Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces

The new requirement of installing the flight stabilization system onboard the airplanes for performing the single-pilot flights in IFR rules was issued lately. It caused the necessity of developing such a system for small aircraft. The proposed system was developed using Model-Based Design then tune...

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Main Authors: Albert Zajdel, Mariusz Krawczyk, Cezary Szczepański
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-02-01
Series:Aerospace
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/9/2/111
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author Albert Zajdel
Mariusz Krawczyk
Cezary Szczepański
author_facet Albert Zajdel
Mariusz Krawczyk
Cezary Szczepański
author_sort Albert Zajdel
collection DOAJ
description The new requirement of installing the flight stabilization system onboard the airplanes for performing the single-pilot flights in IFR rules was issued lately. It caused the necessity of developing such a system for small aircraft. The proposed system was developed using Model-Based Design then tuned and tested in Model, Pilot and Hardware in the Loop Simulations. The paper presents the next advanced stage of testing—verification in simulation and ground tests on the PZL-130 Orlik airplane. The implementation of this system does not modify the pilot’s primary manual controls. The newly introduced electrical trim is used for automatic stabilization but can be used at manual trimming as it was previously, depending on the chosen operation mode. The ground tests were planned according to civil aviation authority and aviation law requirements. Chosen results from simulated flights were analyzed and presented, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed system. The dedicated application allowing the test engineer to change stabilization system parameters during the flight on a touchscreen tablet was developed and described. The outcome of the stabilization system test campaign was a verification of its performance before the flight tests. The comparison of simulated and real flight data will allow identifying model deficiencies and flight stabilization system efficiency, which makes possible improvements implementation. Additionally, it appeared to be the cost-effective and less electrical energy-consuming automatic flight stabilization system for small aircraft. Such features benefit initiatives like Future Sky, More Electric Aircraft and aircraft stabilization system retrofit.
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spelling doaj.art-c5b0c58b18df46eaa7742f41378a26532023-11-23T18:14:53ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102022-02-019211110.3390/aerospace9020111Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming SurfacesAlbert Zajdel0Mariusz Krawczyk1Cezary Szczepański2Łukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Aviation, Al. Krakowska 110/114, 02-256 Warszawa, PolandŁukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Aviation, Al. Krakowska 110/114, 02-256 Warszawa, PolandŁukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Aviation, Al. Krakowska 110/114, 02-256 Warszawa, PolandThe new requirement of installing the flight stabilization system onboard the airplanes for performing the single-pilot flights in IFR rules was issued lately. It caused the necessity of developing such a system for small aircraft. The proposed system was developed using Model-Based Design then tuned and tested in Model, Pilot and Hardware in the Loop Simulations. The paper presents the next advanced stage of testing—verification in simulation and ground tests on the PZL-130 Orlik airplane. The implementation of this system does not modify the pilot’s primary manual controls. The newly introduced electrical trim is used for automatic stabilization but can be used at manual trimming as it was previously, depending on the chosen operation mode. The ground tests were planned according to civil aviation authority and aviation law requirements. Chosen results from simulated flights were analyzed and presented, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed system. The dedicated application allowing the test engineer to change stabilization system parameters during the flight on a touchscreen tablet was developed and described. The outcome of the stabilization system test campaign was a verification of its performance before the flight tests. The comparison of simulated and real flight data will allow identifying model deficiencies and flight stabilization system efficiency, which makes possible improvements implementation. Additionally, it appeared to be the cost-effective and less electrical energy-consuming automatic flight stabilization system for small aircraft. Such features benefit initiatives like Future Sky, More Electric Aircraft and aircraft stabilization system retrofit.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/9/2/111flight stabilizationflight controlflight trimming systemsmall airplane avionics
spellingShingle Albert Zajdel
Mariusz Krawczyk
Cezary Szczepański
Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces
Aerospace
flight stabilization
flight control
flight trimming system
small airplane avionics
title Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces
title_full Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces
title_fullStr Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces
title_full_unstemmed Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces
title_short Pre-Flight Test Verification of Automatic Stabilization System Using Aircraft Trimming Surfaces
title_sort pre flight test verification of automatic stabilization system using aircraft trimming surfaces
topic flight stabilization
flight control
flight trimming system
small airplane avionics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/9/2/111
work_keys_str_mv AT albertzajdel preflighttestverificationofautomaticstabilizationsystemusingaircrafttrimmingsurfaces
AT mariuszkrawczyk preflighttestverificationofautomaticstabilizationsystemusingaircrafttrimmingsurfaces
AT cezaryszczepanski preflighttestverificationofautomaticstabilizationsystemusingaircrafttrimmingsurfaces