Fri, May 05, 2006
First Fully Electronic Helicopter Fly-By-Wire System
As part of its Helicopter Electro Actuation Technology (HEAT)
program for the U.K. Royal Navy’s EH101 Merlin helicopter
fleet, AgustaWestland has awarded a $32 million contract to BAE
Systems for the development of the digital flight control computer.
HEAT will be the first electromechanical fly-by-wire system
installed on a helicopter.
"The new state-of-the-art system will replace older, more
complex hydraulic systems," said Mike Austill, managing director of
Avionic Systems for BAE Systems. "This reduces pilot workload, cost
of ownership, maintenance, and weight while improving
survivability, safety, and aircraft handling and
agility."
The HEAT system -- designed in a joint effort by AgustaWestland,
BAE Systems, and Claverham -- will replace the existing
hydro-mechanical rotor control system on the EH101. It is comprised
of two dual-lane flight control computers that together provide
quadruple-redundant electronic control -- allowing the system to
function safely even if two of the systems were to fail.
The fly-by-wire controls initially will interface with the pilot
inceptors and actuators, and eventually will replace the existing
autostabilizer and autopilot functionality.
"We are pleased to partner with BAE Systems on this
groundbreaking technology, and we look forward to benefiting from
the company’s decades of fly-by-wire experience," said Martin
Fausset, programs director at AgustaWestland.
The system will expand the operational envelope of the aircraft
for U.K. Royal Navy ship operations in adverse weather. It also
will improve aircraft handling, enabling improved terrain following
and masking and increased agility on the battlefield. The very high
reliability and low power dissipation of the HEAT flight control
system will ensure the Merlin’s ability to operate for long
periods remote from landing bases.
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