Real-Time Hardware-in-the-loop Simulation of Fly-by-Wire Flight Control Systems

The paper deals with the development and the set-up of a real-time/hardware-in-the-loop simulation system of the Fly-By-Wire flight control system of a modern aircraft. The plant is designed as a virtual iron-bird, which integrates a parallel computing PC network with hardware components such as a human-pilot interface, the flight control computers and a hydraulic rig for testing flight actuators. The work highlights the challenging problems related to the design of such a complex experimental set-up, from the integration of real-aircraft components to the development of a real-time executable code that includes very complex models of the aircraft systems.