Roshan Bhojwani

PMDG 777-200 GroundWork - Controls

Primary Flight Control System
Lesson Introduction
Hello and welcome to the PMDG 777-200LR GroundWork Primary Flight Controls system
lesson, from Angle of Attack.
In this lesson, well have a look at what components make up the 777s primary flight controls
system, and how does the flight crew operate such components. Full understanding of the
primary flight controls system is crucial, as it is arguably the aircraft system that involves the
highest amount of pilot interaction. Not just for the 777, but for all aircraft. Naturally, there are
many different types of flight control systems, so lets start by looking at an overview of what
they do.
Before that, heres the list of lesson topics we are going to cover today.
-

Flight controls overview and types,

777 primary flight controls system overview,
Primary flight controls system modes,
Pitch control through elevators and pitch trim,
Pitch envelope protection,
Roll control through ailerons, flaperons, spoilers and aileron trim,
Roll envelope protection,
Spoilers to aid roll control,
Yaw control through rudder and rudder trim,
Yaw flight stability protection features,
Along the lesson well look at system controls and indicators.

Flight Controls Overview

An aircrafts attitude can be changed around three (3) perpendicular axes that intersect at the
aircrafts Center of Gravity (CG):
Lateral axis,
Longitudinal axis,
Vertical axis.
In straight and level flight, external forces like for example, wind, may alter the desired flight
path thus creating the need for the aircraft to be maneuvered back to the correct attitude
through three (3) types of movements:
Pitch (around the Lateral axis),
Roll (around the Longitudinal axis),
Yaw (around the Vertical axis).
To achieve these movements around the aircrafts axes, flight controls are employed. There are
two (2) groups of flight controls: Primary and Secondary. Secondary flight controls are covered
in the High Lift Control System Groundwork lesson.
Normally, the primary flight control surfaces and their direct effects are:
Elevators (change in Pitch),
Ailerons (change in Roll),
Rudder (change in Yaw).

An aircraft is free to rotate within its three axes and it will always turn about its CG, or center of
gravity. The tendency to do this is known as a turning moment. A moment is equal to the
1
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
product of the force applied and the distance from which the force is being applied. This is
known as arm and it is measured with reference to a defined datum.
Because the relationship between force and arm is inversely proportional, the longer the
distance from the datum means the force has to be smaller to maintain positive balance, and
vice-versa.
The flight controls are designed to deflect airflow and produce these forces that make the
aircraft turn around its axes. This is done by changing the angle of attack of the control surface
thus allowing for a change in lift.
EXAMPLE: When the control column is pulled back the elevators are deflected upwards
and due to the lower angle of attack on the control surface, there is a lower lift
component in the horizontal stabilizer causing it to go down and thus bringing the
aircraft nose up.
Now, normally, small aircraft that fly at relatively low airspeeds have purely mechanical flight
controls. This means that pilot input into the control columns or rudder pedals is transmitted
directly into the related control surface through cables, pulleys and rods. This implies that as
and when the airspeed increases, the amount of force required to deflect a flight control surface
would translate to an enormous amount of force required over the control columns or pedals,
making it extremely hard for the pilots to comfortably maneuver the aircraft, thus increasing the
risk of a pilot incapacitation. Remember, NO emergency is worse than a pilot not being able to
safely control his aircraft.
To counter this high-speed flight controls problem, hydro-mechanical flight controls were put
into service. In this case, relatively small pilot inputs are relayed through cables and pulleys to
hydraulic actuators, which make use of hydraulic power to create large amounts of force in the
control surfaces. The B737, for example, has hydro-mechanical flight controls.
A third type of flight controls system is available, known as fly-by-wire. Initially, only military
aircraft would boast this technology, until Airbus implemented it in commercial airliners. The 777
is the very first Boeing commercial aircraft to have fly-by-wire controls.
In FBW, pilot input is translated to electronic signals that are sent to flight control computers.
These are fed with further aircraft information which then calculate the required flight control
surface deflection to meet the pilots input, thus producing more electronic pulses that are then
sent to hydraulic actuators on each control surface.
Benefits of FBW are:
-

A more efficient structure design,

Lesser amount of components, therefore lesser aircraft weight,
Which translates to a better fuel economy,
and the possibility to include computerized flight-envelope protection features.

With this in mind, lets look at the general structure of the 777 primary flight controls system.
777 Primary Flight Controls System Overview
As we already mentioned, the 777 uses a fly-by-wire primary flight controls system, or PFCS.
This means that commands from the flight crew and the autopilot are translated to calculated
electronic pulses towards the respective control surfaces. The operation and components of the
system, are however, fairly standard.
The control surfaces operated by the PFCS are:
-

One aileron on each wing,

One flaperon on each wing,
2
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
-

Seven spoilers on each wing,

One horizontal stabilizer,
One elevator on each side of the horizontal stabilizer,
One rudder.

The system operation logic is specifically the following: Pilots input their commands into the
control wheels, control columns and rudder pedals. These commands are translated to analog
electronic signals that are sent to four Actuator Control Electronics, or ACEs. The ACEs
process the signals, change them to a digital format, and send them to three Primary Flight
Computers, or PFCs. Whenever the autopilot is active, it feeds information directly to the
PFCs, which then send signals to the ACEs and subsequently displace the control surfaces.
Metaphorically speaking, the ACEs can be seen as the systems heart, and the PFCs are the
systems brain. PFCs take the digital electronic signals and calculate the required control
surface deflection. To do these calculations, the PFCs also receive the following information:
-

Aircraft airspeed,
Inertial data,
Angle of attack data,
TE Flap position.

The calculated signals are sent back to the ACEs, which then convert them back to digital
signals and relay them to the respective control surface Power Control Units, or PCUs. The
PCUs are in charge of providing the muscle to operate the flight controls, by making use of
hydraulic power. Essentially, PCUs drive the primary flight control system.
Its not entirely necessary for you to know how these components and computers exactly work,
but knowing their operation and the different logics that are associated to them are primordial.
For this reason, this lesson will focus on flight controls from an operational point of view.
Moving on, because computers process the pilot input before sending them to the control
surface actuators, their displacement may be restricted or limited to protect the aircrafts flight
envelope from entering certain potentially dangerous zones. The 777 has three main types of
flight envelope protection features, for both manual and auto-flight:
-

Stall,
Overspeed,
Bank angle.

Worth mentioning is that the pilot maintains ultimate control authority over the aircraft,
regardless of any protection feature being activated.
Now, flight controls are normally checked on ground after engine start. If there are no EICAS
messages, the system should be working normally. The controls must be free from obstructions,
and also must be correct. Meaning for example, when the control wheel is turned to the left,
ensuring that the left aileron goes up and right aileron goes down.
To perform this check, flight controls surface positions may be seen in the Flight Controls
Synoptic Display by pushing the FCTL switch in the display select panel. Pointers indicate
surface displacement from their center position and their movement. Horizontal stabilizer trim
and rudder trim, in trim units, are also indicated.
Certain abnormal conditions are also shown in the flight controls synoptic display. Unknown
aileron positions are symbolized by a loss of the respective aileron pointer. A fully black spoiler
deflection bar shows unknown spoiler conditions. If a control surface fails, a cross illustrates it.
In the lower portion of the synoptics display, there are hydraulic system and ACEs computer
indications. If they are green the systems are normal, if they are amber, the systems are failed.
Primary Flight Controls System Modes

3
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
Now, the primary flight controls system of the 777 always operates under one of three main
laws, or modes, of operation.
-

NORMAL,
SECONDARY,
DIRECT.

One of these modes is active at all given times.

During normal mode autopilots are operative, autospeedbrakes are operative, all flight envelope
protections are available, three PFCs are operative and four ACEs are operative.
If the PFCS detects a general failure in the system, or specifically if airspeed and/or inertial
reference data is lost, the system automatically switches from NORMAL to SECONDARY
mode.
In secondary mode, the PFCs still calculate simple surface inputs and relay them to the PCUs
via the ACEs, however, autopilots and autospeedbrakes are not available, meaning the aircraft
must be manually controlled. Caution must be exercised because even though the aircraft is
fully manually controllable, no forms of flight envelope protections are available. Yaw
dampening is also degraded, and in some cases may be unavailable, meaning gust lock and
dutch roll protection is also degraded or unavailable. When the system reverts to secondary
mode, the EICAS caution message displays FLIGHT CONTROL MODE.
If any further failure occurs, the PFCs completely disconnect from the ACEs and the system
enters DIRECT mode. In direct mode, pilot input is directly relayed to the flight controls, without
any input calculations whatsoever. Aircraft controllability is similar to SECONDARY mode, and
crew always has full control of the aircraft. When in direct mode, the EICAS displays the caution
message PRI FLIGHT COMPUTERS.
Direct mode can also be manually selected, however this is not normal practice and must only
be done if imperative for safety. To do so, lets look at the PRIMARY FLIGHT COMPUTERS
disconnect switch in the overhead panel, which has two positions:
-

AUTO: the PFCS operates in normal mode, and if any of the faults we explained
earlier occurs, the system automatically reverts to secondary or direct mode. AUTO
can also be selected to attempt to restore the system to normal mode if it has
changed to secondary or direct mode.

DISC: the PFCs are disconnected from the ACEs and the PFCS is put into direct
mode. Whenever this happens, whether manually or automatically triggered, a
DISC light illuminates in amber next to the switch.

In the unlikely event of all electrical power on the aircraft being lost, the horizontal stabilizer and
selected spoilers are still manually controllable from the flight deck through a series of cables.
This allows for a nominal amount of aircraft controllability, sufficient for maintaining straight and
level flight.
Now that weve overviewed the flight controls system, lets jump into the three main types of
movements that flight controls induce in the aircraft, starting by pitch.

Pitch Control
Pitch control is achieved through the use of two elevators and an elevator trim system. Lets first
start by talking about the elevators.

4
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
These are movable control surfaces located in the aft portion of the horizontal stabilizer that
allow the aircraft to move around its lateral axis, in an up or downward direction. The cockpit
control columns control the movement of both elevators simultaneously.
-

The left elevator is powered by hydraulic systems L & C, and the L1 & C ACEs.
The right elevator is powered by hydraulic systems L & R, and the L2 & R ACEs.

As we mentioned before, when the control column is pushed forward, signals are sent to the
respective ACEs to command the PFCs to generate the respective pitch maneuver. The
elevator PCUs receive these signals and provide the required downward displacement,
increasing the horizontal stabilizers angle of attack. This produces an upward-pushing force in
the tail, thus bringing the aircraft nose down.
The PFCs constantly monitor aircraft configuration changes in order to automatically re-position
the elevators and thus improve aircraft handling, and passenger comfort. In fact, it makes
banking the aircraft a comfortable maneuver for the flight crew, as for all turns below 30 of
bank angle, the pilots do not need to add additional column back-pressure to maintain the
altitude. For all turns of 30 or more of bank, a little back-pressure must be added.
Even though the system is far more modern than conventional flight-control systems, elevator
feel forces are provided to the control columns to simulate an increase in the force necessary to
displace them, as and when airspeed increases.
In normal mode, elevator feel forces are mostly directly proportional to increases in speed. In
secondary and direct modes, however, only two forms of feel-forces are provided:
-

When TE Flaps are extended which is most generally when airspeeds are relatively
low, column forces are low. When TE Flaps are retracted, column forces are high.

The main purpose of feel-forces are to provide protection against overcontrolling the aircraft at
high airspeeds.
Now, assuming the aircraft has to be manually controlled, a great resource that pilots have is
pitch trim. Pitch trim in the 777 is achieved with a movable horizontal stabilizer that is powered
by the C & R hydraulic systems, as well as all four ACEs.
There are two modes of pitch trim operation: Primary and Alternate.
Primary pitch trim is controlled with dual trim switches on each control wheel. There are also
two sub-modes of operation.
During normal mode, and on ground, the horizontal stabilizer is directly positioned when the trim
switches are moved. During flight, trim switches and the autopilot trim instead command inputs
to the PFCs to change what is known as the trim reference speed. When in secondary or direct
mode, primary trim switches directly command the stabilizer, whether on ground or in flight.
Trim reference speed is the speed that the aircraft would stabilize if there were no
control inputs.
The PFCs then send signals to the ACEs. Finally, the stabilizer moves to the commanded
position to meet the new trim reference speed, after which the elevators are also displaced so
they streamline with the stabilizer. To override the trim switches, opposite column force must be
applied.
Therefore,
Manual trimming, meaning when autopilots are disconnected, is there to change aircraft
airspeed, not aircraft configuration. Once the autopilots are engaged, trim switches are
inhibited.

5
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
Two stabilizer position indicators, one being on each side of the control stand have white
diamonds to show current relative trim position, in trim units.
The FMC calculates and displays a green band that shows the allowable trim range for take-off.
This calculation is based upon:
Aircraft CG,
Gross Weight,
Takeoff thrust.
The FMC also suggests an ideal trim value, with the previous parameters in mind. This is shown
in the takeoff reference page in the CDU.
Another way of trimming the aircraft is through alternate pitch trimming. This is achieved by a
set of alternate trim levers on the control pedestal, which must be moved together to achieve
any pitch trim changes.
The alternate pitch trim levers change both the trim reference speed, and the stabilizer position
directly, through a series of cables that are linked between the switches and two stabilizer trim
control modules, or STCMs. If there is a single STCM failure, the stabilizer will still move but at
a slower speed.
There are two main rules to operate the alternate trim system:
1. Alternate pitch trim commands have priority over the trim switches on the control
wheels.
2. Moving the alternate pitch trim levers during autoflight does cause a displacement in
the stabilizer, however, alternate trim must not be used with the autopilot engaged. In
fact, it mustnt even be used with any envelope protection features active.
Speaking of flight envelope, there are two features associated to pitch protection: Stall and
overspeed protections.
Pitch Envelope Protections
Lets start with the stall protection.
Stalling is obviously a condition that we want to avoid. Fly-by-wire allows for easier and better
response to inadvertently entering a stall condition from exceeding the stalling angle of attack.
Enhancing crew awareness of a stalling condition is the main objective of the 777 stall
protection feature, which operates in the following manner:
Stall protection limits the speed at which the aircraft can be trimmed by reducing the likelihood
of stick-shaker activation. We must know that the stall warning system is a stick shaker, with no
aural warning besides the uncomfortable sound that the shaker produces. *Play stick-shaker
sound*
Aircraft indicated airspeed can be trimmed to a speed as low as the top of the amber band in
the PFD speed tape, which represents minimum maneuvering speed. The pilot must apply
continuous back-pressure on the control column to maintain an airspeed below the minimum
maneuvering speed. As and when airspeed reaches near stalling speed, the control column
forces increase to high levels. In this case, an EICAS caution message will display reading
AIRSPEED LOW. If airspeed still decreases below minimum maneuvering speed, and
autothrottles are armed but not activated, they automatically activate and advance thrust to
minimum maneuvering speed or the MCP selected speed, whichever is higher. This feature is
inhibited below 100ft RA.
Always remember that in spite of all protections, the aircraft may still enter a stall, therefore
caution and safe operation must be exercised to avoid this unwanted condition.

6
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
Moving on from stall protection, another form of pitch envelope protection is against aircraft
overspeed.
Overspeed protection essentially does the opposite to stall protection, meaning: It limits the
airspeed at which the aircraft can be trimmed to maintain maximum operating speed
(Vmo/Mmo). Above this speed, constant forward pressure is required in the control columns to
keep the aircraft in the overspeed condition and once the columns are released, the aircraft
brings down its airspeed to or below Vmo/Mmo. The required forward pushing force increases
as bank angle increases. In an overspeed condition, the EICAS illuminates a warning message
OVERSPEED and there are also aural alerts. *Play overspeed aural alert*
Thats pretty much it for pitch control. Were going to summarize it towards the end of the
lesson. Next stop? Roll control.
Roll Control
In the normal mode, Roll control around the aircrafts longitudinal axis is achieved with one
aileron on the outboard portion of each wing; one flaperon located slightly more inboard, and
selected spoilers.
Flaperons are most generally a concept that not many pilots have heard of. For explanation
purposes, flaperons are standard inboard ailerons that also extend and operate as flaps. Both
ailerons and flaperons droop a few degrees when TE Flaps are extended, however, they are
still fully operational for roll control. During secondary and normal operation modes, the
flaperons droop a fixed 20. In this case, ailerons do not droop.
Normally, deflection of ailerons, flaperons and spoilers is a function of control wheel
displacement. When the control wheels are turned, for example left, the left set of ailerons and
flaperons move upward and the opposite wings set move downward.
Spoilers only displace upward and begin to extend when additional rolling moment is needed,
when the control wheel has been rotated a significant amount.
Its important to know that there is a lockout mechanism that prevents ailerons from moving at
high speeds. During ground and in flight at slow speeds, ailerons and flaperons control roll, but
ailerons lockout and fair to the wings when cruise speed is attained. This is to avoid generating
excessive rolling moments at high speed, in order to protect the aircrafts structural integrity.
In terms of the FBW aspect of roll control, the structure is very similar to that of pitch control.
Input from the pilot controls are sent to four ACEs, that change the signals to digital inputs and
relay them to the PFCs. These calculate the required control surface deflection, based on other
aircraft information, and send these calculations back to the ACEs, which then command the
PCUs to provide the muscle power in the actuators of each control surface. Whenever autopilot
is in operation, the autopilot signals are sent directly to the PFCs and then the process is the
same from there on.
Note that the PFCs backdrives the control wheels, making them displace left or right whenever
the autopilot issues roll commands. The pilot may override the autopilot input through sufficient
application of force in the control wheel to overcome the backdriven forces. Roll control in
secondary and direct modes is mostly the same as in normal mode.
Now, also like with the case of elevators, the ailerons also have an aileron trim function. To do
so, dual switches on the aisle stand must be pushed to either side. When aileron trim in one
direction is used, the system also backdrives the control wheel so that it also tilts slightly in that
direction.
Both switches move ailerons, flaperons and spoilers in the desired direction. They are spring
loaded to neutral. Aileron trim is NOT available, and is inhibited during autopilot operation.
Aileron trim is measured in trim units, and is indicated on a scale on top of each control column,
near the center.
7
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani

Roll Envelope Protections

The 777 also has a flight envelope protection feature that is linked to roll control, and that is
bank-angle protection, or BAP.
As the name implies it, bank-angle protection is there to reduce the possibility of exceeding the
normal bank-angles due to weather disturbances or failures of any sort. During IFR flight, a
normal bank angle is one that allows a standard rate turn, or 30 of bank, whichever is lower.
And so, if the aircraft exceeds a boundary of approximately 35 of bank, the protection feature
comes into action and provides control wheel inputs to bring the aircraft back to 30 of bank.
Bank angle protection is not available in secondary and direct modes.
An indication of an excessive bank angle is made apparent in the PFD. When 35 are
exceeded, the indicator turns amber to alert the flight crew.
Worth mentioning is that, given the Boeing philosophy, pilots always have ultimate control of the
aircraft, and thus may override the bank angle protection commands by continuing to roll the
aircraft in spite of having exceeded the bank angle boundary. This must only be done when
imperative for safety reasons.
Lets now move on to the final segment of this lesson: Yaw control.
Yaw Control
Yaw control, around the aircrafts vertical axis is achieved through a movable rudder located on
the aft portion of the vertical stabilizer. There are three PCUs that move the one rudder and
they receive power from all three hydraulic systems, as well as the R, C & L1 ACEs.
There are five main aspects related to yaw control in the 777:
-

Rudder Pedals,
Rudder Ratio Changer,
Rudder Trim,
Yaw Damping,
Yaw envelope protections.

There are two sets of pedals in the flight deck, and their movement causes a proportional
displacement in the rudder. Pedals have a variable force feel, which is not based on airspeed
changes like the case of the control column forces we talked about earlier, instead rudder pedal
force is based on pedal displacement. The more it is displaced from its zero position, the higher
the pedal force.
However, airspeed still plays a part in the operation of the rudder. There is a system known as
the rudder ratio changer that, given a constant pedal input, reduces the allowable rudder
deflection as airspeed increases. This is done to protect the vertical stabilizer and the rudders
structural integrity at high speeds.
During normal mode, and at low airspeed, the rudder is allowed to deflect fully. As airspeed
increases, the PFCs reduce rudder deflection.
During secondary and direct modes, rudder ratio is not calculated based on airspeed, but on
flap position. To put it simply, when the system senses that TE flaps are down, the system
assumes low speed operation and thus allows the rudder to deflect fully, contrary to a case with
TE flaps in the up position.
In all modes, the rudder deflection ratio always allows sufficient control to counter-act the
yawing moment of an engine failure, or to counteract the effect of crosswind crabbing.

8
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
Now, rudder system logic is similar to elevators and ailerons, in the sense that rudder pedal
inputs are sent to ACEs, which then communicate with PFCs and then send enhanced signals
to the rudder PCUs, to provide muscle to move the rudder.
The rudder is also trimmable, with a rudder trim controller that commands rudder trim in all three
flight control modes. When the controller is rotated to the left, the rudder deflects left and so
does the aircraft nose. Rudder trim also backdrives a movement in the rudder pedals.
There are two rudder trim speeds: high and low. A detent in the trim controller limits low and
high trim speeds. If the controller is rotated at or below the detent, the rudder displaces at low
speed whereas if it is rotated beyond the detent, the rudder displaces at high speed.
A MAN TRIM CANCEL switch cancels rudder trim and returns the rudder to the zero position, at
a high speed rate. To do this, the button must be pushed however, it is only available in the
normal and secondary control modes.
Yaw Protection Features
Moving on, the 777 yaw control system has several flight envelope protection mechanisms,
many more than pitch and roll. These are:
-

Yaw Damping,
Gust Supression,
A wheel to rudder cross-tie,
Turn compensation,
Thrust asymmetry compensation.

Yaw Damping
Lets start with Yaw Damping. During normal mode, Yaw damping is available to reduce the
oscillations caused by dutch roll, as well as aiding in turn-coordination. Contrary to other
commercial aircraft, such as the B737, the 777 does not count on an independent yaw damper
to achieve the dampening. In fact, the rudder system logic is such that the PFCs themselves
issue commands to provide yaw dampening by optimizing the inputs that are sent to the rudder
PCUs.
In secondary mode yaw damping is available only if inertial data is available to the PFCs. When
the system reverts to direct mode, no yaw damping is available.
Gust Suppresion
Gust suppression is a feature to improve passenger comfort along the flight. The system
reduces the impact that gusting wind has on the aircraft, by issuing yaw and roll commands.
These commands do not backdrive the control wheel and pedals.
Wheel to rudder cross-tie
Moving on, the wheel to rudder cross-tie is a feature available to counter the initial yawing
moment of an engine failure by using the control wheel.
Control wheel inputs allow for around 8 of rudder deflection, however the feature is only
available in the normal control mode, and at airspeeds below 210 kts.
Turn Compensation
The next yaw protection feature is for turns. Turn compensation comes into place only in the
normal mode and when the aircraft is being rolled so that in any turn below 30 of bank, the
column back pressure required to maintain straight and level flight is eliminated. When turns
exceed 30 of bank, but below 60, partial compensation is provided.

9
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
Thrust Asymmetry Compensation
Finally, were going to talk about thrust asymmetry compensation, or TAC.
TAC is available to assist in controlling the aircraft after an engine failure or when thrust levers
are unequal, by providing a high rate rudder command.
For example if the left engine were to fail, a strong left yawing moment would be
generated, thus requiring an enormous amount of right-rudder to stay on track. TAC
would assist in providing this rapid right rudder response.
The TAC system constantly monitors engine data and when it detects a difference of 10% or
more in the thrust output of each engine, it activates a rudder input in the way we described
before. The higher the thrust difference, the more rudder deflection is commanded. This rudder
deflection is backdriven to the rudder pedals, and is displayed in the rudder trim indicator.
The system only corrects the thrust imbalance partially, so that there is still a difference enough
that pilots may recognize the thrust asymmetry condition. In spite of TAC coming into place, the
pilots may override the commands by making manual rudder pedal inputs.
TAC is always available, except:
-

When the control system reverts to secondary or direct mode,

When engine thrust data is lost,
When airspeed falls below 70kts on the ground,
When the right thrust reverser has been deployed,
Or when the system has been manually disengaged.

To manually disengage TAC, there is a pushbutton in the overhead panel named THRUST
ASYM COMP. When pushed, TAC gets disconnected and an OFF light illuminates in amber.
Lesson Summary
This wraps up our lesson on the primary flight control system. As weve seen, there are an
impressive amount of operation logics, subsystems and modes.
More than anything else, you should understand fully the implications of the system reverting to
secondary or direct modes. What elements and protection features become inoperative?
Perhaps its a good idea that you make a list of all the controls and protections that are
unavailable in each mode. To help you out, heres a quick system summary:
In the normal mode, all the flight deck inputs for pitch, roll and yaw are fed into actuator control
electronic computers, which take the signals and relay the signals to the primary flight
computers, which then calculate the required control surface deflection and return the signal to
the ACEs, which then command the power control units to hydraulically displace each control
surface.
In secondary mode, the PFCs calculate simpler commands based on the lack of inertial or
airspeed data. When there are more failures, the system reverts to direct mode where the
PFCs disconnect from the ACEs and these relay the pilot input directly to the PCUs.
All three control axes have trimmable surfaces with cockpit switches. All trim indications are in
trim units. Pitch trim is the most prominent in flight and thus has a green normal range band that
is displayed to position the trim for takeoff.
The 777 FBW function allows for flight-envelope protection features that are based upon
protecting the structural integrity of the aircraft and powerplant. At a quick glance, these are
Stall, Overspeed and Bank angle protection, as well as a few others we talked about.

10
Angle of Attack

Roshan Bhojwani
Remember that in a full electrical or hydraulic failure, the system is designed so that the aircraft
is still nominally controllable.
Only one more lesson to wrap up the controls section. Stay tuned for the following lesson on the
high-lift control system. Until then, thanks for watching and

ThrottleOn!

11
Angle of Attack