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The Contents..

Slide 2 U1
USER, 7/20/2011

Introduction
y The AFS in aircraft is designed to reduce the workload of

the flying crew, improve regularity of the flight and to improve safety of the. y The basic functions of the AFS are yaw damper, rudder trim, rudder travel limitation, flight envelope protection etc flight. y The complete auto flight systems can be classified into two main systems. y Flight management guidance systems y Flight augmentation systems

When the AFS is not active, the above mentioned components are controlled by the same systems but orders are generated by specific devices i.e., side sticks and thrust levers

The way to use AFS is to follow the flight plan automatically knowing the position of the aircraft and the flight plan chosen by the pilot ,the system is able to compute the orders sent to the flying surfaces and the engines so that the aircraft follows the flight plan. The schematic of the AFS of a modern aircraft is shown in the figure1.3.

The basic functions of the Flight augmentation computers (FAC) are the rudder control and the flight envelope protection The basic functions of the Flight Augmentation Computer (FAC) are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Yaw Damper Rudder trim Rudder travel Limitation Flight Envelope Protection

The main objective is to design an auto flight system, which is used in the Unmanned Aerial vehicles and in small aircrafts as a cost effective measure and fly the aircraft automatically
Having throttle control altitude is the default, for safety if the engine fails.

Types of Automatic Control System Based on the task s level of difficulty, the Automatic Flight Control System can be categorized into four different types: 1. AFCS as the trimmed flight holding system 2. AFCS as the stability augmentation system 3. AFCS as the command augmentation system 4. AFCS as the stability maker and command optimization

Movement of an aircraft

Autopilot architecture

4. The autopilot computer processes the input data and determines that the wings are no longer level. 5. The autopilot computer sends a signal to the servos that control the aircraft's ailerons. The signal is a very specific command telling the servo to make a precise adjustment.

Some airplanes even have autothrust computers to control engine thrust. Autopilot and autothrust systems can work together to perform very complex maneuvers.

5. The autopilot computer sends a signal to the servos that control the aircraft's ailerons. The signal is a very specific command telling the servo to make a precise adjustment 6. Each servo has a small electric motor fitted with a slip clutch that, through a bridle cable, grips the aileron cable. When the cable moves, the control surfaces move accordingly. 7. As the ailerons are adjusted based on the input data, the wings move back toward level. 8. The autopilot computer removes the command when the position sensor on the wing detects that the wings are once again level.

9. The servos cease to apply pressure on the aileron cables. This loop, shown above in the block diagram, works continuously, many times a second, much more quickly and smoothly than a human pilot could. Two- and three-axis autopilots obey the same principles, employing multiple processors that control multiple surfaces.

Ardunio Platform

Parallax BASIC Stamp chip:Overview of Basic Stamp UA

Parallax Propeller chip: AttoPilot, a powerful and inexpensive commercial autopilot

The ARM7 (using the Philips LCP214x chip) is the core of the open source Paparazzi project:

ARM7 on SparkFun development board:

777 faces the pilot

Yoke - Autopilot disconnect button

Hawk Missile Autopilot Hawk missile autopilot, Raytheon, 1960

operated elevators and rudder(ailerons were not connected as wing dihedral was counted upon to produce the necessary roll stability.) It permitted the aircraft to fly straight and level on a compass course without a pilot's attention, greatly reducing the pilot's workload. Lawrence Sperry (the son of famous inventor Elmer Sperry) demonstrated it two years later in 1914 at an aviation safety contest held in Paris. At the contest, Lawrence Sperry demonstrated the credibility of the invention were shown by flying the aircraft with his hands away from the controls and visible to onlookers of the contest. This autopilot system was also capable of performing take-off and landing, and the French military command showed immediate interest in the autopilot system. Wiley Post used a Sperry autopilot system to fly alone around the world in less than eight days in 1933. Further development of the autopilot were performed, such as improved control algorithms and hydraulic servomechanisms. Also, inclusion of additional

Lilienthal s Flyer Stable Flight

Wright Flyer Unstable Flight

A320 Flight Control Laws Improve the natural flying qualities, particularly the stability, control and flight envelope protection. Longitudinal Control Load factor demands Classical proportional plus integral control (control depends on error and its integral) 30 / 71 Lateral-directional Control Roll rate, sideslip and bank angle commands Classical proportional plus integral control with a gain matrix for stability and roll rate/sideslip decoupling