Tag: control (Page 3 of 9)

Garmin Gets EASA Approval for GFC 600H Flight Control System on AS350 Helicopters

June 16, 2022 / WIL BALDWIN

OLATHE, Kansas – June 16, 2022 — Garmin^® International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN), is pleased to announce European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval of the GFC™ 600H for AS350 helicopters, providing a cost-effective flight control solution that reduces pilot workload and improves mission effectiveness. The GFC 600H provides a number of helicopter-tailored safety features, including attitude hold with speed stability, the innovative hover assist mode, Garmin Helicopter Electronic Stability and Protection (H-ESP^™), dedicated return-to-level (LVL) mode, as well as overspeed and low-speed protection, and more.

The GFC 600H features a console-mounted mode controller with push-button controls and a night vision goggle (NVG) compatible display. Its robust architecture allows for both 2-axis and 3-axis configurations to provide the features and handling characteristics needed for a helicopter. Integrated smart servos provide pitch and roll inputs as commanded by the system. The collective sensor and the optionally available third servo provide yaw axis control capability to provide smooth flight control adjustments when the pilot moves the collective. Digitally controlled, high-performance servos allow for faster, crisper, more powerful response, which enables the GFC 600H to perform with smooth efficiency and advanced capability.

Thanks to the innovative hover assist mode, the system can also automatically detect a hover condition and allows for flight control inputs to help maintain position over the ground. In addition, when equipped with the optional yaw axis control, the GFC 600H can hold heading in hover. GFC 600H is well integrated with the G500H TXi flight displays and GTN or GTN Xi navigators, using navigation information to automatically fly approaches, enroute navigation, fully coupled missed approach procedures including holds, as well as search and rescue patterns¹.

The advanced attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) technology combined with redundant, cross-checking sensors of the GFC 600H support smooth handling throughout the flight envelope. Further, attitude-hold mode reduces pilot workload by maintaining a specified altitude, while also providing inputs to help stabilize the helicopter when hand-flying. Designed with the pilot in mind, the GFC 600H incorporates cyclic-mounted trim controls to allow for seamless control of the system without taking a hand off of the flight controls during basic operations. Additional modes include altitude hold, altitude select, vertical speed, indicated airspeed and heading select.

The GFC 600H offers tremendous safety tools including overspeed protection and low-speed protection as well as Garmin H-ESP to help the pilot remain within a safe flight envelope when hand-flying the helicopter. H-ESP works in all modes – even when the system is not engaged – and can be manually disabled to allow for maneuvering flight. A dedicated LVL button is included on the GFC 600H and can be engaged by the pilot to return to straight-and-level flight, helping to avoid potential disorientation in degraded visual environments (DVE), such as inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC). Garmin has also implemented additional GFC 600H pilot training and supporting materials to allow for updated pilot licensing as required by the EASA certification.

Air Force Awards Boeing 5-year Contract for Continued Aircraft Guidance and Navigation Repair

February 9, 2022 / WIL BALDWIN

HEATH, Ohio, Feb. 8, 2021 — Boeing (NYSE: BA) will continue to provide the U.S. Air Force with guidance and navigation repair work on a variety of aircraft under a 5-year, $91 million sole-source contract.

The company has serviced components for aircraft including the B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress, E-3 Sentry and F-15 Eagle at the Boeing Guidance Repair Center in Heath, Ohio, since 1996.

The Boeing Guidance Repair Center is responsible for maintaining the readiness and modernization of guidance and navigation systems for U.S. nuclear-capable platforms, as well as non-nuclear capable guidance and control systems, electronics and radio frequency systems, and platform processors. In addition, the center is home to assembly, integration and test activities for several Boeing production programs, including the KC-46 tanker, T-7A Red Hawk and the MQ-25 unmanned aircraft system.

Bavaria Orders 8 Five-Bladed Airbus H145 Helicopters for Police Force

December 16, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Donauwörth, Germany December 2021 – The Ministry of Interior of Bavaria has ordered eight five-bladed Airbus (OTC: EADSY) H145 helicopter’s for its police force, following a European tender launched earlier this year. The aircraft will replace the state’s current H135 fleet and will be operated by the two bases of the Bavarian helicopters squadron at the airport in Munich and in Roth, close to Nuremberg. The first delivery is planned for 2023.

The new version of Airbus’ best-selling H145 light twin-engine helicopter was unveiled at Heli-Expo 2019 in Atlanta. This latest upgrade adds a new, innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission H145, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150 kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design will also ease maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability and reliability of the H145, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew.

In total, there are more than 1,500 H145 family helicopters in service, logging a total of more than six million flight hours. Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance 4-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class.

Airbus and Northrop Grumman Team Up to shape NATO Future Surveillance and Control

November 8, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Munich, Germany / Falls Church, Virginia, 8 November 2021 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and Airbus (OTC: EADSY) Defense and Space, together with seven industrial players, have established ASPAARO, the Atlantic Strategic Partnership for Advanced All-domain Resilient Operations. ASPAARO will bid to undertake the Risk Reduction and Feasibility Studies (RRFS) for the NATO Support and Procurement Agency as part of the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC) program.

The feasibility studies are a key milestone in the AFSC programme which aims to support NATO and NATO nations as they consider the Alliance’s future tactical surveillance, command and control capabilities after the current Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet reaches the end of its service life in 2035.

Following the delivery of a High-level Technical Concept in 2020 by three of the team members (Airbus, Lockheed Martin and MDA Ltd.), Airbus continues to support NATO in the concept stage of the AFSC programme together with Northrop Grumman and a strong transatlantic team including Lockheed Martin (US), BAE Systems (UK), KONGSBERG (Norway), MDA (Canada), GMV (Spain), Exence (Poland) and IBM (US).

ASPAARO offers an unparalleled set of skills and capabilities that will address the threats of today and tomorrow and will fulfil the Alliance’s requirements across all domains. The industry team will leverage its multi-domain concepts, advanced technologies and integrated designs to pave the way to a fully interoperable architecture between NATO nations while further driving innovation through combined access, investments and experience.

Northrop Grumman President of Aeronautics Systems Tom Jones emphasized ASPAARO’s focus on the NATO customer’s mission requirements. “ASPAARO brings together the best industrial capabilities across the NATO community to address increasingly vital surveillance and command and control needs. In a rapidly evolving threat environment NATO needs the strategic advantage that advanced surveillance and control provides; ASPAARO is committed to delivering those unmatched capabilities to the NATO AFSC programme.”

A decision on the contract award for the Risk Reduction and Feasibility Studies for NATO AFSC is expected in 2022.

Alstom to Provide Additional 64 Commuter Trains to Hamburg, Germany

September 12, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom and S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH have signed a contract for the delivery of an additional 64 Class 490 S-Bahn trains. The order is an option from a framework contract signed in 2013 and is valued at around 500 million euro.

As with the previous trains, passengers will enjoy the proven amenities of these three-car electric multiple units, but with the addition of some new improvements to better meet the needs of Hamburg’s passengers. For example, the new S-Bahn train’s middle cars will feature a multipurpose area with room for bicycles, luggage, and dedicated spaces to accommodate passengers with limited mobility.

However, the train’s most significant innovation will be invisible to passengers. For the first time in Germany, S-Bahn trains will be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS) Baseline 3 Release 2 and automated train operation (ATO) technology. Together, these technologies will ensure denser and more frequent service and enable Hamburg to provide more fluid transport while increasing the overall number of train journeys. In addition, the flexibility of Hamburg’s new S-Bahn trains means that they will couple with the 82 Class 490 S-Bahn trains already in service.

Photo of main Hamberg train station from author’s visit in 2016.

This order marks Germany’s first implementation of ATO in automation level 2 (GoA 2) for new S-Bahn vehicles. In addition, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH will receive vehicles that already comply with the latest state-of-the-art signalling technology. The trains will be delivered with Alstom’s intelligent onboard technology for ETCS, with integrated ATO software that meets the high demands of future digital rail operations in terms of performance, availability, and automation.

Initially, Alstom will manufacture three vehicles that will undergo extensive testing and inspection, in particular for approval of their ETCS and ATO functionalities. Vehicle deliveries to Hamburg are scheduled for 2025 and 2026.

Among others, Alstom’s sites in Hennigsdorf, Bautzen (production), Berlin (signalling), Braunschweig, Siegen and Mannheim, Germany, will be involved in the production of the new S-Bahn trains. This is in addition to sites in Charleroi, Belgium (ETCS), Wroclaw, Poland, Västeras, Sweden and Vadodara, India, which will also participate in production.

In Germany, Alstom offers innovative solutions for sustainable mobility and is one of the leading suppliers of railway technology with metros, suburban trains, trams, regional trains, locomotives and signalling solutions. Our trains travel from Schleswig-Holstein to Bavaria. More than 70% of high-speed trains running in Germany are equipped with Alstom’s ETCS signalling solutions. In Lower Saxony, Alstom is building the world’s first fuel cell-powered, completely emission-free Cordia iLint regional train in series production. Alstom is Germany’s only manufacturer of infrastructure, signalling and digital mobility solutions to provide maintenance, service and modernisation of all mass transit trains for all manufacturers’ series, as well as information systems.

Saab Digital Towers Selected by Belgium

September 1, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

The agreement calls for a phased introduction of Saab (OTC: SAABF) Digital Towers for up to six airports and three centres in Belgium. The framework agreement has a fixed part and a conditional part for a total value of just over 48 million Euro, spread over 18 years. The first phase will cover the airports of Liege and Charleroi and a centre in Namur. Delivery to skeyes will start in 2022, with initial operations to be started in 2024. Aviation is an integrated part of the infrastructure in Belgium, and the Digital Tower programme is a forward looking and innovative way of providing a sustainable service for many years to come, as well as a potential role model for Europe.

SDATS’s digital air traffic control solution is a breakthrough in air traffic control and was introduced during 2015 in Sweden, and has been followed up by others including at Cranfield, London City Airport, in Stockholm with a new Digital Tower centre, and later in 2022 by a Digital Tower centre at Schiphol.

skeyes is a leading and an innovating Air Navigation Service Provider. Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions AB was formed 2016 as a joint venture between Saab and the Swedish Air Navigation Service Provider (LFV). By combining LFV’s unique operational experience with Saab’s world-class technical solutions, Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions can manage the entire process from planning and implementation to the administration of air traffic control services. As a provider of both the technology and air traffic control services, the company offers new and sophisticated digital services to airports in Sweden and abroad.

U.S. Navy and Boeing Score Another MQ-25 First with E-2D Refueling

August 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

The U.S. Navy and Boeing [NYSE: BA] have completed a second carrier-based aircraft unmanned refueling mission with the Boeing-owned MQ-25^TM T1 test asset, this time refueling a Navy E-2D Hawkeye command and control aircraft.

During a test flight from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport on Aug. 18, pilots from the Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-20 conducted a successful wake survey behind MQ-25 T1 to ensure performance and stability before making contact with T1’s aerial refueling drogue. The E-2D received fuel from T1’s aerial refueling store during the flight.

The MQ-25 Stingray^TM will be assigned to the carrier airborne early warning squadron within the carrier air wing, which currently operates the E-2 C/D aircraft – known as the “digital quarterback” of the fleet for its role in joint battle management and command and control.

This is the second aerial refueling mission the MQ-25 team has conducted this summer. On June 4, the MQ-25 T1 test asset became the first unmanned aircraft to refuel another aircraft, a U.S. Navy Super Hornet. Both flights were conducted at operationally relevant speeds and altitudes, with the E-2D and F/A-18 performing maneuvers in close proximity to T1.

Boeing is currently manufacturing the first two of seven MQ-25 test aircraft and two ground test articles currently under contract. The Boeing-owned MQ-25 T1 test asset is a predecessor to these aircraft. The MQ-25 is leveraging advancements in model-based digital engineering and design, and ongoing flights are intended to test aircraft design and performance much earlier than traditional programs.

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As the top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.

MQ-25 and Stingray are trademarks of the Department of the Navy.

Alstom Leads Way for Automated Train Operation in Stuttgart Network

July 6, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom (OTC: ALSMY) has signed a contract with Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg State Institute for Rail Vehicles (SFBW) to retrofit 118 regional trains with the European Train Control System (ETCS) Automatic Train Operation (ATO) digital signalling technology. Part of the Stuttgart Digital Node lighthouse project, the contract is valued at approximately 130 million euro¹ and includes an innovation cooperation agreement software maintenance contract and a contract for further maintenance.

In addition to the recently announced S-Bahn project, the new retrofit project covers 118 trains that SFBW operates on the high-traffic Stuttgart network. The trains come from several different suppliers and will be upgraded with the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 and 3 as well as Automatic Train Operation (ATO) level 2 (GoA2) technology. The initial upgrade project will be completed by 2024 and the subsequent upgrade, according to the European Technical Specifications for Interoperability 2022, will be completed by 2027.

While ATO technology has already been implemented in metros and urban rail lines in cities like Paris, the highly automated operation (GoA 2) is now being used for the first time in Germany on the basis of ETCS Level 2 in the Stuttgart Digital Node. When completed in 2024, the new signalling technology will increase capacity and frequency on the Stuttgart network while also making the trains performance more sustainable.

As part of the agreed innovation cooperation, Alstom and SFBW will also define the requirements for Train Integrity Monitoring (TIM), Future Railway Mobile Communication System upgrade capability, Train Capability and for Open CCS On-board Reference Architecture (OCORA). The implementation of the developed requirements by Alstom is part of the contract, as is the software maintenance of the regional trains.

The project is being carried out by the Alstom signalling site in Berlin, Germany, in close cooperation with the ETCS competence center in Charleroi, Belgium. Other locations involved in the various project phases are Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Mannheim and Hennigsdorf in Germany as well as Bangalore, India, Bucharest, Romania and Lyon-Villeurbanne, France. The series installation will take place close to Stuttgart or in Hennigsdorf.

Stadler and Siemens Mobility Win Contract to Modernize and Upgrade Lisbon Metro

May 11, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

The consortium of Stadler and Siemens Mobility have won a €114.5 million contract to provide the Lisbon Metro with a state of the art signaling system and a new fleet of modern trains. Stadler will supply 14 three-car metro trains, while Siemens Mobility will install its Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system Trainguard MT on the Blue, Yellow and Green lines, and will upgrade the existing equipment. This will include installing its on-board CBTC technology across 70 trains of the existing fleet, as well as on the 14 new Stadler trains.

The contract includes technical training for operation and maintenance, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance of all equipment for the first three years, and the supply of spares and consumables for preventive maintenance for a further two years. The supply period agreed is 77 months, with provisional acceptance planned for 2027.

Stadler will design the vehicles using a modular methodology to better facilitate maintenance. Its stainless- steel car body ensures the vehicles are lightweight and strong. Three double doors per side and carriage will enable passengers to get on and off quickly and easily.

The 14 three-car trains will initially be fitted with CBTC GoA2 but will have the ability to be upgraded to GoA4, so the service can be fully automated in future. Trains will be powered by third rail at 750 V. The 49.6m long and 2.78m wide vehicles will have 90 seats arranged longitudinally, two places for wheelchair users, and

standing capacity for 450 people (6p/m2). The new rolling stock will increase comfort and accessibility for passengers, as well as provide enhanced communications, safety, and video surveillance systems.

Siemens Mobility CBTC signaling technology provides real-time data on vehicle position and speed conditions operating in moving block principle, allowing system operators to safely increase the number of vehicles on a rail line. This results in greater frequency of train arrivals and allows more passengers to be accommodated on the system. This is the most extensively deployed automatic train control system in the world and is currently being used in Singapore, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, and China.

Airbus Fly-By-Wire Visionary Bernard Ziegler Passes Away

May 5, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Toulouse, France 5 May 2021 – Airbus (OTC: EADSY) is saddened to learn of the passing of Bernard Ziegler, at the age of 88. Ziegler, one of Airbus’ engineering pioneers, was instrumental in the introduction of the world’s first digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) and side stick controls in a commercial passenger aircraft with the A320 in 1988.

Ziegler’s career spanned some four decades. He realised the full potential that digital FBW could bring, including flight envelope protection incorporated into the control software. Ziegler’s legacy lives on with digital FBW on all current generation Airbus aircraft, and its adoption as the standard on all modern passenger aircraft globally.

Born in 1933, in Boulogne sur Seine, Ziegler graduated from the French “Ecole Polytechnique” in 1954 and, later, from several engineering and flight training schools (Ecole Nationale de l’Air, Ecole de Chasse, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique, Ecole du Personnel Navigant Essais). For ten years, he was a fighter pilot in the French Air Force.

During the early 1960s he studied aeronautical engineering at ENSA (l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique) in Toulouse, which is now ISAE-SUPAERO. He then attended prestigious flight test pilot school EPNER, before taking up a career as a military test pilot.

Ziegler joined Airbus as its chief test pilot in 1972 and was given the task of setting up a new flight test division. He put together a team that shared the objectives of both the design office and the partner countries, fostering collaboration between flight test crews and design engineers.

As a test pilot, he flew the first flight of the first A300 in 1972. The programme was later on an early testbed for FBW which transfers the pilot’s commands to the aircraft via digital signals. FBW provides significant benefits through commonality, improved flight safety, reduced pilot workload, fewer mechanical parts, and real-time monitoring of all aircraft systems.

He also flew the A310, A320 and A340-200. In June 1993, Ziegler participated in the longest flight ever undertaken by a civil aircraft, when an A340-200, dubbed the “World Ranger”, flew around the world from Paris with just one stop in Auckland in just over 48 hours.

Up until his retirement in December 1997, Ziegler was Airbus Senior Vice President of Engineering.

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