Wed, Jul 29, 2009
Industry-first Test Could Enhance Safety Of Future Commercial
Aircraft
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation announced Tuesday that a
Beechcraft Bonanza completed a flight, and safe landing, with an
experimental autolanding device demonstrated in collaboration with
Rockwell Collins. This industry-leading commercial aircraft
technology, originally developed for unmanned air systems (UAS),
offers the promise of airplanes that can safely land themselves
should the pilot become incapacitated during flight. The tests were
part of HBC's program to explore and develop advanced flight
control technologies for future use in general aviation
airplanes.
"HBC has a longstanding history of developing leading technologies
for general aviation aircraft," said Ed Petkus, HBC vice president,
Product Development and Engineering. "We are continually looking
for ways to improve the safety of our product and bring added value
to our customers. The successful flight demonstrations and teamwork
with Rockwell Collins have the potential to do just that."
Bonanza G36 File Photo
The collaborative work with Rockwell Collins began last year. A
modified Bonanza conducted a series of hands-off landings during a
test campaign at HBC's headquarters in Wichita, KS. The test
Bonanza was equipped with an experimental fly-by-wire flight
control system. The airplane carried a crew of three to observe and
monitor system operation and to provide a backup control
capability. More testing is planned for the coming months.
"This project with Hawker Beechcraft shows what is possible by
leveraging our UAS technology to potentially serve as a digital
parachute in emergency situations," said David Vos, Rockwell
Collins senior director, Control Technologies. "While we are still
in a demonstration phase, we're excited about our continued work
with Hawker Beechcraft as we look for opportunities to further
enhance safety in a future airspace where manned, unmanned and
optionally manned aircraft can coexist."
The flight guidance and control cues during the tests were provided
by a Rockwell Collins Athena 411. Various products in the Athena
family are already widely used in the unmanned aerial vehicle
world. The Athena 411 combines INS/GPS, AHRS, air-data system and
flight-control capability in a single compact, reliable and
relatively low-cost unit. For this project, Rockwell Collins
engineers customized the Athena 411 flight-control system for the
Bonanza platform while HBC engineers integrated the Athena 411 into
the airplane's fly-by-wire system.
Bonanza G36 File Photo
The Bonanza is one of the best-known high-performance
single-engine piston airplanes, with more than 60 years in
continual production - the longest in the industry. While
celebrating this successful history, HBC also remains focused on
the future by utilizing the latest technologies. Earlier this year,
HBC made an industry-first test flight on sustainable fuel. In
April, the company announced the successful test flights of its
certificated Bonanza G36 on unleaded aviation fuel and Swift
Sustainable Fuel.
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