Originally Posted by
helops
JimL,
there are some SE helicopters with SAS and Autopilot. We had a As350b3 with sas and autopilot some years ago. I think this is not an issue. Any manufacturer would be interested to install SAS and autopilot on their SE helicopters to make them IFR capable.
H.
It's about controllability without hydraulics and secondary electrical generation requirements.
I was flying a Bell 206L-3 in the early 2000s that was fully IFR certified, of course the additional weight (plus my "skinny" med crew) prevented any sort of realistic IFR fuel load) for most of the legs we flew.
We did regular RT in the hood without hydraulics (SASless can confirm). SAS and autopilot alone do not meet the criteria, otherwise every lightweight 206L-1 or Crapstar 350 could be certified.