Mechanical Flight Control System to Electrical Flight

Control System (Push Pull Rod to Fly By Wire)

Group Captain Debasish Biswas, Wing Commander Md Mahbubul Alam, Lec Richie Ranaisa Daru, Lec Tariqul Islam
FO Imtiaz(201522004), FO Sharna(201522007), Shafi-Al-Salman Romeo(201522040), Shariful Mamun(201522024), Sanower Hossen(201522028),
Raqibul Hassan(201522033), Rafi ur Rahman(201522044), Uday Mahbob(201522048), Tithi(201522055), Fatema Mim(201522057), Shakil
Mahmud(201422030), Anika Ghosh(201422041)

Aeronautical Engineering Department, Military Institute of Science & Technology, Mirpur Cantt, Dhaka-1216

Abstract— In past, the aircraft control systems were based on
conventional methods of mechanical and hydro-mechanical
system. The present generation aircraft are using fly-by-wire
(FBW) and in future likely to migrate to fly-by-light (FBL) method
for aircraft control system. Mechanical & Hydro-mechanical
flight control systems have been replaced by Electrical Flight
Control System basically Fly-By-Wire due to increasing speed of
modern aircraft. Due to inherent characteristics of FBL like light
weight, compact size, large bandwidth, immunity to EMI & HIRF
FBL, it is expected to be ideal futuristic flight control system. Fly-
by-Wire control systems offer inherent resistance to the new
generation more hostile military environments. The inherent
features are the motivator to achieve the technological advances
to make Fly-by-Wire systems a successful replacement aircraft
control system technology for future. The application of Fly-by-
Wire in aviation promises to be very exciting study, covering
highly complex aircraft stability and controls.
aircraft and are currently used in small aircraft where the
aerodynamic forces are not excessive. A fly-by-wire (FBW)
system replaces manual flight control of an aircraft with an
electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are
converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires (hence the
fly-by-wire term), and flight control computers determine how
to move the actuators at each control surface to provide the
expected response. Commands from the computers are also
input without the pilot's knowledge to stabilize the aircraft and
perform other tasks. Electronics for aircraft flight control
systems are part of the field known as avionics. [1]
II. FLIGHT CONTROLS
A. Airplane flight control surfaces, axes and controllers

Keywords—Mechanical flight control system, Hydro-mechanical Whenever an airplane changes its flight attitude or position
flight control system, Fly-By-Wire flight control system, Fly-By- in flight, it turns on one or more of its three axes, which are
Light flight control system. imaginary lines that pass through the airplane’s centre of
gravity. [2]

I. INTRODUCTION
A control system is a collection of mechanical and electronic
equipment that allows an aircraft to be flown with exceptional
precision and reliability. In flight, an aircraft and its operating
crew form a 'man-machine' system loop which, depending on
the size and type of aircraft, may be fairly simple or very
complex. The function of the crew within the loop is that of
controller, and the extent of the control function is governed by
the simplicity or otherwise of the aircraft as an integrated whole.
For example, in manually flying an aircraft, and manually
initiating adjustments to essential systems, the controller's
function is said to be a fully active one. If, on the other hand,
the flight of an aircraft and system's adjustments are automatic
in operation, then the controller's function becomes one of
monitoring, with the possibility of reverting to the active
function in the event of failure of systems. A conventional Fig 1: Airplane control surfaces
fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight
At the point where all three axes intersect, they are mutually
control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting
perpendicular. The axis that extends lengthwise through the
linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an
fuselage from the nose to the tail is called as longitudinal axis,
aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft engine controls are also
the axis which extends crosswise from wingtip to wingtip is
considered as flight controls as they change speed. Mechanical
known as lateral axis, and the third axis, is vertical axis passing
or manually operated flight control systems are the most basic
through the through the centre of gravity. [3]
method of controlling an aircraft. They were used in early
 IV. MECHANICAL FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

In this system, the control devices with the pilot are

connected directly to the control surfaces of the aircraft by a
system of rods, levers, cables and pulleys. [6]
The levels of stick and rudder-pedal forces to steer and
manoeuvring an aeroplane were constrained by the physical
capabilities of the pilot, which have not changed since the times
of Lilienthal and the Wright Brothers. [7] The aircraft in those
days usually possessed natural aerodynamic stability. Two
types of mechanical systems were employed: push-pull rods
and cable-pulley. It consists of a collection of mechanical parts
such as rods, tension cables, pulleys, counterweights,
sometimes chains to transmit the forces applied from the
cockpit controls directly to the control surfaces. [8][9]

Components Purpose
Cable To transmit the power
Cable connector To connect the cable
Turnbuckle To adjust the Cable length
Pulley To guide the in radial direction
Push pull rod To go for and aft as per requirement

Fig 2: Airplane controls, movement, axes of rotation, and type Control stick To make orders for the remaining circuit
of stability [4]

B. Flight controls in the cockpit

Cockpit controls consist of the control column or the control
yoke. The control column or control yoke is used for roll and
pitch of aircraft by movement of elevators and the other flight
components, which allows the plane to manoeuvre. The third
controller is rudder pedals which move the rudder left or right.
Finally, throttle controls are provided to control the engine's
power and give the aircraft thrust. [5]

Yoke Joystick Rudder Padel Flap Stick Brake Stick

Fig 3: A simplified Mechanical Flight Control system

III. TYPES OF FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM A. Push Pull Rods System

A. Mechanical • A rod or hollow tube in an aircraft control system that
moves control surface by either pushing it or pulling it
 Push Pull Rods System • The linkage from cabin to control surface can be fully
 Cables & Pulleys System mechanical if the aircraft size and its flight envelop allow
• In the first case a sequence of rods link the control
B. Hydraulic-Mechanical surface to the cabin input
C. Fly-by-wire • Bell-crank levers are used to change the direction of
the rod routings (necessary to alter the direction of the
D. Fly-by-light transmission and to obtain the conventional coupling between
stick movement and elevator deflection)

Fig 4: Push pull rod and Bell crank
Fig 5: Push pull rod system for aircraft control
From this simplified description the main requirements of a
push-pull rod system are clear. First of all the linkage must be
stiff, to avoid any unwanted deflection during flight and due to
fuselage elasticity. Second, axial instability during
compression must be excluded; the instability load P for a rod
is given by:
E = Young modulus;
I = cross-section moment of inertia;
λ = reference length. [8][9]
B. Cables & Pulleys System
• Vibrations of the rods can introduce oscillating
deflections of the surface. This problem is important on
helicopters, because vibrations generated by the main rotor can
induce severe vibrations of the flight control rods
• The same operation described can be done by a cable-
pulley system, where couples of cables are used in place of the
rods
• In this case pulleys are used to alter the direction of
the lines equipped with idlers to reduce any slack due to
structure elasticity, cable strands relaxation or thermal
expansion
• Often the cable-pulley solution is preferred, because it
is more flexible and allows reaching more remote areas of the
airplane
Fig 6: Cables and Pulleys systems for elevator control
Fig 7: Schematic Diagram of Mechanical Flight Control System
V. HYDRO-MECHANICAL CONTROL SYSTEM
The basic principle of the hydro-mechanical control is
simple, but two aspects must be noticed when a powered
control is introduced:
 The system must control the surface in a proportional
way, i.e. the surface response (deflection) must be
function to the pilot’s demand (stick deflection, for
instance) [5][10]
 The pilot that with little effort acts on a control valve
must have a feedback on the maneuver intensity
 The first problem is solved by using (hydraulic) servo-
mechanisms, where the components are linked in such
a way to introduce an actuator stroke proportional to
the pilot’s demand [5]
 The pilot, in normal hydraulic operating conditions, is
requested for a very low effort, necessary to contrast
the mechanical frictions of the linkage and the
movement of the control valve
 An artificial feel is introduced in powered systems,
acting directly on the cabin control stick or pedals
  The simplest solution is a spring system, then
responding to the pilot’s demand with a force
proportional to the stick deflection; this solution has
of course the limit to be not sensitive to the actual
flight conditions.
 A more sophisticated artificial feel is the so-called Q
feel. This system receives data from the pitot-static
probes, reading the dynamic pressure, or the
difference between total (pt) and static (ps) pressure,
that is proportional to the aircraft speed v through the
air density ρ
[3]
 This signal is used to modulate a hydraulic cylinder
that increases the stiffness in the artificial feel system,
in such a way that the pilot is given a contrast force in
the pedals or stick that is also proportional to the
aircraft speed
Fig 8: Basic Hydo-Mechanical Flight Control System
VI. FLY-BY-WIRE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM
In the 70’s the fly-by-wire architecture was developed, starting
as an analogue technique and later on, in most cases,
transformed into digital. It was first developed for military
aviation, where it is now a common solution. The supersonic
Concorde can be considered a first and isolated civil aircraft
equipped with a (analogue) fly-by-wire system. In the 80’s the
digital technique was imported from military into civil aviation
by Airbus, first with the A320, then followed by A319, A321,
A330, A340, Boeing 777 and A380. This architecture is based
on computer signal processing. The term "fly-by-wire" implies
a purely electrically-signalled control system. It is a computer-
configured controls, where a computer system is interposed
between the operator and the final control actuators or surfaces.
It modifies the manual inputs of the pilot in accordance with
control parameters. [11] It can be-
• Analoge FBW system
• Digital FBW system
Fig 9: Fly By Wire control system
A. Principle of operation
• The pilot’s demand is first of all transduced into
electrical signal in the cabin and sent to a group of independent
computers
• The computers sample also data concerning the flight
conditions and actuators positions
• The pilot’s demand is then processed and sent to the
actuator, properly tailored to the actual flight status
• The flight data used by the system mainly are
o pitch, roll, yaw rate
o Angle of attack
o Airspeed/Mach number, Pressure, Altitude
and radio altimeter indications
o Stick and pedal demands
o Other cabin commands such as landing gear
condition [13]
• When a pilot moves the control, a signal is sent to a
computer, the signal is sent through multiple wires (channels)
to ensure that the signal reaches the computer
• When there are three channels being used this is
known as 'Triplex'.
• The computer receives the signals, performs a
calculation (adds the signal voltages and divides by the number
of signals received to find the mean average voltage) and adds
another channel
• These four 'Quadruplex' signals are then sent to the
control surface actuator and the surface begins to move.
• Potentiometers in the actuator send a signal back to the
computer (usually a negative voltage) reporting the position of
the actuator
 • When the actuator reaches the desired position the two
signals (incoming and outgoing) cancel each other out and the
actuator stops moving (completing a feedback loop).
Fig 9: Basic elements of Fly by Wire
Fig 10: Fly By Wire flight control system [13]
B. FBW-Stability
• Three gyroscopes fitted with sensors are fitted in the
aircraft to sense movement changes in the pitch, roll and yaw
axes.
• Any movement (from straight and level flight for
example) results in signals being sent to the computer which
again moves the relevant control actuators, however, the input
is done without the pilot's knowledge; the cockpit controls do
not move
C. FBW- Safety and Redundancy
• Aircraft systems may be quadruplexed (four
independent channels) in order to prevent loss of signals in the
case of failure of one or even two channels.
• High performance aircraft that have FBW controls
(also called CCVs or Control-Configured Vehicles) may be
deliberately designed to have low or even negative
aerodynamic stability in some flight regimes, the rapid-reacting
CCV controls compensating for the lack of natural stability
• Pre-flight safety checks of a fly-by-wire system are
often performed using Built-In Test Equipment (BITE).
• On programming the system, either by the pilot or
ground crew, a number of control movement steps are
automatically performed.
• Any failure will be indicated to the crews [13]
D. Digital fly-by-wire flight control system
• A digital fly-by-wire flight control system is similar to
analog system. However, the signal processing is done by
digital computers and the pilot literally can "fly-via-computer".
• Increases in flexibility of the flight control system,
since the digital computers can receive input from any aircraft
sensor (such as the altimeters and the pitot tubes).
• Increase in electronic stability - system is less
dependent on the values of critical electrical components in an
analog controller
• The computers "read" position and force inputs from
the pilot's controls and aircraft sensors.
• They solve differential equations to determine the
appropriate command signals that move the flight controls in
order to carry out the intentions of the pilot
• The programming of the digital computers enable
flight envelope protection.
• Flight-control computers continuously "fly" the
aircraft, pilot's workloads can be reduced
• Better maneuverability during combat and training
flights and "carefree handling" because stalling, spinning. and
other undesirable performances are prevented automatically by
the computers
• Enable inherently unstable combat aircraft, such as the
F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit flying wing to fly in usable
and safe manners [20]
Fig 11: Digital Electronics Flight Control System
 E. DFBW- Redundancy
• If one of the flight-control computers crashes - or is
damaged in combat; or suffers from "insanity" caused by
electromagnetic pulses - the others overrule the faulty one (or
even two of them), they continue flying the aircraft safely, and
they can either turn off or re-boot the faulty computers.
• Any flight-control computer whose results disagree
with the others is ruled to be faulty, and it is either ignored or
re-booted.
• Most of the early digital fly-by-wire aircraft also had
an analog electrical, a mechanical, or a hydraulic back-up flight
control system
• The Space Shuttle has, in addition to its redundant set
of four digital computers running its primary flight-control
software, a fifth back-up computer running a separately
developed, reduced-function, software flight-control system -
one that can be commanded to take over in the event that a fault
ever affects all of the computers in the other four.
• This back-up system serves to reduce the risk of total
flight-control-system failure ever happening because of a
general-purpose flight software fault has escaped notice in the
other four computers.
• For airliners, flight-control redundancy improves their
safety
• Fly-by-wire control systems also improve economy in
flight because they are lighter, and they eliminate the need for
many mechanical, and heavy, flight-control mechanisms
• Most modern airliners have computerized systems that
control their jet engine throttles, air inlets, fuel storage and
distribution system, in such a way to minimize their
consumption of jet fuel. Thus, digital control systems do their
best to reduce the cost of flights. [3][13]
VII. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
A. Mechanical Control Systems
• The complexity and weight of mechanical flight
control systems increase considerably with the size and
performance of the aircraft. Hydraulically powered control
surfaces help to overcome these limitations.
B. FBW Control Systems
• A FBW aircraft can be lighter than a similar design
with conventional controls due to the lower overall weight of
the system components
• Electronic fly-by-wire systems can respond flexibly to
changing aerodynamic conditions
• Electronic systems require less maintenance, whereas
mechanical systems require lubrication, tension adjustments,
leak checks, fluid changes
• While traditional mechanical or hydraulic control
systems usually fail gradually most fly-by-wire systems
incorporate either redundant computers (triplex, quadruplex
etc.), some kind of mechanical or hydraulic backup or a
combination of both
• Modern FBW aircraft normally avoid it by having
more independent FBW channels reducing the possibility of
overall failure to minuscule levels. [5]
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
In the new civil aircrafts, mechanical and hydraulic flight
control systems are being replaced by electrically powered
controls. The main interests are a better flexibility and a
decrease in maintenance costs. Though the electrical wiring
will replace the hydraulic tubing, it is essential to limit as much
as possible the amount of electrical wiring. In order to decrease
the total wires length, it is proposed to use power line
communications and Fly-By-Wire. Sophisticated control
configurations are needed to meet the mission and pilotage
requirements for advanced aircraft. The required vehicle
performance during low altitude, low speed and high angle of
attack flight, all-weather, day and night operations must be
achieved, and new control technologies should be developed.
However, Fly-by-wire flight control has enabled a watershed
improvement in aircraft performance and control to be achieved.
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[3] www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,
Volume 3, Issue 12, December 2013)
[4] http://www.free-online- private pilot ground school. Com /Flight_cont-
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[5] http://www.helium.com/items/1326346-aircraft-flight-control-systems
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[9] 06w-FligCont.pdf
[10] Kundu. Aircraft Design.
[11] Christopher Edwards, Thomas Lombaerts, Hafid Smaili. Fault Tolerant
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[14] mkeagy 330 .wikidot.com/blog.aviation-research
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[16] Design methodologies for space transportation systems
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