There are 3 solenoids used on the Airbus flight deck – one for each sidestick, and another for the gear lever panel. The sidesticks are locked in a neutral position by the solenoids when autopilot is engaged. The solenoid in the gear lever panel is activated when the aircraft is airborne (wheel strut pressure logic) … Continue reading
The OEM sidesticks have now been successfully interfaced with the flight simulator. In the original aircraft there are multiple redundancy, however only wiring one set of inputs from each axis (aileron, elevator, tiller – wheel axis) and push buttons (PTT, AP instinctive disconnect, pedals disconnect ) will be required in the simulator simplifying the process. … Continue reading
Four sidestick transducers were recently acquired (thank you Daniel) from Germany and installed on the OEM sidesticks flight control mechanism. On each side stick one transducer is responsible for the pitch (elevator control) and the other for roll (aileron control). Interfacing the transducer is simply done by connecting the pin outs to a potentiometer … Continue reading
Simon has posted a comprehensive write up on the sidestick transducer implementation and pinout diagram. Sidestick Pinouts Continue reading
When the autopilot (AP) is engaged the sidesticks are locked in placed by a solenoid. This prevents the Pilot Flying (PF), or Pilot Not Flying (PNF) from accidentally bumping or moving the sidestick when AP is on. However with a certain amount of force the pilots can still override the solenoid disengaging the solenoid and … Continue reading
Transducers are expensive. These are well refined potentiometers attached to your throttle lever, sidestick, flaps lever or spoiler/speedbrake. Transducers usually come with more than one potentiometer – this is for redundancy and to ensure the values in all the potentiometer read the same; any error would have severe catastrophic consequence. Transducers have high resale value … Continue reading
So where exactly were the sidesticks and tillers pulled out from? drum roll…. OH-LQG ! A retired Finnair A340. Prior to FinnAir the aircraft was owned and used by Air France. Here is the final flight of this beauty: And a final shot at the aircraft yard (without the sidesticks or tillers, thanks Mert): Rest … Continue reading
Captain Sidestick Pinouts 2197VCA AutoPilot Disconnect: S/B Solenoid: h (28 VDC)/g (Gnd) Pitch: G, Y (wiper), H [log output] Roll: E, W (wiper), X [log output] 2189VCA Push To Talk L/M 2191VCA Pitch: K (5V), L (Gnd), M Roll: N (5V), D (Gnd), O First Officer Sidestick Pinouts 2180VCA Push to Talk: J/K 2182VCA Pitch: … Continue reading
The Airbus sidestick is not a simple joystick. Each axis is connected to a transducer which relays electrical signals to the ailerons and elevators. In addition there is a solenoid which is activated when Autopilot is engaged preventing the sidestick from moving. However, apply enough force and the AP and solenoid will disengaged. Continue reading
The captain and first officer sidesticks and tillers were extracted from an A340. The great thing about Airbus is the hardware commonality between the different aircraft types. Continue reading
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