Automatic Flight Control Systems Engineering Essay

Automatic Flight Control Systems Engineering Essay We live in a world where technology is, if not being improved, developed by the second. Everyday new improvements, inventions and discoveries are made. One industry that is always on the lead when it comes to new inventions and innovations is the Aviation Industry. Over the years, aircrafts have been facing major improvements on the structure, fuel efficiency, life-span, range of flight. But one of the best improvements that have been done on every aircraft (commercial) that had the biggest impact in the Aviation Industry and most probably the main reason why the industry has been booming up is the improvements done in the Avionics section, specifically the Automatic Flight Controls. In the beginning, Pilots were trained to fly the aircrafts alone. But after several years, it is now the pilots programming the computer, telling it where to fly, at what altitude, etc. This computer is the AFCS (Automatic Flight Control System). In today’s modern world of flying, it is the AFCS who is technically flying the aircraft, from cruising to landing, and for some until parking. The AFCS has a lot of advantages when compared to human pilots when it comes to flying. Here are some of them: The AFCS has the ability to overcome deficiencies when it comes to stability and control. The AFCS improved the handling qualities. Such as, when the airspeed or the altitude of the aircraft needs to be constant. The AFCS is more accurate and hence is able to carry out several tasks that the pilot is not able to do. * Source: Emirates Aviation College’s Automatic Flight Control Systems Book (Chapter 3.1.3) To get a better understanding of the AFCS, the different parts of it will be discussed, such as the Autopilot System, Flight Director System, Auto Throttle System and etc. The information about the AFCS will be based on one of Boeing’s classic aircrafts, the 737-500. FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (FMS) The Flight Management System is navigation, combined flight control, a Built-In Test Equipment (BITE) and a guidance system. The FMS provides control and operation of five independent subsystems to provide lateral navigation (LNAV) and vertical navigation (VNAV) for performance management and optimum flight profiles. The Flight Management System is not labeled to any control panel or any single component as it is an integration of five independent subsystems. These subsystems are: Digital Flight Control System (DFCS) Inertial Reference System (IRS) Autothrottle Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) Flight Management Computer System (FMCS) * Source: United Airlines’ Boeing 737-322/522 (page 6, Chapter 22-2, Oct ’99) from Emirates Aviation College Library This system was designed to increase fuel efficiency, safety and decrease workload. For both pilots, this means that they can select full FMS operation or Autopilot Flight Director System (AFDS) for a complete automatic flight. They can even use the Control Display Units (CDU) to pr ovide, for manual flight, reference information. Management and operation is totally under the control of the flight crew. There are only certain operations that can only be implemented by the flight crew. They are: landing rollout steering, thrust reversal, speed brake operation, altitude selection, landing gear and flap operation, instrument landing system (ILS) tuning, thrust initiation, brake release, airplane rotation and steering during takeoff roll.