![]() The job of the SAS is to provide short-term “rate damping.” Disturbances such as wind gusts are detected as roll, pitch, and yaw rates through the use of gyros, and the AFCS quickly commands an actuator to move a control surface to counter it. The outer loop deals with conditions external to the helicopter such as airspeed, altitude, and navigational information.īeginning at the innermost level of an AFCS, you will usually find a stability augmentation system, or SAS. The inner loop is primarily governed by sensors monitoring internal conditions directly related to the helicopter, such as roll, pitch, and yaw attitudes, rates, and accelerations. There is a usual hierarchy to any AFCS (see figure) and although the acronyms describing the different levels can vary, the hierarchy can be divided into an inner and outer loop. It can be considered the portion of the flight controls that are moved automatically by a device other than the pilot. The term “AFCS” covers a list of devices used in various ways to alter or improve aircraft stability and handling qualities, or to permit certain parts of a mission to be flown automatically. This can make for a very tired pilot at the end of the day.Īs we gain skill and experience and move on to larger, more capable aircraft, we are rewarded with the addition of automatic flight control systems (AFCS) designed to lower workload by producing a more well-behaved flying machine. The green pilot must sense every rotation, translation, and acceleration and react accordingly to produce the desired flight condition. Learn more about us here.Helicopter drivers usually start out their lives in very basic machines limited in power, and with no help when it comes to commanding the aircraft’s petulant tendencies. This information page is provided as a service to our readers by BAE Systems, Inc., a U.S.-based world leader in aerospace, defense, power, and intelligence solutions. Further innovations to the system are also in development, including fly-by-wireless, fly-by-optics, power-by-wire, and more. And to prevent flightcritical failure, most fly-by-wire systems also have triple or quadruple redundancy back-ups built into them. On the other hand, mechanical systems are also complicated to operate, need constant monitoring,Īre heavy and bulky, and require frequent maintenance.īecause fly-by-wire is electronic, it is much lighter and less bulky than mechanical controls, allowing increases in fuel efficiency and aircraft design flexibility, even in legacy aircraft. Their "hands on" design gives pilots a direct, tactile feel for how the aircraft is handling aerodynamic forces as they fly. Traditional mechanical and hydro-mechanical flight control systems use a series of levers, rods, cables, pulleys, and more which pilots move to adjust control surfaces to aerodynamic conditions. When equipped with active control sticks, the FCC also uses sensor data to create "tactile cueing" – sensory feedback to the pilot in the form of improved physical "feel" for the aircraft's motions and aerodynamic limits. Computers also monitor sensors throughout the aircraft to make automatic adjustments that enhance the flight. When the pilot moves flight controls, those movements are converted into electronic signals, which are then interpreted by the aircraft's flight control computers (FCC) to adjust actuators that move flight control surfaces.
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