Flight Control Systems

GPS World, Dec, 2004

Athena Technologies' GuideStar GS-111m delivers navigation, control and vehicle management via a 3.9 X 2.6 X 1.6-inch unit weighing 0.5 pound. Consuming 4.5 watts at 9-18 volts, the GuideStar system uses accelerometers, rate gyros, magnetometer, and air data pressure, AoA, sideslip sensors, as well as a differential-ready WAAS-enabled GPS receiver. The INS/GPS navigation solution features control modes including airspeed, altitude, climb rate, angle-of-attack, sideslip, 3-D auto-navigation, and automatic takeoff and landing. The GuideStar 111m is designed for smaller fixed-wing, ducted-fan, and helicopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. The GuideStar GS-211 shares the same performance and functionality, but is designed for more-demanding environmental applications, offering a 3 X 4 X 5.5-inch hardened and sealed enclosure weighing 2 pounds. The 4 X 5 X 6-inch, 4.8 pound GuideStar GS-311 offers additional processors for more complex missions and payload management and analog I/O, including Ethernet, and the option of a second GPS (SAASM) receiver. Athena Technologies, Warrenton, Virginia.

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