Tom Adams Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 From our company newsletter...... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLY-BY-WIRELESS AIRCRAFT CONTROL SYSTEM DEMONSTRATED: Gulfstream has successfully demonstrated aircraft control using "Fly-By-Wireless" technology. This historic flight, which took place on Sept. 18, is the first known application of wireless signaling for a primary flight-control surface in a civilian or military aircraft. During a two-hour flight over Savannah, four distinct signal types transferred input from the pilot to the lateral controls on the GV test aircraft. A mechanical system controlled the ailerons; a Fly-By-Wire system manipulated the outboard spoilers; the Fly-By-Wireless system handled the mid-spoilers; and a fiber-optic Fly-By-Light system moved the inboard spoilers. All four systems worked simultaneously during the flight. This allowed Gulfstream to compare the performance of the Fly-By-Wireless system to that offered by the three other control systems. Pilots noted consistent handling characteristics regardless of the actuation-control technology. "After developing the Fly-By-Wire system, the next goal for Gulfstream was to reduce the complexity and weight of that system without sacrificing safety or reliability," said Pres Henne, senior vice president, programs, engineering and test. "This Fly-By-Wireless flight proved we achieved that goal. There was no difference in signal quality or strength among Fly-By-Wireless, Fly-By-Light or Fly-By-Wire. That benefit, combined with the streamlined profile of Fly-By-Wireless, makes it a potential backup for other flight-control systems." The Fly-By-Wireless control system was developed by Gulfstream and Invocon, a systems-engineering firm near Houston. It offers an additional channel of communication for redundancy, which increases system safety. Gulfstream is reviewing the benefits of wireless technology for applications beyond backup flight control. This is the second time in 2008 that Gulfstream has successfully tested a new way of delivering input from the pilot to a flight-control surface. In March, the company tested a fiber-optic Fly-By-Light system during a 75-minute flight over Savannah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoreck Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 That's cool. Fly by light. hehe. Beam me up scotty...ohh wait, wrong thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I never thought that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Sounds like the wave of the future. Hope nobody or nothing inadvertently "jams" the signal.... some other aircraft with some weird radar.... How safe is the wireless signal from spurious RF interference; or is there a back-up system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 NTSB and FAA will never allow it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatgrass Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 No touch or visual pre-flight? Not quite checking the safety wire on the jesus nut. The fly by light is just an extension of fly by wire, which has been in military use for at twenty years. I would be uneasy. I don't know what the redundant system would be? Current linkages and hydraulics. But, there must be some interest or demand, or would they spend the money on development? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 NTSB and FAA will never allow it. These and other cool things we're developing are being done with the direct purpose of getting NTSB and FAA and JAA and other certification approvals. Believe me, we wouldn't be investing the moola just to develop non-useful technology. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Sounds like the wave of the future. Hope nobody or nothing inadvertently "jams" the signal.... some other aircraft with some weird radar.... How safe is the wireless signal from spurious RF interference; or is there a back-up system? There will be back-up (redundancy) I am sure just as there is with the current avionics system. Typically we have a triple redundancy system. As for RF, the aircraft's avionics goes through what we call HIRF (High Intensity Radiated Fields) testing and is designed to be sheilded from the effects of HIRF. This was started some years back when our aircraft were being routinely flown in and near certain countries in the middle east with the likelyhood of them being "lit-up" by ground based radar systems of the anti-aricraft variety (if ya know what I mean). To date, I've not heard of any systems failure due to HIRF. However......the aircraft has plenty of redundancy in both flight controls, avionics, etc. I hear they even carry a bucket in case the toilet fails. LOL....... Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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