The present invention pertains to the aircraft control art and, more particularly, to an electrically controlled aircraft spoiler system.
Numerous spoiler control systems have been developed in the aircraft art. Initially, spoilers were used solely as air brakes. However, in modern commercial aircraft the spoilers are used in cooperation with the ailerons to provide an aircraft rolling moment for turning. Thus, presently, both the left and right wing spoilers are deployed from their fully retracted to their fully extended position in response to a deflection of the speedbrake lever on the flight deck. Further, upon rotation of the control wheel, the spoilers are operated differentially. That is, to produce a rolling moment causing the aircraft to turn to its left, the spoilers on the left wing are raised whereas those on the right wing are lowered or maintained in their retracted position.
The spoiler systems known to the prior art have suffered from two significant disadvantages. Firstly, the aircraft rolling moment produced by the differential operation of the spoiler and ailerons has not been linearly related to rotation of the control wheel. It is preferable for both safety and ease of flying that the aircraft response be linear with respect to control deflection.
In addition, there are numerous spoilers used on an aircraft and, as such, the spoiler system normally is comprised of a large number of components. A failure of any one of these components may result in grounding the aircraft for repairs--an undesirable condition.