An Electro - Mechanical Actuator for General Aviation Aircraft

The Institute of Aircraft Systems at the University of Stuttgart, Germany is developing an Easy Control System (ECS), with the primary goal to make General Aviation aircraft capable to cover the needs of future individual traffic. Objectives of the ECS are a significant reduction of pilot workload, an increase in safety and an increase in aircraft performance by providing all-time easy and safe handling qualities with advanced control and protection functions. Due to the focus of applicability in General Aviation aircraft and corresponding certification efforts the ECS requires the development of a highly integrated, absolutely safety critical, all-electric full fly-by-wire platform with low risk investment capability for both supplier and customer. One of the primary elements of this platform is an electro-mechanical actuator driving the aerodynamic control surfaces of the aircraft. Based on requirements defined by the Institute of Aircraft Systems, a prototype of this actuator was developed by the Harmonic Drive AG.

This paper describes the main features and challenges in developing the actuator prototype. After a short introduction of the ECS and overview over the requirements, the design of the prototype by its technical features is presented. Furthermore first test results of the actuator are shown.