Please see my experimental Digital Fly By Wire airplane
Phoenix 2000
IS THIS A SIM?
N0This is not a game (it could be adapted easily)
This is the cockpit of my experimental airplane.
We are using real flight control computers. I.E. every thing in the cockpit is a copy of the real thing. And it works!
YES
If this where Boeing or Grumman it would be called a fixed based cockpit. This intern would be connected to what we call an iron maiden, which is a structure to hold and test all of the actuators and linkages.
My iron maiden is not iron (2x4, plywood & uni-strut) and it can only hold one actuator at a time. It was really fun trying to test the landing gear & the doors..
This whole thing is called closed-loop simulation.
It goes something like this:
(Right Click on image to view it)
- Pick some point in space: LAT, LON.
- pick an aircraft attitude: PITCH, ROLL, YAW, ALT.
- Start both SIM & Flight Computer at that place
- Display out the window with FS and the Flight Computer Instructs Gauges etc.
- Pilot generates inputs (Stick, Rudder, Throtle, Flaps, Gear, etc.) to the Flight Computer and FADEC or Full Authority Digital Engine Control; The Flight Computer and FADEC outputs to Gauges, Engines, Iron Maiden (opt).
- Flight Sim takes all the outputs from Flight Computer and the FADEC; and Moves Gyro Table (this device simulates by accelerations vectors what the plane is doing in real time.)
Also note that the Gyro Table is a major input to the Flight Computer, it is the only thing that tell the planes Flight Computer what the planes attitude is. It is also output to the ADI.
- until out of gas, crash, etc.
- Go Back to #4, Display, again, again, again, again, etc.
We are using a software flight sim to fool our flight data computers or FDC.
The FDC is a group of three (3) SPARC engines, a VME based computer, in a redundant configuration, for flight control.
There are also 2 engine computers (based on a FORD module) for the fuel injected engines.
We have designed an built or own FADEC, Full-Authority Digital Engine Control units for our engines. Each unit can control one engine normally but incase of a failure one unit can control both engines.
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