The Syrian airfield prepare for reception of military aircraft of China
The latest news about fast emergence in borders of Syria of navy of China encouraged Syrians and res[...]
Fly-by-Wire and Fly-by-Light
 |
 |
The amount of mechanical equipment in an aircraft can be reduced by using a control system called fly-by-wire. Mechanical links between flight controls and hydraulics are replaced with electric wires. When the pilot moves the controls, electric impulses flow along the
|
О A U. S. Air Force technical sergeant performs an inspection on a flight control actuator in a fighter plane. |
wires to the airplane’s flight computers, which activate the hydraulic system.
An even more advanced control system is called fly-by-light. The control signals sent out from the cockpit to the various parts of the plane are not electrical impulses. Instead, they are pulses of light that travel along cables made of thin strands of glass called optical fibers. Glass normally breaks when someone tries to bend it, but optical fibers are so thin that they can even be tied in knots without breaking.
Another control system being developed is power-by-wire. A fly-by-wire system replaces mechanical links with electric wires, but the aircraft still needs
SPACE SYSTEMS
Manned spacecraft have used automatic control systems and fly-by-wire since manned spaceflight began in the 1960s. Early manned spacecraft were controlled automatically. They also had a manual fly-by-wire control system for use as a backup and for maneuvering operations in orbit. Today, the Space Shuttle’s automatic control system can fly the craft from launch to landing. The only part of a mission that must be flown manually by the crew is when the Space Shuttle docks with another spacecraft. The Space Shuttle’s fly-by-wire control system fires rocket thrusters in space and moves the control surfaces in its wings and tail when it is flying in the atmosphere.
a hydraulic system to power the actuators. A power-by-wire control system uses electric actuators that are powered by small electric motors. The goal is to produce an all-electric airplane without any hydraulics. By getting rid of the hydraulic equipment, an aircraft could be made much lighter. Making an aircraft lighter means that it would burn less fuel.
SEE ALSO:
• Aileron and Rudder • Avionics
• Cockpit • Tail