Thales new rudder-by-wire flight control system will fly on Cessna Citation Longitude

KEY POINTS

• Thales will develop a “rudder by wire” flight control system for the Cessna Citation Longitude.
• Result of Thales efforts on advanced flight controls designed to improve safety, passenger comfort and reduce weight.
• Thales now supply Flight control solutions for all North American business jet OEMs including Gulfstream and Bombardier.

This innovative use of “Rudder-by-wire” is the culmination of efforts by Thales teams in developing new and better flight controls for business jets. It fulfills some of the key driving trends in the market, including weight reduction, improving safety and the comfort of passengers.

Thales teams came up with a unique solution based around a pair of Thales Smart Electronic Control Units (SECUs). These use electrical signals to augment pilot inputs from rudder pedals, and enhance the stability of the aircraft, making the flight trim smoother and allowing the pilot to better control the plane.
The use of electrical impulses allows for the complete elimination of the heavy cables and pulleys of a conventional rudder control system, thus reducing weight. The innovative use of a paired set of SECUs, serves as a self-checking mechanism allowing for better control integrity. It also makes the system more streamlined, thus optimizing production, and providing superior availability, reliability and integrity to the OEM.

Thales Canadian team, at the Montreal Centre of Excellence in flight control electronics, will develop system engineering and software based on Control Laws supplied by Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company.

With addition of Cessna, Thales flight control systems now span every major business jet manufacturer in North America, including Gulfstream’s all-new G500 and G600 aircraft as well as their long-range G650 platform, and Bombardier’s Global 5000/6000 aircraft.

"Thales pioneered fly-by-wire technology almost 40 years ago, and we believe that Cessna’s confidence in us as we embark on this exciting next step in flight control development is a major milestone. Rudder-by-wire helps on many of the modern challenges faced by OEMs. We therefore look forward to working with Cessna on flight control electronics for this superb business jet.”

Michel Grenier, Thales Vice President for Avionics in Canada