BAE Systems is to develop “active inceptor” cyclic and collective controls for the fly-by-wire system on the modernised Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. Sikorsky will install the digital flight controls beginning with the 150th production aircraft for the US Army.
The active inceptors will provide force feedback in response to control inputs, providing tactile cues that BAE says will prevent the pilot exceeding the helicopter’s performance and structural limits.
“We can give a soft stop to stop over-torque. For other aircraft limits, the stick will tell you where the limits are,” says business development manager active inceptor products Simon Barnard.
BAE is also supplying active inceptors for the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter and Korea Aerospace Industries T-50.
Source: Flight International
