SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

(SUBJECT: CONTROL ENGINEERING)

(SUBJECT CODE:19SME71)

A MINIPROJECT REPORT ON

“CONTROL SYSTEM IN AIRCRAFT FLIGHT”

Submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Submitted By,

SHRESHT SHRIKANT SHETTIGAR

1SU20ME011
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
MR. RAGHAVENDRA BALIGA
Professor
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

MUKKA, MANGALURU-574146

2023-2024

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 SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Department of Mechanical Engineering

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that, MR. SHRESHT SHRIKANT SHETTIGAR

USN No. 1SU20ME011 has satisfactorily completed the assessment (Mini
project) on CONTROL SYSTEM IN AIRCRAFT FLIGHT
prescribed by the Srinivas University for the 7th semester B. Tech course during
the year 2023-2024.

MARKS AWARDED

Staff In charge
Name: MR. RAGHAVENDRA BALIGA
Date:

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 ABSTRACT

Aircraft control systems have evolved exponentially within the last 100 years.
The first generation of aircrafts held the pioneering technologies that initiated
the pace towards control systems that are now characterized by increasing
sophistication and ingenuity. The new demands for speed, especially during the
cold war era following achieving the dream of breaking the sound barrier, have
placed a considerable pressure on aircraft designers to come up with more
robust and better responsive aircraft flight control methods. Although the basic
principle of pulleys and rods to control flight surfaces survived throughout the
second generation of aircrafts in World War II as well as continuing with some
of the third generation of aircraft, the disadvantage of inefficient system weight
marked its end, by the fourth generation, with the development of fly-by-wire
systems. Hydro-mechanical actuation was incorporated in the second and third
generation of aircraft, although this also was later replaced in the fourth
generation by electrical hydro-mechanical control. Following the fly-by-wire
age that dominated the aerospace industry for the last thirty years, the current
fifth generation of aircraft are moving more towards fibre controlled optical
systems with purer electrical actuation, replacing the heavier copper of the
previous system as well as reducing the harm of hydro fluids to the environment
whilst also reducing the total weight of the aircraft. The purpose of this report is
to review the journey of aircraft control systems as they have evolved through
these generations. The report will also take a closer look towards the future of
flight control surfaces examining the most recent research papers which
anticipate a future aircraft achieving comparable if not improved efficiency but
with no flight surfaces.

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 CONTENTS

Sl Contents Page no.

no.
1 Introduction 5
2 Flight control system 6
3 Flight control surfaces 7-11
4 Conclusion 12
5 Reference 13

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 INTRODUCTION
The flying and handling qualities of an aircraft are dependent on and determined
by its stability and control characteristics. This makes it essential to fully
understand aircraft stability and control parameters. The stability of an aircraft
can be defined as the ability to return to an original state of equilibrium, after
disturbance without any effort required from the pilot. Control means the ability
to manoeuvre the aircraft into any desired position. Flight control systems are
the basic methods that use different mechanisms to control an aircraft during
performing various activities such as rolling, banking, and yawing the axes of
flight are controlled by three different types of control surfaces - mainly
ailerons, elevators, and rudder. Each control surface has the responsibility of
manoeuvring the aircraft within one of the axes: longitudinal (roll), lateral
(pitch) and normal (yaw) as shown in Figure 1. Ailerons are horizontal moving
surfaces located at the trailing edge of the aerofoil near the wing tips that
provide control in the longitudinal axis. These are horizontal moving surfaces
located at the trailing edge of the aerofoil near the wing tips. The elevator is a
horizontal moving surface located at the trailing edge of the tail plane that
provides control in the lateral axis. The rudder is a vertical moving surface
hinged to the vertical stabiliser that provides control in the normal axis as seen
in figure 2. Together these surfaces provide control of the entire aircraft by
manipulating lift and drag in different directions to give the desired effect.
The vital role played by flight control systems in improving flying performance
through better stability and control makes it important to review the evolution of
flight control systems and their operation throughout the generations of
evolving aircraft. However there has been no real classification of the
development of flight control systems throughout the ages, since the Wright
Brothers’ first flight. This study aims to improve the reader’s understanding as
to how aircraft performance has been improved through the evolution of flight
control systems, which the authors have classified in five distinct stages. The
aim of this analysis is to explain the developments in flight control systems both
by examining previous trends and studying the advancements made.

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 FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM
Principle of Flight Control
The four basic forces acting upon an aircraft during flight are lift, weight, drag
and thrust as shown in Figure 2.1.

Lift
Lift is caused by the flow around the aircraft. Lift is the upward force created by
the wings, which sustains the airplane in flight. The force required to lift the
plane through a stream of air depends upon the wing profile. When the lift is
greater than the weight then the plane raises.

Weight
Weight is the downward force created by the weight of the airplane and its load;
it is directly proportional to lift. If the weight is greater than lift, then the plane
descends.

Drag
“The resistance of the airplane to forward motion directly opposed to thrust”.
The drag of the air makes it hard for the plane to move quickly. Another name
for drag is air resistance. It is created or caused by all the parts.

Thrust
The force exerted by the engine which pushes air backward with the object of
causing a reaction, or thrust, of the airplane in the forward direction.

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 FLIGHT CONTOL SURFACES

An aircraft requires control surfaces to fly and move in different directions.

They make it possible for the aircraft to roll, pitch and yaw. Figure 2.2 shows
the three sets of control surfaces and the axes along which they tilt.

There are three sets of control surfaces that tilt the plane along three axes. The
ailerons, operated by turning the control column [Figure 2.2(a)], cause it to roll.
The elevators are operated by moving the control column [Figure 2.2(a)]
forward or back causes the aircraft to pitch. The rudder is operated by rudder
pedals that make the aircraft yaw.

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Depending on the kind of aircraft, the requirements for flight control surfaces
vary greatly, as specific roles, ranges and needed agilities. Primary control
surfaces are incorporated into the wings and empennage for almost every kind
of aircraft as shown in the Figure 2.3. Those surfaces are typically: the elevators
included on the horizontal tail to control pitch; the rudder on the vertical tail for
yaw control; and the ailerons outboard on the wings to control roll. These
surfaces are continuously checked to maintain safe vehicle control and they are
normally trailing edge types.

Figure 2.3: Flight Control Surfaces of Jet Passenger Carrier

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Primary Control Surfaces
The primary flight controls surfaces are ailerons, elevator, and rudder.
Ailerons
Movement about the longitudinal axis is controlled by the two ailerons, which
are movable surfaces at the outer trailing edge of each wing. The movement is
roll. If the aileron on one wing is lowered, the aileron on the other will be
raised. The wing with the raised aileron goes down because of its decreased lift
and the wing with the lowered aileron goes up because of its increased lift.
Thus, the effect of moving one of the ailerons is complemented by the
simultaneous and opposite movement of the aileron on the other wing.

The ailerons are connected to each other and to the control wheel (or stick) in
the cockpit by rods or cables. While applying pressure to the right on the control
wheel, the right aileron goes up and the left aileron goes down. Thus, the
airplane is rolled to the right as the down movement of the left aileron increases
the wing camber (curvature) and the angle of attack. The right aileron moves
upward and decreases the camber, what results in a decreased angle of attack.
Thus, an increased lift on the left wing and decreased lift on the right wing
cause a roll and bank to the right.

Elevators
The movement of the airplane about its lateral axis is controlled by the
elevators. This motion is called pitch. The elevators are free to swing up and
down and form the rear part of the horizontal tail assembly. They are hinged to
a fixed surface, the horizontal stabilizer. A single airfoil is formed by the
horizontal stabilizer and the elevators. The chamber of the airfoil can be
modified by changing the position of the elevators, which increases or decreases
the lift.

Control cables are used to connect the elevators to the control wheel (or stick)
as happens with the ailerons. The elevators move downward when forward
pressure is applied on the wheel. Thus, the lift produced by the horizontal tail
surfaces is increased, what forces the tail upward, causing the nose to drop.
Conversely, the elevators move upward, when back pressure is applied on the
wheel, decreasing the lift produced by the horizontal tail surfaces, or maybe
even producing a downward force. The nose is forced upward, and the tail is
forced down.

The angle of attack of the wings is controlled by the elevators. When back
pressure is applied on the control wheel, the angle of attack increases as the tail

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lowers and the nose rises. Conversely, the tail raises, and the nose lowers when
forward pressure is applied, decreasing the angle of attack.

Rudder
The movement of the airplane about its vertical axis is controlled by the rudder.
This motion is called yaw. The rudder is a movable surface hinged to a fixed
surface which is the vertical stabilizer, or fin. Its action is similar to the one of
the elevators, except that it swings in a different plane, from side to side instead
of up and down. The rudder is connected to the rudder pedals by controlled
cables.

Secondary Control Surfaces

Wing Leading and Trailing edges are used to increase the aerodynamic
performance of the aircraft by reducing stall speed, mainly during take-off and
landing speed. High lift control is provided by a combination of flaps and
leading-edge slats. The flap control is affected by several flap sections located
on the inboard two-thirds of the wing trailing edges. The flaps are deployed
during take-off or the landing approach to increase the wing camber and
improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing.

Flaps
Flaps are mounted on the trailing edge but can also be mounted on the leading
edge. They extend the edge by increasing the chord of the wing. They pivot
only (simple and split flaps), extend, and come down (complex and slotted
flaps) or extend and camber (Krueger flaps). There are other types as well.

Slats
Slats are usually mounted on the leading edge. Slats extend the edge, and they
sit like a glove on the edge. "Slats" is an abbreviation for "slotted flaps", which
means they have a nozzle like slot between the high-lift device and the wing; on
the contrary, flaps do not have this slot. Figure 2.4 shows the wing leading and
trailing edge configurations commonly used.

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Figure 2.4: Wing Leading and Trailing edge Configurations.

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 CONCLUSION
The systems used in first generation aircraft to actuate the elevators, ailerons
and rudders were a system of pulleys which operated via the pilot through the
three controls input method for managing standard pitch, roll and yaw. The
pitch control acted as expected, even for modern day aircraft, where the elevator
fluctuates to pitch the nose up or down. The yaw is again like planes today with
the use of a symmetrical rudder behind the plane. The roll mechanism of a
modern aircraft uses a completely different system to that of the first-generation
aircraft. The Wright brothers developed a roll control system called wing-
warping: this control system still works like an aileron. However, rather than a
small section of the wing changing the lift, the entire wing twists to change the
distribution of pressure over the two wings.
As the industry went into the Second World War, the second era of aircraft
evolved from mechanical flight control to hydromechanical. This development
allowed for the increase of aircraft size to achieve larger control surfaces. By
introducing a hydraulic system to the mechanical one, longer flights were made
possible as the physical stresses on the pilot were reduced. Higher speeds were
also achieved, as the aerodynamic forces are countered with the hydraulic
system.
Moving into the third generation, there were upgrades to the aircraft design, as
the aircraft speed increased, improved hydro-mechanical architecture was
introduced. While the previous systems only used mechanical links for moving
control surfaces, these third-generation aircraft used actuating devices to move
components. This proved to be much more efficient and operated better. This
also prevents the piston contained within the cylinder from choking. In general,
the actuation unit was a major part of third generation aircraft, as opposed to
simple mechanic links to move surfaces. Although fly-by-wire was later
introduced this still maintains the actuation component for moving control
surfaces. This was a great breakthrough in the advancement of aircraft
technology.

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 REFERENCE

 Model Based Aircraft Control System Design and Simulation

Raghu Chaitanya.M.V

Division of Machine Design

Degree Project
Department of Management and Engineering
LIU-IEI-TEK-A--09/006300—SE

 THE EVOLUTION OF FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND
OPERATION
Haider Al-Lami, Ameer Aslam, Tanya Quigley, Jack Lewis, Richard
Mercer and Prashant Shukla
University of the West of England, Bristol
28th Feb 2015

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