At the bottom of the cockpit are two pairs of pedals that are easily accessible to the feet of the pilots. The sticks are not connected physically by any means therefore, the flight computers receive distinguishable input from the two control sticks. The location of different control surfaces in the A320 are shown in the figure below: Fig 2: Flight Control Surfaces Cockpit Controls Fig 3: Cockpit Control of the A320Įach pilot is equipped with a side-stick controller which can be used to maneuver the pitch and roll of the aircraft. For mechanical control, three different lines of hydraulic fluid are used and labeled as blue, green, and yellow. The rudder to control the Yaw axis is mechanical with the control for yaw damping, turn coordination, and trim being part of the electrical control. The Ailerons and Spoilers use a complete electrical method of flight control for the Roll Axis. However, for manual trim control of the stabilizers, a mechanical method (hydraulics) is used. For the pitch axis, the elevators and stabilizers are controlled electrically. The control surfaces can be divided into ailerons, spoilers, stabilizers, elevators, and rudders. Feedback-Response system Control Surfaces An idea of the feedback-response mechanism can be achieved from the figure below: Fig1. The complete system follows a feedback-response system with multiple flight computer systems being involved. The movement to the stick by the pilot is interpreted as tiny electrical signals which are processed by the in-flight computer to instruct control surfaces to pitch/roll to achieve the desired result of movement for the aircraft. The pitch and roll are controlled via a side stick on the pilot’s left-hand side. A few flight control surfaces such as stabilizer and rudder can also be controlled mechanically. All flight controls are controlled via electric signals and activated mechanically with the use of hydraulics. The Airbus A320 Family shares the same profile of flight control mechanism. The flight control system in the A320 not only makes it one of the most efficient aircraft on the skies but also ensures a high level ofredundancy that prevents the total loss of the primary flight control of the aircraft. Fly by wire system was the beginning of the revolution of electronic flight surface controls that eventually replaced most of the mechanical flight control methods. A game-changer to the aviation industry has been the introduction of fly by wire flight control system, first implemented on a civilian aircraft in the Airbus A320 in 1982.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |