An aircraft autopilot with many features and various autopilot related systems integrated into a single system is called an automatic flight control system (AFCS). These were formerly found only on high-performance aircraft. Currently, due to advances in digital technology for aircraft, modern aircraft of any size may have AFCS.
AFCS capabilities vary from system to system. Some of the advances beyond ordinary autopilot systems are the extent of programmability, the level of integration of navigational aids, the integration of flight director and autothrottle systems, and combining of the command elements of these various systems into a single integrated flight control human interface. [Figure 1]
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AFCS capabilities vary from system to system. Some of the advances beyond ordinary autopilot systems are the extent of programmability, the level of integration of navigational aids, the integration of flight director and autothrottle systems, and combining of the command elements of these various systems into a single integrated flight control human interface. [Figure 1]
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| Figure 1. The AFCS control panel commands several integrated systems from a single panel including: flight directors, autopilots, autothrottles, autoland, and navigational aids. Mode selections for many features are made from this single interface |
It is at the AFCS level of integration that an auto throttle system is integrated into the flight director and autopilot systems with glide scope modes so that auto landings are possible. Small general aviation aircraft being produced with AFCS may lack the throttle-dependent features.
Modern general aviation AFCS are fully integrated with digital attitude heading and reference systems (AHRS) and navigational aids including glideslope. They also contain modern computer architecture for the autopilot (and flight director systems) that is slightly different than analog autopilot systems. Functionality is distributed across a number of interrelated computers and includes the use of intelligent servos that handle some of the error correction calculations. The servos communicate with dedicated avionics computers and display unit computers through a control panel, while no central autopilot computer exists. [Figure 2]
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| Figure 2. Automatic flight control system (AFCS) of a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit instrument system for a general aviation aircraft |