The system, which will use physical gestures from pilots to manipulate controls in the cockpit, will be required to function in less-than-ideal circumstances, such as when the pilot is wearing gloves or turbulence causes the aircraft to vibrate.

“These new non-contact, gesture-based control interactions will enhance pilot situational awareness, mission effectiveness, and overall aircraft performance,” said Enrique Lizaso Olmos, cofounder and CEO of Multiverse Computing.

Multiverse Computing develops AI systems for finance, energy, manufacturing, logistics, space, healthcare, and defense. The company’s project, “Quantum Gesture Recognition for Aerospace Control,” beat out competitors to win a contract from the Enhanced Pilot Interfaces & Interactions for fighter Cockpit (EPIIC) program.

Unveiled last year, EPIIC is a coalition of more than 20 organizations from 12 European countries backed by more than $80 million from the European Commission through its European Defense Fund. Led by Thales, the initiative includes other aviation giants like Leonardo and Dassault Aviation, as well as university researchers.

The goal of EPIIC is to bolster European militaries with fighter cockpit technology that melds humans with machines, such as virtual assistants, helmet-mounted and large area displays, “eyes-out” systems. It also covers gesture-based hardware and software, the portion of the initiative Airbus is leading.

The aviation titan’s collaboration with Multiverse Computing began this month and will last about one year. The AI specialist will lean on quantum computing to develop algorithms that can recognize pilot gestures. The objective is to eliminate the need for buttons, switches, and other conventional controls.

According to Multiverse Computing, the system could even incorporate virtual or augmented reality technology. Imagine, for example, a headset that projects digital buttons for the pilot to “press” by pointing a finger.

To ensure the AI-based system doesn’t get its gestures mixed up, the partners will put it through simulated testing at Airbus Defense and Space facilities.

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The post Airbus Developing Tech to Control Fighter Jets With Wave of Hand appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Leonardo Helicopters’ AW109 Trekker is the first model to use the system with the new capabilities. The company said the enhanced version helps improve overall mission effectiveness by decreasing the pilot’s workload.

• READ MORE: Auto Flight for Rotorcraft

“We are very excited to now offer a four-axis, IFR flight control system for the helicopter market,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “This technology will provide IFR operators with advanced automated flight capabilities and bring added protections to one of the most challenging flight categories in aviation. We’re confident AW109 Trekker operators will be impressed with the performance of GFC 600H.”

The GFC 600H includes a console-mounted, push-button mode controller and display compatible with night vision goggles. High-performance digital servos and new linear actuators that Garmin developed provide crisper, more powerful responses than previous systems, resulting in smooth handling in all phases of flight.

• READ MORE: Garmin Receives GI 275 STC for Airbus Helicopters

The new system supports a range of autopilot modes, including altitude acquire, altitude hold, heading select, attitude hold, approach auto-level, radar height hold, vertical speed, and indicated airspeed. The system also can fly approaches using inputs from navigation systems.

Garmin said its system’s smart servos eliminate the need for two linear actuators and flight control computers for each axis. The result is a lighter, cost-effective system that retains the redundancy needed for IFR flight.

The IFR configuration of the GFC 600H has received European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval on the AW109 Trekker helicopter. Garmin said it expects FAA approval later.

The post Garmin Offers IFR Flight Control System for Helicopters appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Heart Aerospace, a Swedish manufacturer of regional electric aircraft, on Monday announced it has tapped aerospace titan Honeywell to install its compact fly-by-wire flight control system on the company’s 30-passenger ES-30. 

The system is already in an advanced stage of development on multiple aircraft, including Vertical Aerospace’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Honeywell’s dedicated urban air mobility (UAM) business unit is also partnered with eVTOL makers Archer Aviation, Lilium, Hyundai’s Supernal, and other emerging aircraft manufacturers. Heart’s design, in contrast, takes off conventionally from a runway.

“We are thrilled to welcome Honeywell to the ES-30 program,” said Anders Forslund, co-founder and CEO of Heart. “With its long track record in flight controls, they are an ideal collaboration partner for Heart Aerospace as we strive to decarbonize air travel before the end of this decade.”

Added Vipul Gupta, president of electronic solutions at Honeywell Aerospace: “Honeywell’s flight controls provide the ideal solution for Heart’s mission to revitalize and electrify the regional transport market. Honeywell’s all-electric compact fly-by-wire is a ready-now solution based on decades of flight control experience in all aircraft types, and that reduces development time and risk for Heart.”

Heart’s ES-30 has a 30-passenger standard seating capacity and is driven by four electric motors powered by batteries. In its fully electric, zero-emissions configuration, it has a range of about 124 sm (108 nm), doubling to around 248 sm (215 nm) in hybrid-electric mode. The aircraft also has a maximum range of 497 sm (432 nm) with 25 passengers. Each configuration includes typical airline reserves.

The electric design features a Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck, battery systems from BAE Systems, and an electrical power distribution system made by Crane Aerospace & Electronics. It’ll be certificated under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) CS-25 large aeroplanes category.

Heart is backed by a $35 million Series A funding round led by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a consortium of billionaire backers including Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, and other CEOs, venture capitalists, and politicians.

The round also included United Airlines Ventures, the airline’s investment arm, and Mesa Air Group, which together placed purchase orders for 200 ES-19 aircraft with the option for 100 more. The ES-19 was a 19-passenger that was replaced by the ES-30 in 2022, but Heart reconfirmed United and Mesa’s orders for the new design.

Air Canada and Saab—each of which invested $5 million into the company—are on board as minority shareholders, and the former also placed an order for 30 ES-30s. Heart said it now has 250 firm ES-30 orders with options and purchase rights awarded for 120 more. 

The aircraft is expected to enter service in 2028, around the time the FAA seeks to host advanced air mobility (AAM) demonstrations in the skies over Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympic Games. Archer, whose aircraft uses Honeywell flight control actuation technology, is expected to feature.

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The fix—which corrects an issue in the flight control system’s angle of attack limiting mode—had been signed off by the FAA on Monday, with validation approved by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Tuesday afternoon.

The G500 and G600 fleet had been issued a wind limitation of 15 knots on landing, with a maximum allowable gust factor of 5 knots while the OEM worked on the corrective update.

A Hard Landing

The most recent restrictions had been prompted by a hard landing reported by a G500 in an unspecified location earlier this year, in which the activation of the mode during landing prevented the pilot from having full pitch authority. The result: The pilot was unable to arrest the descent rate properly.

“Initial data analysis of the event indicates the aircraft flight-control system entered Angle of Attack (AOA) Limiting Mode at approximately 12 feet above ground level following a series of large, rapidly alternating pitch stick inputs,” said Gulfstream in a “maintenance and operations” letter delivered on April 29 to its customers.

In addition, Gulfstream advised the following operations:

• Minimum approach speed during all approaches should be reference speed plus 10 knots.
• Use of autothrottle for approach and landing during normal operations.

The flight manual change was an intermediate step until the software update to modify the AOA limiting mode could be completed and approved.

• READ MORE: Gulfstream Gives Preview of First Fully Conforming G700

Delayed Deliveries, G700 Program

Gulfstream has fielded more than 170 G500s and G600s to date, and the required fix put a pause on further shipments until the update was approved. Those aircraft on hold have been “preloaded” so as to expedite the update once it was approved.

Because the work involved certain members of the G700 development team, the effort had an impact on that model’s certification program, resulting in a delay of three to six months for first deliveries. Gulfstream first reported this delay via the most recent General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) earnings call in July.

“The aircraft has performed well through all of the testing we’ve been doing in all of the outcomes,” said Haas of the G500 used for the update. “We also felt that we wanted to make this as seamless as possible for our customers, and so for several weeks we’ve been planning, and trying to work through a way for the customers to be able to make it as simple as possible to get the software installed.” 

• READ MORE: G800 Makes First Atlantic Crossing–to FIA22

The first customer update will take place in Fort Smith, Arkansas, at the company’s service facility there, and it was expected to be completed by the end of the day Tuesday. Updates will also take place in Basel, Switzerland; and Singapore. Gulfstream expects to have 90 percent of the fleet in service with the update by the end of September.

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