Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | Motorized Throttle Quadrant for Flight Simulation |
Wendi Fu Yuqi Xue Ziang Guo |
Chaitanya Sindagi | design_document3.pdf design_document4.pdf design_document5.pdf design_document6.pdf final_paper1.pdf other3.zip other1.jpg other2.zip proposal1.pdf |
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| # Team Members Ziang Guo - ziangg2 / Yuqi Xue - yuqixue2 / Wendi Fu - wendifu2 # Problem Statement Modern airplanes are fitted with Auto Throttle systems as part of the Flight Automation System. On Boeing and McDonnell Douglas airplanes, the Auto Throttle system controls the thrust through physical movements of the thrust lever. Traditional commercially available flight simulation equipment is not able to simulate such automated movement which negatively impacts the flight simulation experience. Being able to simulate physical inputs from the Auto Throttle system allows for smooth transitions between automatic and manual throttle control. The overall flight simulation experience realism is also greatly improved. # Solution Overview Our solution consists of two parts - hardware device and software driver. ## Hardware The hardware device will be a custom-made chassis with two thrust levers preferably made to represent the throttle levers of a Boeing 737. The levers will be driven by two belts powered by servos and are independent of each other. A resolver/encoder may be used to measure the lever position as user input. The microcontroller and servo driver will be on a custom PCB inside the chassis. The microcontroller will interface with a host PC running Microsoft Flight Simulator or Lockheed Martin Prepar3Dv4 via USB connection. ## Software The software driver includes a system driver designed for Windows 10 and an add-on for MSFS and P3Dv4 to collect throttle position. The collected data is sent to the throttle quadrant to move the levers to the correct position. # Solution Components - Servo: Stepper motors used to adjust thrust lever position. - Resolver/Encoder: Measures the lever position as user input. - Belts and pulleys: Provides a physical connection between the thrust levers and the servo. Slip should be allowed for user safety. - Chassis and levers: Provides housing for components as well as aesthetics consistent with real flight instruments. - Microcontroller: Interfaces with software driver via USB to instruct movements of the servo. Also sends back throttle position to the simulator should the pilot overrides Auto Throttle input. - Motor driver: An H bridge and power supply to drive the servo. - Windows 10 driver: provides a bidirectional communication interface between the host PC and throttle quadrant microcontroller - Simulator Add-on: collects throttle position information # Criteria for Success - The throttle quadrant must be correctly recognized by Windows 10 as well as the flight simulator as an accepted input source. It must be able to be calibrated inside the flight simulator. - Once the Auto Throttle is engaged inside the flight simulator, any input made by the Auto Throttle must be reflected by the movement of the throttle lever. The throttle lever must be able to move into position in a smooth, steady manner representative of the movement shown inside the simulator. - If the pilot manually adjusts the lever position while Auto Throttle is engaged, the servo must be turned off immediately to allow for resistance-free user override. The override must be effectively reported to the simulator. # Bonus Objectives - Realistic buttons for TO/GA and A/T disconnect - Simulate throttle resistance of real airplanes - Additional realism functionalities including fuel selectors and thrust reversers. |
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