3 Day Open Conference

The iron bird for hydraulic and flight control systems testing of the M345 advanced trainer
Wednesday 19th November 2008
10.00 - 10.20
Auditorium 2

The presentation describes the iron bird of the Alenia-Aermacchi M346, which allows testing of the flight controls, hydraulics and landing gear systems. It also allows to perform troubleshooting of the problems that could arise during prototype flight trials. The iron bird provides the same installation for the aircraft components as in the actual aircraft. The control surfaces are represented by dummies having the same inertia referred to the hinge axis as the actual control surface. The connections between these dummies and the relevant actuators have a stiffness equivalent to that of the actual aircraft. The hydraulic loading system applies the aerodynamic loads directly to the control actuators. As the pilot in a simplified cockpit moves the controls to run through flight routines, the loading actuators produce loads appropriate to the flight conditions, as determined by dedicated software models . The iron bird operation, its hardware and software characteristics are presented.

About the Speaker(s):

Professor Giovanni Jacazio
Professor of Applied Mechanics
Politecnico di Torino - Italy

Prof. Jacazio is a lecturer of Applied Mechanics and of Mechanical Control Systems. His main research activity is in the area of control and actuation systems for aerospace applications. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico of Torino (Italy) and a Master`s degree in mechanical engineering from the MIT. Along with his academic activity, he works as a consultant for several high tech companies, both in the aerospace and transport industries.