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Active Inceptor: System sends messages to pilot
Electronic flight controls that recreate the feel of mechanical systems will be in use on civilian ‘fly-by-wire’ aircraft within two years, defence firm BAE Systems has said.
Active Inceptor controls use sensors to detect how handling is being received by an aircraft and translate that data into force feedback in a pilot’s control stick via electronics and a servo system. This enables pilots of fly-by-wire aircraft to receive haptic feedback on how an aircraft is handling.
If a manoeuvre exceeds a fly-by-wire system’s permitted flight envelope, in which case the pilot would not be allowed to perform the operation, or if a co-pilot attempts a manoeuvre counter to the pilot’s, feedback is created according to a pre-programmed gradient to show that the aircraft is approaching the limits of its operation.
The Active Inceptor system was developed for use in fighter jets in the 1990s and features on several fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, including the new F35 and the Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter. It is manufactured at BAE Systems’ site in Rochester, Kent, which employs 1,400 people.
Adam Taylor, director for Advanced Inceptors at BAE Systems, said: “There are key differences we have been working on for the civilian marketplace. We needed certification and we have had to challenge the cost of the system. The military solutions were bespoke for each aircraft, whereas the commercial system has a core design that can be made suitable for all potential platforms.”
Taylor said that the system has a launch customer in the civilian marketplace and that full certification will be completed in 2016. The system also features in Brazilian firm Embraer’s KC390 military transport aircraft, which is expected to have its first flight before the end of this year.
Taylor added that there is a “strong desire” from pilots in the civil market to increase their situational awareness.
He said: “We’ve been lucky enough to win every Active Inceptor contract ever offered in the world and built up a leading position with the technology. We see a lot of potential growth in both the civilian and military sectors, in fixed-wing and rotary applications.”