standard equipment on King Air 260 and 360 production models. It is available for retrofit at authorized King Air Service centers worldwide.
