Aircraft Systems

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

 Autopilot System

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Automatic Pilot system
 The Automatic Pilot System (Autopilot)
electronically controls the pitch and
roll attitude of the aircraft. It assists
the pilot in controlling the aircraft
during the climb, cruise, descent and
approach phases of flight. Some
autopilot systems are even capable of
performing completely automatic
landings.
 This results in a considerable
reduction in cockpit workload and
therefore reduction in crew fatigue.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Electronic Instruments
 The term "electronic instruments" is used to
refer to the latest trend in aircraft
instruments. This involves the use of CRTs
(cathode ray tubes or TV screens) to display
aircraft instrument information.
 Another common term for this system is the
"glass cockpit". The use of CRTs permits a
greater use of integrated instruments which
display numerous types of information on one
screen.
 It also permits greater flexibility because the
method of displaying the information and the
amount of information on each CRT can be
changed in flight.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Electronic Instruments

 Some aircraft have only one or two CRTs, while others

with a full glass cockpit system will use six or more CRTs.
The electronic instruments that make up a full glass
cockpit come in three types:
1. Electronic Attitude Director Indicators (EADIs)
2. Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicators (EHSIs)
3. Engine Indication And Crew Alerting System (EICAS)

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Electronic Attitude Director Indicators (EADI)

 Some of the information that can be presented on the EADI

other than the basic pitch and roll data includes; radio
glideslope data, radio localizer data, radar altimeter data,
autopilot status and aircraft indicated airspeed.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan Electronic Attitude Director Indicator (EADI)
Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicators (EHSI)

 Information displayed on the EHSI includes: magnetic

heading, radio steering commands for VOR /INS, radio
glideslope data, DME radio data and weather radar data.
The EADI and EHSI are installed directly in front of the
pilots to match the standard "T" configuration.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

 Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicators (EHSI)
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
Primary Flight Display (PFD)

 A Primary Flight Display or PFD, found

in an aircraft equipped with an
Electronic Flight Instrument System, is
the pilot's primary reference for flight
information. The unit combines the
information traditionally displayed on
several electromechanical instruments
onto a single electronic display
reducing pilot workload and enhancing
Situational Awareness.
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
Engine Indication And Crew Alerting System (EICAS)

 The EICAS system usually consists of two large CRTs installed in the
middle of the instrument panel. The two CRTs may be arranged
vertically or horizontally depending on the particular aircraft
involved.
 The EICAS system has two main types of information that are
displayed, as the name implies. The engine indication function
displays numerous powerplant instruments in standard columns
depending on how many engines the aircraft has.
 The crew alerting system function consists of many sensors located
throughout the aircraft that monitor all the major systems such as
engines, electrical, hydraulic, bleed air, pressurization, etc. These
sensors are monitored by computer and any faults or abnormal
readings are displayed to the flight crew.
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
Engine Indication And Crew Alerting System (EICAS)
Computers in Aircraft

 The rapid advances in computer technology in recent years

have been applied to many different aircraft systems such as
cockpit displays, autopilots, navigational computers, engine
controls etc. The modern digital computer is made possible
by the rapid advances in integrated circuits that have taken
place over the last twenty years.
 Fly-by-Wire (FBW) is the generally accepted term for those
flight control systems which use computers to process the
flight control inputs made by the pilot or autopilot, and send
corresponding electrical signals to the flight control surface
actuators.
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
BITE Systems

 One of the features of the effort to reduce operating cost is the

use of BITE (built-in test equipment). The latest types of
aircraft electronic equipment and computers have special types
of test equipment as a part of the major units. BITE systems
often provide three different kinds of tests that can be used to
identify and correct faults.
1. Fault Detection — continuous during equipment operation
2. Fault Isolation — faulty equipment can be isolated or bypassed
3. Operational Verification After Defect Repair.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Digital Data Transmission

 The increasing use of computers and sophisticated

electronic devices on modern aircraft requires that these
devices be able to communicate with each other rapidly
and efficiently. This rapid exchange of data is
accomplished with digital data transmission using digital
data busses.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

 Digital data bus permits rapid transmission of data between the various
electronic systems on the aircraft.
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
Types of Autopilots
 Autopilot systems are categorized according to the number of
aircraft axes of rotation they control and according to their
complexity. The autopilot utilizes the same control surfaces
that the human pilot does.
1. Single-axis autopilot - usually operates the ailerons only and is
often referred to as a wing leveler.
2. Two-axis autopilot - controls the ailerons and elevator to
provide additional control of the aircraft.
3. Three-axis autopilot - operates all three types of control
surfaces: ailerons, elevator and rudder.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Basic Autopilot Operation
1. Sensors or Gyros — These detect a change in aircraft attitude using gyros or similar sensing
devices.
2. Amplifier or Computer — This component processes the signals from the sensors and sends
signals to the servos to correct the attitude.
3. Servos — The servos receive the signals from the computer and supply the physical force
necessary to move the flight control surface.
4. Feedback — All but the simplest autopilots have a feedback system that sends signals back
to the computer that indicate the motion of the flight control surface. Without feedback
the control of the aircraft would not be smooth and precise.
5. Controller — This unit is located in the cockpit and contains the actuating switches and the
pitch and turn knobs. The pilot can move the pitch knob or turn knob to supply manual
commands to the autopilot that change the pitch attitude or command a turn.
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
Automatic Flight Control System

 This is a three axis autopilot that can control the aircraft during
climbs, descents, cruise flight and during instrument approaches.
It also has an auto-throttle system which will automatically
control engine power or thrust.
 Some AFCS autopilots have auto-land capability where the
autopilot can actually land the airplane on the runway. These
types of autopilots require many back-up systems and high levels
of redundancy.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Flight Management Systems
 These include additional computers called Flight
Management Computers that permit an entire
flight from just after takeoff to landing to be
programmed in the computers and automatically
controlled.
 The Flight Management Computer can be
thought of as a master computer which controls
the autopilot and auto-throttle computers. The
computers can store in their memory many
different routes and flight profiles and they can
be used to provide a maximum economy in fuel
consumption or other desired controlling factor.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Flight Management Computers
 The Flight Management Computers (FMCs) provide a number of advanced features and
functions which were not found on earlier autopilot systems. Some of the functions of the
Flight Management Computer are:
1. Flight Planning — The entire flight can be programmed into the computer using a cockpit
keyboard.
2. Performance Management — The system can provide optimum profiles for climb, cruise,
descent and holding patterns. A minimum cost flight can be flown automatically by using
optimum climb settings, cruise settings etc.
3. Navigation Calculations — The FMC can calculate great circle routes, climb and descent
profiles etc.
4. Auto Tune of VOR and DME — The FMC can automatically tune the radios to the correct
station frequencies.
5. Autothrottle Speed Commands — These are displayed on the EADI as FAST/SLOW indications.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Flight Control Computers

 The flight control computers are the

autopilot computers and there are three of
them. The three computers are
independent so that a failure in one will
not affect the other two.
 The computers are modern digital
computers that are more compact and
faster than earlier types of computers.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Thrust Management Computer (TMC)
 The purpose of the TMC is to
automatically set the proper thrust level
for the engines. The output servo moves
the throttle linkage to set the level of
engine power calculated by the TMC.
 The system includes sensors on the
engines which monitor the important
engine operating parameters. The
monitoring of engine parameters is used
to prevent exceeding any engine
operating limitation for RPM, EPR, EGT,
etc.
 The autothrottle system can be used to
maintain a given climb rate, indicated
airspeed, Mach number or descent rate.
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan
Flight Control Panel
 The flight control panel contains the switches to activate the various
functions of the autopilot and to adjust the settings for the desired vertical
speed, IAS, Mach number, etc.
 The indicator lights for the different modes of operation are also included
in the flight control panel.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Control Wheel Steering (CWS)
 Control wheel steering is an operating mode
for the autopilot in addition to the command
operating mode. The command mode is the
normal autopilot mode where the pilot does
not touch the controls because the autopilot
is flying the airplane.
 In the CWS mode, the controls are moved by
the pilot as in normal flight and the force that
is applied to the controls is measured and
used as an input signal to the autopilot
computers. In effect, the human pilot is flying
the airplane, but the autopilot is helping to
move the control surfaces.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

Flight Director

 A flight director is a system that uses some of the basic

components of an autopilot, but not all of them. A flight
director uses sensors and computers, but it does not have
servos.
 The flight director computer uses the signals from sensors
to calculate a correction which is then displayed as a
command for the pilot to follow. The commands from the
flight director are displayed to the pilot on the EADI by
the command bars.

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan

HAU | Prepared by: Engr. Jan Glenndale L. Punsalan