So what? What does that mean?
Flying helicopters now is a nerve-wracking experience because the pilot (and copilot) have to constantly work the controls. No let up. No cruise control or autopilot.
The component that Sikorsky added to the test Black Hawk is called a fly-by-wire system, which dramatically differs from the normal way a Black Hawk is built. In a typical Black Hawk, there is a mechanical connection (thanks to elements like pushrods and cables) between the controls the pilot uses to fly the helicopter and the spinning rotors. That mechanical system as well as hydraulics controls the pitch of the blades.
With fly-by-wire aircraft, like a Boeing 787 Dreamliner or an F-16 fighter jet, the connection between the controls the pilots uses and the surfaces on the outside of the planes is digital; computers sit between the two elements. Fly-by-wire is like pushing a button that’s connected via an electric circuit to a motor that opens a door for you, while non-fly-by-wire would be like pulling that door open directly with a string, perhaps with the help of some pulleys.
To make a helicopter autonomous—to tell it what to do with software—the aircraft needs to have a fly-by-wire system. “[It’s] pretty neat that one of the oldest Black Hawks has by far the most advanced control system,” Van Buiten says. “We did that to show that we could retrofit any of the Black Hawks.” The Army is also working on adding a Sikorsky autonomy system onto a much newer Black Hawk.
This could be a huge advance in helicopters and perhaps other similar aircraft.
More @ Watch a digitally-upgraded Black Hawk helicopter fly for the first time
