TABLE OF CONTENTS [1]Actuation systems are a vital link in the flight control system, providing the motive force necessary to move flight control surfaces. Whether it is a primary flight control, such as an elevator, rudder, taileron, spoiler or foreplane, or a secondary flight control, such as a leading edge slat, trailing edge flap, air intake or airbrake, some means of moving the surface is necessary. Performance of the actuator can have a significant influence on overall aircraft performance and the implications of actuator performance on aircraft control at all operating conditions must be considered during flight-control system design and development programmes. Overall aircraft performance requirements will dictate actuator performance requirements, which can lead to difficult design, control and manufacturing problems in their own right.
In this chapter an overview of current actuation system technologies as applied to modern combat aircraft is presented, and their performance and control requirements are discussed. The implications for aircraft control are considered and an overview of selected modelling and analysis methods is presented.
[1](c) 1999 British Aerospace PLC. Reproduced with permission.
Aircraft have a number of different flying control surfaces. Some are for primary flight control (control of roll, pitch and yaw manoeuvring and stabilisation) and others are secondary controls (high-lift or lift-dump devices, for example). The type and use of a control surface has a significant impact on the requirements for the actuation system for that surface, in particular the...
