Boeing’s new 777X features an advanced fly-by-wire flight control system that will be powered by BAE Systems electronics. The system is called the Integrated Flight Control Electronics and Air Data Reference Function, and not only controls the 777X’s flight surfaces, but also adds further functionality, such as load alleviation, high lift and folding wingtips.
BAE Systems has teamed with Rockwell Collins for the 777X program; both companies also supply primary flight control electronics and the autoland system for the current 777 family.
“This will be one of the most advanced fly-by-wire systems on any commercial aircraft, enabling the 777X to achieve superior flying quality and fuel efficiency,” said Ehtisham Siddiqui, v-p and general manager of BAE Systems Commercial Aircraft Solutions.
Active Inceptor
At the BAE Systems Farnborough Airshow exhibit (Outdoor Exhibit 11), the company is demonstrating a further iteration of fly-by-wire technology, the Active Inceptor. This system electronically links two fly-by-wire sidesticks (or helicopter cyclic and collective) so that they act as if they were mechanically linked.
The Active Inceptor has many several advantages over existing fly-by-wire cockpit controls. Like all sidesticks, the Active Inceptor eliminates view-blocking yokes. The Active Inceptor system doesn’t allow two pilots to move the sidestick in different directions, and autopilot back-drive moves the sticks, too. Naturally the Active Inceptor system would weigh much less than the dual yokes used in Boeing fly-by-wire systems.
Other Active Inceptor benefits include built-in force feedback, so pilots can “feel” the amount of force they are inputting and it can include variable gradients, force breakouts, detents, ramps, gates and soft stops.
For example, a soft stop could be built in that would signal the pilot that he or she has raised the nose to the correct angle during takeoff. But the stop also adjusts to flight conditions in other regimes, depending on the flight envelope limits, giving the pilot a clear signal as to when a certain attitude is about to be exceeded. The force increases after the stick reaches the soft stop, and this force can be adjusted. Stick shakers and other warning systems can be built into the Active Inceptor.
BAE has said that it has signed up a commercial customer for the Active Inceptor sidesticks, but it hasn’t revealed the identity of the customer nor if it is Boeing for the 777X. While Embraer has selected the Active Inceptor system for the KC-390 military transport, which will also be certified by civil authorities, AIN has learned that neither the Embraer Legacy 450/500 nor its E2 jets will feature the Active Inceptor.
The Active Inceptor is also installed in the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter and the Korean Aerospace Industries T-50. BAE Systems has been working on the Active Inceptor for the past 20 years.
