60 Flt Mech. Sorry for not responding to the following from Post #7:
“It seems that if you could develop a rugged fly by wire system you would be well on your way to simplifying your flight control hydraulic systems.
Regarding V-280, I assume Bell will use what they have learned on their 525 FBW and hydraulic systems. But as you pointed out the standards for such systems for VTOL aircraft aren’t fully established, so how does it all come together in the end?
I just can’t see an aircraft with a mass of push pull tubes, mixers, bellcranks and Hydraulic lines being the future of Army Aviation(or VTOL in general), someone has to crack the code on simplifying these systems, while also keeping redundancy for battle damage or other emergencies.”
As to simplifying hydraulic system, the Canadian MHP S-92 offers a glimpse of the future. All of the hydraulic clap-trap that is required on the top deck in front of the main rotor on S-70 and S-92 models, boost actuators, SAS actuators, control mixer devices, and in the tail cone, the tail rotor control quadrant . There is weight to be saved, maintenance man hours/inspection hours to be eliminated, areas where mistakes in maintenance can cause fatal accidents to be eliminated. There are other capabilities that beckon in the future for FBW, present in some military machines.
This is the one area of helicopter design where general standards do not exist. One sympathizes with the Bell/Augusta 609 and Bell 525 teams in their quest for certification.
Given that the expertise is resident in the OEM’s engineering departments, is the solution a VFS Committee of FBW specialists writing general standards?