Eclipse 500 System Manual page 442

Section 16. Autoflight
no other lateral mode is pre-selected, PITCH appears as the active mode in the flight
mode annunciation window.
When pitch hold is engaged, the autopilot will hold the aircraft's current pitch attitude.
If pitch hold is selected when the current pitch is greater than -15° or 25° the flight
director will adjust the pitch to within -15° and 25°. If desired, the current pitch
attitude may be adjusted by using the thumbwheel on the autopilot control panel. This
will adjust the position of the flight director, which in turn adjusts the aircraft's pitch.
ALT HOLD
Altitude hold mode can be activated directly by pressing ALT on the autopilot control
panel, or by the capture of a pre-selected altitude from another vertical mode (PITCH,
ALT CHG, GS). When a flight director mode is currently active (i.e. ALT CHG) or
when there's no flight director mode, pressing ALT will cause the flight director to
capture and hold the altitude at the time when ALT button was pressed.
When capturing an altitude ALT as the armed mode and ALT CAP pulses for three
seconds during altitude capture. Once captured, ALT appears as the active mode. If
altitude capture is occurring during a climb, the aircraft will arrest the climb and track
the current altitude. If the aircraft overshoots the target altitude due to the energy in
the climb, a slight descent might be required to track the altitude, and vice versa
when ALT is activated while descending.
The altitude bug is displayed in one of two ways, hollow, or solid. A solid altitude bug
display indicates the autopilot/flight director is using the altitude bug as a target. The
target bug will not synchronize itself to the altitude being tracked and will remain a
hollowed outline associated with the altitude the pilot had previously selected. To
select a new altitude with the altitude bug, the pilot must use the ALT SEL knob on
the autopilot control panel.
ALT CHG
Alt change mode behaves differently based on whether it is commanded to descend
or climb.
Climb
Climb is associated with speed hold mode only. To climb, the ALT SEL knob must
first be rotated to a target altitude above the aircraft's current altitude. The ALT
CHG button should then be pressed on the autopilot control panel. Upon
engagement, this mode will track the target airspeed bug (solid) using elevator
authority; ALT CHG appears as the active mode and ALT appears as the armed
mode in the flight mode annunciation window.
The pilot can then adjust either the airspeed bug or engine thrust, or both, to
modify the climb. The capture of the altitude will occur in the same manner as
ALT hold mode. As the aircraft approaches the desired altitude, ALT remains the
armed mode, while active mode of ALT CHG is replaced by ALT CAP as the
active vertical mode that pulses for three seconds until the altitude is captured.
Descent
Descent is a vertical speed hold mode only. To descend, the ALT SEL knob must
first be turned to select an altitude lower than the aircraft's current altitude. The
ALT CHG button should then be pressed on the Autopilot Control panel. Upon
engagement, this mode uses elevator authority to track the Vertical Speed bug.
The vertical speed target is automatically set on the VSI based on a computed 3°
glide-path. The vertical speed bug will be solid, indicating that the flight director is
tracking the vertical speed bug as a target. ALT CHG appears as the active
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Copyright © — Eclipse Aviation Corporation
Eclipse 5OO Systems Manual
Version 2.0 April 2007