The Airbus A320
Wikipedia
Airbus A320 family:
The four narrow-body aircraft series from the aircraft manufacturer Airbus for short and medium-haul routes are referred to as the Airbus A320 family. The A320 was the first variant of the basic model of the low-wing A320 family. The names of the individual series are based on the length of the body; the A318 and A319 are therefore slightly shorter than the A320, the stretched version is called A321. The first A320 was delivered in 1988 and was the first civil aircraft with digital fly-by-wire controls.
By December 2015, a total of 12,411 A320 Family aircraft had been ordered. 6876 machines were delivered, of which 6581 are still in service. The A320 family, along with the Boeing 737 family, is one of the best-selling aircraft types. The A320 is controlled by a digital fly-by-wire system with sidesticks. The system consists of a total of seven computers that monitor each other. This network of computers also ensures that the structure boundaries are monitored and that the flight area boundaries of the aircraft are safely adhered to. Ailerons, elevators, vertical stabilizers, spoilers, slats and landing flaps are monitored directly via the fly-by-wire system, and the surfaces themselves are moved hydraulically. The horizontal stabilizer trim and the rudder are also controlled via the fly-by-wire system. In the event of a malfunction, the latter can be operated directly with the aid of the hydraulics to enable the aircraft to be controlled in the event of a total failure of the on-board electronics.
The A320 was the first series-produced civil aircraft that was controlled exclusively by fly-by-wire. This electronic system enables the aircraft to be controlled without a direct mechanical connection between the actuating element and the control surface, which saves weight and thus lowers costs. Only the hydraulic valves of the rudder and elevator are linked with conventional steel cables for redundancy reasons. Instead of a control horn, a sidestick is used for the first time in the cockpit with six CRT screens, which was revolutionary at the time (since the introduction of the A318 LC screens). This cockpit soon shaped all Airbus aircraft built after the A320.
So far, the priority setting in favor of the control signals calculated by flight control computers over the control inputs of the pilots has been unprecedented. For the first time, control commands that were disqualified as nonsense by the computers were not passed on to the control surfaces.
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The Robinson R22
Wikipedia
The Robinson R22, built since 1973, is a helicopter from the US aircraft manufacturer Robinson Helicopter. The concept envisaged a simple, light and inexpensive helicopter for training and monitoring purposes as well as private use. It is produced (as of 2010) in version R22 Beta II. The Robinson R44 is the slightly larger but similarly constructed sister model of the R22. Since 2010, Robinson has also been offering a turbine-powered model, the Robinson R66.
The R22 is designed for two people with small hand luggage, but without any other payload, and the standard version does not have any instruments for instrument flight. The double control is not realized via two separate control organs, but via a central control stick on which a kind of bracket is attached and thus enables control from both seat positions. Panels in the interior were also dispensed with, as was full paneling of the fuselage. Only in this way was it possible to keep the power-to-weight ratio not significantly above 4 kg / hp for the fully loaded helicopter.
With a base price of just over 240,000 US dollars, it is not only an inexpensive alternative to classic turbine helicopters for flight schools, but also affordable for sports and private aviation in terms of purchase and maintenance (maintenance / consumption). Most of the R22 are procured from flight schools and media companies. In Australia, many R22s are used in cattle patterning, the modern variant of the cattle drive. Especially in this usage aspect, the R22 can show its greatest advantage over its usually larger and heavier competitors: its almost unrivaled maneuverability. To do this, it uses an advantage of the piston engine, which reacts to power requirements considerably faster than a turbine. The R22 can change at a very short distance from full speed to slow or hover flight.