STC for IS&S ThrustSense Autothrottle System for Beechcraft King Air 300 series

Innovative Solutions & Support has been awarded FAA Supplemental Type Certification for its groundbreaking ThrustSense® Autothrottle system for the Beechcraft King Air 300 series turboprops equipped with the Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics.  The ThrustSense system will also be standard equipment on the newly announced King Air 360 upon entry into service.  IS&S’s patented ThrustSense Full Regime Autothrottle with revolutionary LifeGuardTM provides critical Vmca protection, as well as full FADEC engine protection with under and over airspeed protection, eliminating two of the greatest ‘low-and-slow’ challenges associated with twin-engine operations.  LifeGuardTM includes the first Vmca protection system that proportionally reduces engine power to maintain directional control. The ThrustSense Autothrottle in the King Air enables automatic control of engine power settings by computing and adjusting to the exact appropriate power levels, thus significantly reducing pilot workload at critical phases of flight.   

ThrustSense’s impact on King Air operations will simply be dynamic at Vmca, as IS&S’s full regime system will dynamically adjust power output on the good engine, keeping speeds safe and the aircraft in control.  The system’s influence on safety is not limited to just Vmca protection, however, as ThrustSense manages engine power throughout all phases of flight, eliminating over speed/torque situations, further reducing pilot workload.

IS&S’s Standby Display Unit enables full autothrottle control interface. There are very little additional structural modifications required, other than replacing the current standby with IS&S’s, thus aircraft downtime will be minimal. 

ThrustSense is the first and only certified autothrottle for King Air 200 and 300 aircraft and is available for retrofit at Textron Aviation Service Centers.