Michael Winning
Didn’t the blasted MOD, onordering Boeing Chinnooks, demand that all the working US software be changed to MOD-ordered stuff?
Isn’t that why we don’t have any of the buggers in Afghanistan? Because they take so long to prepare now?
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The Chinooks operated by the Americans don’t seem to have this FADEC problem. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it would seem to be the order of the day.
Tony
I agree totally, Tony! Why could not MOD have just bought the stuff and left it at that?
Median-voting multi-channel FADECS would seem to be the optimum choice.
FADEC Advantages
* Better fuel efficiency
* Automatic engine protection against out-of-tolerance operations
* Safer as the multiple channel FADEC computer provides redundancy in case of failure
* Care-free engine handling, with guaranteed thrust settings
* Ability to use single engine type for wide thrust requirements by just reprogramming the FADECs
* Provides semi-automatic engine starting
* Better systems integration with engine and aircraft systems
* Can provide engine long-term health monitoring and diagnostics
* Number of external and internal parameters used in the control processes increases by one order of magnitude
* Reduces the number of parameters to be monitored by flight crews
* Due to the high number of parameters monitored, the FADEC makes possible “Fault Tolerant Systems” (where a system can operate within required reliability and safety limitation with certain fault configurations)
* Can support automatic aircraft and engine emergency responses (e.g. in case of aircraft stall, engines increase thrust automatically).
[edit] Disadvantages
* True full authority digital engine controls have no form of manual override available, placing full authority over the operating parameters of the engine in the hands of the computer. If a total FADEC failure occurs, the engine fails. In the event of a total FADEC failure, pilots have no way of manually controlling the engines for a restart, or to otherwise control the engine. As with any single point of failure, the risk can be mitigated with redundant FADECs.
* High system complexity compared to hydromechanical, analogue or manual control systems
* High system development and validation effort due to the complexity
[edit] Requirements
* Engineering processes must be used to design, manufacture, install and maintain the sensors which measure and report flight and engine parameters to the control system itself.
* Software engineering processes must be used in the design, implementation and testing of the software used in these safety-critical control systems. This requirement led to the development and use of specialized software such as SCADE.
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Tony
For more on SCADE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCADE
Tony
For the same sort of reason that the MoD came up with the SA-80 and foisted it upon the luckless army. It was a disaster. The MoD had to pay Heckler & Koch 140 miliion to redesign and retool it. It was intended to replace the SLR which seems a preferable main battle rifle.
Tony