An exploration of the Airbus fly-by-wire flight control laws that become active when Normal law can no longer function. A follow on to Airbus A330 Normal Law.

This book summarizes the main achievements of the EC funded 6th Framework Program project COFCLUO – Clearance of Flight Control Laws Using Optimization. This project successfully contributed to the achievement of a top-level objective to meet society’s needs for a more efficient, safer and environmentally friendly air transport by providing new techniques and tools for the clearance of flight control laws. This is an important part of the certification and qualification process of an aircraft – a costly and time-consuming process for the aeronautical industry. The overall objective of the COFCLUO project was to develop and apply optimization techniques to the clearance of flight control laws in order to improve efficiency and reliability. In the book, the new techniques are explained and benchmarked against traditional techniques currently used by the industry. The new techniques build on mathematical criteria derived from the certification and qualification requirements together with suitable models of the aircraft. The development of these criteria and models are also presented in the book. Because of wider applicability, the optimization-based clearance of flight control laws will open up the possibility to design innovative aircraft that today are out of the scope using classical clearance tools. Optimization-based clearance will not only increase safety but it will also simplify the whole certification and qualification process, thus significantly reduce cost. The achieved speedup will also support rapid modeling and prototyping and reduce “time to market”.

The #1 guide to understanding the "why and how" of fly-by-wire flight control systems. This book is an approachable and easily understandable must-read for aviation professionals! Why don't new aircraft designs allow the pilots a mechanical control connection? This book explains how fly-by-wire fixes the top 5 problems with mechanical controls for high performance aircraft. Rather than describe a particular aircraft’s design with confusing acronyms, readers will get a "behind the scenes" understanding for the critical concepts that apply to any modern aircraft. Because these design principles are easily described and understood, readers of this book will be armed with knowledge as they approach their flight manual procedures. Including: - Problems with mechanical flight controls - Advantages of fly-by-wire - How and why can fly-by-wire control systems fail? - Why are four computers better than one or two? - Explanations of the control laws used by business jets, fighters, and airliners - What sensors are needed, and how the system maintains control when sensors are lost - Design considerations for risk mitigation in case of component failures Buy this book to read on your next layover!

The most comprehensive coverage to date of Air France 447, an Airbus A330 that crashed in the ocean north of Brazil on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 persons on board. Written by A330 Captain, Bill Palmer, this book opens to understanding the actions of the crew, how they failed to understand and control the problem, and how the airplane works and the part it played. All in easy to understand terms. Addressed are the many contributing aspects of weather, human factors, and airplane system operation and design that the crew could not recover from. How each contributed is covered in detail along with what has been done, and needs to be done in the future to prevent this from happening again. Also see the book's companion website: UnderstandingAF447.com

In this book recent results of the GARTEUR (Group for Aeronautical Research and Technology in Europe) Action Group FM (AG11) are presented. The book focuses on analysis techniques for the flight clearance of highly augmented aircrafts, including contributions of 20 European aeronautical organisations such as National Research Centers, Aerospace Industries and Universities. The tasks and requirements of the Industrial Clearance Process for Flight Control Laws are presented as well as classical and particularly new analysis methods. The different methods are evaluated and compared and their potential application to Civil Aircraft is demonstrated.

Written by leading experts in the field, this book provides the state-of-the-art in terms of fault tolerant control applicable to civil aircraft. The book consists of five parts and includes online material.

If you have ever wondered what goes through a pilot’s mind as a flight takes a turn for the dangerous, what impact turbulence actually has on flight safety, or even just how the wonders of aeronautics work to keep passengers safe day in and out, Plane Crash will both fascinate and educate.

This book provides a single comprehensive resource that reviews many of the current aircraft flight control programmes from the perspective of experienced practitioners directly involved in the projects. Each chapter discusses a specific aircraft flight programme covering the control system design considerations, control law architecture, simulation and analysis, flight test optimization and handling qualities evaluations. The programmes described have widely exploited modern interdisciplinary tools and techniques and the discussions include extensive flight test results. Many important `lessons learned' are included from the experience gained when design methods and requirements were tested and optimized in actual flight demonstration.

Practical Human Factors for Pilots bridges the divide between human factors research and one of the key industries that this research is meant to benefit—civil aviation. Human factors are now recognized as being at the core of aviation safety and the training syllabus that flight crew trainees have to follow reflects that. This book will help student pilots pass exams in human performance and limitations, successfully undergo multi-crew cooperation training and crew resource management (CRM) training, and prepare them for assessment in non-technical skills during operator and license proficiency checks in the simulator, and during line checks when operating flights. Each chapter begins with an explanation of the relevant science behind that particular subject, along with mini-case studies that demonstrate its relevance to commercial flight operations. Of particular focus are practical tools and techniques that students can learn in order to improve their performance as well as "training tips" for the instructor. - Provides practical, evidence-based guidance on issues often at the root of aircraft accidents - Uses international regulatory material - Includes concepts and theories that have practical relevance to flight operations - Covers relevant topics in a step-by-step manner, describing how they apply to flight operations - Demonstrates how human decision-making has been implicated in air accidents and equips the reader with tools to mitigate these risks - Gives instructors a reliable knowledge base on which to design and deliver effective training - Summarizes the current state of human factors, training, and assessment

QF32 is the award winning bestseller from Richard de Crespigny, author of the forthcoming Fly!: Life Lessons from the Cockpit of QF32 On 4 November 2010, a flight from Singapore to Sydney came within a knife edge of being one of the world's worst air disasters. Shortly after leaving Changi Airport, an explosion shattered Engine 2 of Qantas flight QF32 - an Airbus A380, the largest and most advanced passenger plane ever built. Hundreds of pieces of shrapnel ripped through the wing and fuselage, creating chaos as vital flight systems and back-ups were destroyed or degraded. In other hands, the plane might have been lost with all 469 people on board, but a supremely experienced flight crew, led by Captain Richard de Crespigny, managed to land the crippled aircraft and safely disembark the passengers after hours of nerve-racking effort. Tracing Richard's life and career up until that fateful flight, QF32 shows exactly what goes into the making of a top-level airline pilot, and the extraordinary skills and training needed to keep us safe in the air. Fascinating in its detail and vividly compelling in its narrative, QF32 is the riveting, blow-by-blow story of just what happens when things go badly wrong in the air, told by the captain himself. Winner of ABIA Awards for Best General Non-fiction Book of the Year 2013 and Indie Awards' Best Non-fiction 2012 Shortlisted ABIA Awards' Book of the Year 2013