A modern aircraft uses a computer-controlled... | Information and Communication Technology 0417 | Paper 1 Mock 01 | Theory

Question 1 Report

A modern aircraft uses a computer-controlled autopilot system.

(a) Identify four sensors that the autopilot system would use. [4]

(b) Explain how the autopilot system maintains the aircraft at the correct altitude. [3]

Answer

Answer Details

(a) Four sensors the autopilot system would use:

Altimeter / altitude sensor, which measures the aircraft's current height above sea level. [1]
Airspeed sensor, which measures how fast the aircraft is travelling through the air. [1]
Gyroscope / orientation sensor, which detects the aircraft's pitch, roll and yaw to maintain stable flight. [1]
GPS receiver, which determines the aircraft's geographic position for navigation along the planned flight path. [1]

(b) How the autopilot maintains the correct altitude:

The altitude sensor continuously measures the aircraft's current height and feeds this reading to the computer. [1]
The computer compares the current altitude against the target altitude that was set by the pilot. [1]
If the aircraft drifts too low or too high, the computer sends signals to actuators controlling the elevators (control surfaces on the tail) to adjust the aircraft's pitch, bringing it back to the target altitude. [1] This is a continuous feedback loop.

A modern aircraft uses a computer-controlled autopilot system. (a) Identify four sensors that the autopilot system would use. [4] (b) Explain how the autopi...