flight controls

Question 1

what are the primary flight controls?

Answer 1

ailerons and multi function roll spoilers
elevators
rudder

Question 2

what are the secondary flight controls?

Answer 2

horizontal stabilizer
flaps and slats
multi function spoilers - when used as speed brakes or ground spoilers
dedicated ground spoilers

Question 3

what controls the respective flight controls?

Answer 3

hydraulic actuators - Power Control Units (PCUs)

Question 4

how are the aileron’s controlled?

Answer 4

conventional control cables

Question 5

what is the only flight control that isn’t fly by wire?

Answer 5

ailerons

Question 6

what’s the difference between normal mode and direct mode?

Answer 6

no higher level functions available in direct mode

Half speed of artificial feel - there’s a slight lag

Question 7

what are the higher level functions associated with pitch?

Answer 7

gain on airspeed
elevator thrust compensation
AOA limiting

Question 8

What are the higher level functions associated with yaw?

Answer 8

yaw damper
turn coordination
gain on airspeed - as airspeed increases, rudder deflection decreases

Question 9

what are the two complementary parts associated with the primary flight controls?

Answer 9

Primary Actuator control electronics (P-ACE)
Flight Control Module (FCM)

Question 10

what is the fly by wire system composed of?

Answer 10

9 actuator control electronics
four flight control modules
3 primary -ACE (controls rudder and elevator - 2 channels (1 active, 1 standby), 3 PACE units - 2 fwd ebay, 1 aft ebay)
2 slat/flap ACE (one channel for slats and one for flaps - middle ebay)
one horizontal stabilizer ACE (aft ebay 2 channels, one standby, one active)
3 spoiler ACE - (inside FCM - FCM 1,3,4 control each individual spoiler)
4 FCM’s - (provide digital inputs to PACE, combined with pilot inputs - provides higher level functions)

Question 11

what is the priority for the trim system?

Answer 11

back up
captain
first officer
auto pilot

Question 12

how is roll controlled?

Answer 12

ailerons and multi-function spoilers (outer 3 spoilers on each wing)

Question 13

how many spoilers are on each wing? what are their functions?

Answer 13

5
3 outboard multi-function spoilers are used to assist in roll control, as speed brakes and as ground spoilers.
2 inboard spoilers are only used as ground spoilers

Question 14

when will speed brakes automatically close even if the lever shows deployed?

Answer 14

slats/flaps selected to 2 or greater
airspeed < 180 kts
TLA > 70 degrees

Question 15

when is the electronic Power up built in test performed? how long does it take?

Answer 15

during power up after the airplane is powered by any AC source - takes 3 minutes

Question 16

when is the hydraulic PBIT test performed? how long does it take?

Answer 16

on the ground when 3 hydraulic systems are pressurized
1 minute

Question 17

what is the flap/slat extension/retraction sequence?

Answer 17

slats extend first
flaps retract first

Question 18

will loss of airspeed data cause the flight controls to go into DIRECT mode?

Answer 18

yes

Question 19

if you’re in direct mode, do you have ground spoilers?

Answer 19

no

Question 20

Can FCM override pilot input?

Answer 20

no, pilot always have ultimate control

Question 21

what happens to artificial feel if flight controls are disconnected?

Answer 21

artificial feel is felt as 1/2 the normal load

Question 22

how are the flight controls trimmed?

Answer 22

roll and yaw
ailerons and rudder surface repositioned to a new ‘neutral position’
Pitch
Horizontal stabilizer

Question 23

will the multi-function spoilers function in DIRECT mode?

Answer 23

yes for roll only and at a default fixed gain. ground spoilers won’t deploy on landing

Question 24

will the speed brakes/ ground spoilers function in DIRECT mode

Answer 24

no

Question 25

what happens to the flight control system when the RAT is the only AC power source?

Answer 25

Horizontal stab trim operates at LO SPEED
Slat/flap system operates at LO SPEED
Slat/flap position is limited to ‘3’ to allow adequate airspeed for the RAT.

Question 26

what are the higher level functions? (8)

Answer 26

elevator control laws scheduling with airspeed

auto-thrust compensation with elevator

AOA limiting with elevator offset

rudder airspeed gain scheduling and stroke limiting

Yaw damper and turn coordination via AFCS
(automatic flight control system)

Rudder flight authority

Roll spoiler scheduling with airspeed and speed brake deployment

configuration change compensation with horizontal stabilizer due to speed brakes actuation

Question 27

what kind of flaps do we have?

Answer 27

double slotted flaps