CRJ Systems > AFCS > Flashcards

AFCS Flashcards

(80 cards)

Study These Flashcards
1
Q

What does the Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) integrate?

A

The
flight director and autopilot systems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What systems does the AFCS control and supply information to?

A

Flight
director system, autopilot system, yaw damper system, automatic pitch
trim system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a fail-passive autopilot system?

A

if the autopilot fails, there will not
be a significant deviation. The autopilot will keep the plane in trim so if the
autopilot disconnects there is not an out-of-trim condition, and the pilot can
control the aircraft and the aircraft doesn’t run away on you. A fail-passive
autopilot will display an advisory in the case of a failure.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What components are included in the AFCS?

A

Flight control panel (FCP), 2
flight control computers (FCCs), 2 auto pilot servo motors, 2 independent
yaw dampers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Where is the Flight Control Panel (FCP) located? the

A

center glareshield

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What information do the Flight Control Computers (FCCs) receive?

A

Altitude and reference information from the AHRS and ADC

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What does the Integrated Avionics Information Processing System (IAPS)
do?

A

provides interface between various avionics systems. It collects
information from the flight control panel (FCP), radio systems, data
concentrator units (DCUs), and flight management system (FMS) and
sends this information to the flight control computers (FCCs)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What happens when the autopilot is engaged?

A

The AFCS will control the
pitch and roll of the aircraft in response to the commands issued by the
flight guidance system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Where are the autopilot aileron and elevator servos located?

A

aileron servo
is located on the right aileron cable run, and elevator servo is located on
the left elevator cable run

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

10.What information does the AHRS supply to the FCCs?

A

Attitude, heading,
position, angular rate, and linear acceleration information to the FCCs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q
  1. What information does the Air Data Computer (ADC) supply?
A

Pressure
altitude, barometric-corrected altitude, static air temperature, total air
temperature, vertical speed, indicated airspeed, Mach number, true
airspeed, maximum speed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

12.What does the radio altimeter provide?

A

Altitude above ground information
which is displayed in the PFD

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

13.What is the function of the SYNC switch?

A

is used to synchronize the flight
director command bars with the actual aircraft pitch and roll when the
autopilot is disengaged

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

14.How can the active flight director be transferred between pilots?

A

By using
the XFR push button on the flight control panel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

15.What does the Flight Mode Annunciator (FMA) display?

A

Flight director
lateral (top row) and vertical (bottom row) modes. The modes that are
active/captured are in green on the left. The modes that are armed or “will
happen” are displayed in white on the right

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

16.What are the lateral modes of the flight director?

A

Takeoff/go-around
(TOGA), navigation (NAV), heading select (HDG), back course (B/C), roll
(ROLL) half bank (1/2 BNK), and approach (APPR)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

17.What is the default lateral mode of the flight director?

A

roll mode

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

18.How is the heading select mode activated?

A

Pressing the HDG pushbutton

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

19.What does the lateral approach mode do?

A

is used to capture and track the
selected localizer. In this mode, the tracking of the localizer is more
accurate than in the navigation mode

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

20.What is the function of the half bank mode?

A

Restricts flight director roll
commands to 15 degrees or less. It is automatically selected climbing
through 31,600 feet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

21.What are the vertical modes of the flight director?

A

Altitude pre select
(ALTS), takeoff/go-around (TOGA), pitch (PTCH), altitude hold (ALT),
speed (CLB, DES, IAS), vertical speed (VS), approach (APPR), glideslope
(GS), and vertical navigation (VNAV)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

22.How is the altitude pre select mode armed?

A

Automatically if the aircraft is
climbing or descending towards a preselected altitude. You may select the
desired altitude to level off at by turning the ALT knob

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

23.What happens when the altitude pre select mode captures the selected
altitude?

A

A green ALTS CAP message is displayed in the active box of the
FMA and flashes for 5 seconds. When the aircraft is within 100 feet of the
selected altitude, ALTS CAP is replaced by ALTS which also flashes for 5
seconds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

24.What does the vertical takeoff mode command?

A

A variable pitch that
depends on flap setting, whether one or both engines are operating, and
the speed difference between Vr and V2. The flaps must be selected to a
valid takeoff position of flaps 8 or flaps 20

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
25.How is the pitch mode activated?
It’s the default vertical mode when the flight director is engaged and no other vertical modes are selected. It can be manually engaged by rotating the pitch trim wheel on the flight control panel. In this mode, the autopilot will maintain the pitch angle
26
26.What does the speed mode do?
the flight director computer will maintain the reference airspeed value the aircraft is at when you pressed the button while climbing or descending. An altitude must be preselected before you can select the speed mode
27
27.What is the function of the vertical speed mode?
to maintain a desired vertical speed in a climb or descent
28
28.What does the glideslope mode do?
The flight director will capture and track the glideslope. The glideslope mode is automatically armed when the APPR button is pressed and the aircraft is flying inbound with a valid localizer frequency
29
29.How is the autopilot engaged?
Pressing the AP ENG button
30
30.How can the autopilot be disengaged?
The primary ways are by pressing the AP ENG button a second time, pressing either TOGA buttons on the thrust levers, or by pressing the AP/SP DISC switch (red button) on the control wheel. Other methods to disengage the autopilot include pressing the STAB TRIM split switches on either control wheel, pulling down the AP DISC switch on the flight control panel, or pressing the DISC button on the YAW DAMPER panel
31
31.What happens when the autopilot is disconnected?
PFD will display a red flashing AP message, and an aural warning horn will sound for about two seconds
32
32.How can the autopilot warning horn and red AP message be silenced?
Pressing either control wheel’s AP/SP DISC switch. If the autopilot was disconnected by pressing a TOGA button, you cancel the horn and red AP message by pressing the TOGA button a second time
33
33.What does the XFR pushbutton do when the autopilot is engaged?
Transfers the flight director to the other side
34
34.What indicates the active flight director on the PFD? green
green on the left of the FMA (top left of the PFD)
35
35.What happens if the navigation source is lost while in navigation mode?
The flight director will automatically default back to the roll mode
36
36.What is the purpose of the TOGA button during takeoff?
Maintains the aircraft heading at the time of the weight-off-wheels
37
37.What is the bank angle limit in the lateral takeoff mode?
5 degrees
38
38.What happens when the APPR button is pressed?
Both the localizer lateral mode and glideslope vertical mode will be armed
39
39.What does the back course mode track?
back course approach
40
40.What happens when the back course is captured?
B/B becomes the active lateral mode on the FMA
41
41.What does the lateral go-around mode provide?
Provides steering commands to maintain the aircraft’s heading at the time of selection
42
42.What happens when the TOGA button is pressed during go-around?
This activates both the lateral and vertical go-around mode and disconnects the autopilot
43
43.When is the half bank mode automatically selected? When
31600
44
44.What happens to the half bank mode when the aircraft descends below 31,600 feet?
half bank mode is cleared
45
45.What is the purpose of the altitude preselect mode?
Enables the flight crew to select a desired level off altitude
46
46.What happens when the aircraft is within 1,000 feet of the preselected altitude?
The preselect altitude readout and bug on the altitude tape flash magenta. In addition, an aural warning will sound, and the white ALTS message will flash to alert the flight crew to the approaching level off
47
47.What does the altitude hold mode do?
provides guidance to maintain a reference altitude
48
48.How is the altitude hold mode activated?
By pressing the ALT button
49
49.What happens when the SPEED button is pressed a third time?
This will disengage the speed mode causing the pitch mode to activate automatically
50
50.What does the climb mode do?
The flight control computer will command a lower pitch to capture the new airspeed if the airspeed to be maintained during a climb is increased. The minimum rate of climb is 50 feet per minute
51
51.What does the descent mode do?
The flight control computer will command a higher pitch to capture the new airspeed if the airspeed to be maintained during a descent is decreased. The minimum rate of descent is 50 feet per minute
52
52.What happens during the changeover between IAS and Mach reference?
IAS is replaced with the MACH number on the FMA automatically when climbing through 31,600 feet. Opposite for descent
53
53.What does the vertical speed mode maintain?
The selected vertical speed. Is controlled by the vertical speed wheel
54
54.What happens when the vertical speed mode is selected?
The default rate will be the vertical speed existing at the time of the engagement of the VS mode
55
55.What does the glideslope mode capture?
The glideslope of the ILS
56
56.What does the VNAV mode do?
The flight director sets target speeds and altitudes to maintain the FMS vertical path
57
57.What happens if VNAV is selected and the FMS vertical flight plan is invalid?
An amber VNAV message is displayed in the vertical armed field
58
58.What does the snowflake symbol on the PFD indicate?
deviation from the FMS vertical flight path (kind of like a glideslope) when in VNAV mode
59
59.What conditions must be met for the autopilot to engage?
Both FCCs are operative, both AHRS or IRS systems are operative, one ADC is operative, 1 yaw damper is engaged, 1 horizontal trim channel is engaged, and no significant aircraft instabilities exist
60
60.What does the TURB button do?
the flight control computers will not respond immediately to pitch and roll changes due to turbulence. There are no FMA indications when the turbulence mode is selected. The turbulence mode is automatically deselected when the localizer is captured
61
61.What is the purpose of the Flight Control Panel (FCP)?
Used to select the autopilot, flight director lateral and vertical modes, course, and heading
62
62.What happens when the autopilot elevator servo moves?
It moves both ailerons
63
63.What happens when the autopilot aileron servo moves?
It moves both elevators
64
64.What does the Flight Control Panel enable the crew to do?
control the flight director and autopilot functions.
65
65.What does the Flight Control Computers (FCCs) calculate?
Flight path and guidance parameters via information from the AHRS and ADC
66
66.What does the FMA display when a flight director mode is armed but not captured?
The armed mode in white
67
67.What does the FMA display when a flight director mode is active or captured? The
The active/captured mode in green
68
68.What happens when the heading knob on the FCP is pressed?
Synchronizes the heading bug with the aircraft’s heading
69
69.What does the navigation mode track?
It can track a LOC, FMS, or VOR source
70
70.What happens when the lateral approach mode is selected?
Each flight director will provide guidance information from its respective flight control computer. The Captain's PFD will display commands from FCC 1, and the First Officer's PFD will display commands from FCC 2.
71
71.What is required to track a back course localizer?
Front course must be selected and it only works with a localizer frequency
72
72.What happens when the TOGA button is pressed during takeoff?
The lateral takeoff mode will provide steering commands on the flight directors to maintain the aircraft heading at the time of weight-off-wheels
73
73.What happens when the aircraft deviates from a selected altitude by more than 200 feet?
the altitude bug on the PFD will flash and a tone will sound
74
74.What does the pitch mode maintain?
The pitch angle existing at the time of the autopilot engagement
75
75.How is the reference airspeed changed between IAS and Mach?
By pressing the SPEED knob or passing through 31,600 feet
76
76.What happens when the SPEED button is pressed twice?
Selects IAS or MACH mode
77
77.What happens when the vertical speed pitch wheel is rotated?
Changes the vertical speed in increments of 100 fpm
78
78.What happens when the AP ENG button is pressed?
The autopilot is engaged
79
79.What does the amber boxed symbol on the PFD indicate?
indicates that a control surface is significantly out of trim. The box contains a letter to indicate the affected control surface
80
80.What happens when the autopilot turbulence mode is selected?
The flight control computers will not respond immediately to pitch and roll changes due to turbulence. There are no FMA indications when the turbulence mode is selected. The turbulence mode is automatically deselected when the localizer is captured
CRJ Systems
flashcards
Decks in class (28)
# Cards
Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2026 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions