| Vertical Power featured in EAA Sport Aviation Magazine!
The December issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine features a four-page story about the history and team behind Vertical Power. It's an interesting article because it talks about the development of the product and the company more than about the product itself. Click here to read the article.
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| Runaway Trim Protection
Key safety feature an integral part of system
As you may know, the VP-100 and VP-200 both include many safety features, one of which is the runaway trim protection system. How does it work? If the trim switch gets stuck, or the wiring is shorted and causes the trim to runaway un-commanded, you press the opposite trim button and the trim motor stops immediately and disables the input switches after three seconds. The VP-200 then automatically shows the disabled circuit on the screen and allows you to immediately run the trim back to neutral using the soft keys on the Display Unit. This works for all three trim axes and the flaps as well.
VP-200 display showing disabled trim
The VP-200 also can vary the speed of the trim motor based on aircraft speed. So, if your trim is too sensitive in flight, you can make it less sensitive. We recently found a way to do this with the VP-100. You simply wire a micro switch that is engaged when the flaps are down, and it can then change the trim speed. Flaps up = less sensitive trim, flaps down = more sensitive trim. There are several products on the market that do this today, but are a lot of work to wire and add lots of complexity. With the VP-200, you get this feature for free (no additional wiring), and on the VP-100 you get it with one additional wire and switch.
Internally, the trim, flaps and starter circuits are designed for added safety to mitigate the risk of un-commanded running. Each of these circuits features two solid-state switches that must be activated by independent commands from the processor. And, they're protected from static discharge and voltage spikes. |
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Trick Your Starter Button
Add life to an otherwise boring switch.
We think about switches a lot around here, so it should be no surprise that we're excited about adding some "cool factor" to the starter switch.
If you want to add a starter switch on your panel (so you can start the engine using something other than the Display Unit soft keys) you can add a panel-mount starter switch. And now you can light it up when the starter switch is enabled. The VP-200 can disable the starter switch so you can't engage the starter when the engine is running. And when the starter switch is enabled, the light on the switch comes on.
Starter button is lit when enabled
Visit the forums here for more information. This feature available in 08. |
Wishing you a joyous holiday season!
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Vertical Power.
Vertical Power will be closed from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. We will be checking e-mail and phone messages periodically during the holidays.
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December 2007
