The gyroscopes were designed to maintain zero adjustment for all control surfaces equilibrium , which would make it possible to identify the moments when corrective action was required. In order for the controls to be carried out, it was just a matter of the device mechanically executing what the pilot would do instinctively. And based on that concept, Sperry proceeded to resolve all the problems that arose in each phase of the design.
Gyroscopes, for example, required electrical power to maintain rotational speed 7, rpm. This issue was resolved using a wind-driven generator located on the upper wing, which provided the necessary power. Weight and size were also key parameters at a time when aircraft did not have any power to spare, and materials were not optimal.
Thus, the entire device was reduced to a weight of about 18 kilograms and to the size of a small suitcase 45 x 45 x 30 centimetres. The 56 aircraft that participated in the competition presented a wide range of innovations, ranging from assisted starts, automatic stabilisation, novel carburettor models, extravagant designs and other proposals aimed at improving aircraft safety.
Teams from several different countries took part, although the largest number of participants came from France. It was, as we have seen, a fairly simple device consisting of a quadruple gyroscope that operated the ailerons, stabiliser and tail rudder. He installed it on a Curtiss C-2 single-engine airplane with a seaplane fuselage. Lawrence Sperry flew the plane on the 18th of June. Even so, they managed to understand each other as regards everything they needed for the test.
When it was time for the demonstration, the Curtiss C-2 took flight from the Buc airfield, near Paris, and headed along a route where thousands of fans, curious onlookers and the judging panel had gathered, between the Parisian bridges of Argenteuil and Bezons. Once lined up along the route where they were going to be assessed, and once the aircraft was flying straight and level, both crewmembers raised their hands to demonstrate that the aircraft could maintain its flight without any changes.
Not satisfied with that, in a second pass in front of the judging panel, Cachin left his seat and climbed on to one of the wings, moving a couple of metres away from the fuselage, while Sperry put his hands on his head. The mechanic moved along the wing to force the aircraft to become unbalanced, and thus demonstrate that it was capable of regaining balance on its own. The gyroscope-equipped stabiliser immediately corrected the change in position, and the plane proceeded along the river with no issues.
As if this were not enough, and in the middle of the fever pitch of excitement that had been generated in the crowd by the demonstration, in another one of the passes each of the two crew members climbed on to a wing to wave to those below, thus demonstrating how well the invention worked. The autopilot was demonstrated in at a competition by Lawrence Sperry in Paris and wowed the onlookers. He did not stop here and continued to work after the war.
As time went on, more innovations were done to improve the autopilot around the world. Some included improvements on the control algorithms and hydraulic servomechanisms. In the year , the US Air Force tested the autopilot in which the flight would take off, land, and fly completely under the control of an autopilot. The testing was successful and as years go by, we have seen greater developments in this sector.
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Deadful Aeromedical Factor. How to Fly with Flight Following. Aviation During a Global Pandemic. After the war came the boom in commercial air travel, and more demand for automation. In the s, commercial planes had five crew members in the cockpit: a flight engineer, a radio operator, a navigator and two pilots. Over the next few decades, automation and improved technology made the first three jobs unnecessary—and saved airline companies a lot of money.
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