Bell announces new fly-by-wire laboratory

The Aircraft Laboratory for Future Autonomy (ALFA) was established by Bell’s Advanced Programs team, and is “dedicated to performing flight maneuvers with an aircraft safety system, and executing autonomous fly-by-wire flights”.

Bell stated that the safety system being employed by ALFA enables the separation of an aircraft’s safety functions from ones dedicated to flight control, “allowing for the rapid development and evaluation of novel flight control technology”.

Fly-by-wire integration is seen by Bell as a “critical step” towards the development of autonomous controls for its commercial aircraft. Aircraft operation has the potential to significantly reduce pilot workload and improve flight safety, particularly for complex operations such as search and rescue (SAR) and aerial firefighting.

“Fly-by-wire flight, coupled with additional capabilities that are being integrated into ALFA, provides a great foundation for Bell to expand on its autonomous capabilities,” said Jason Hurst, Executive Vice President, Engineering, Bell. “This aircraft will serve as a flying lab that will inform future autonomous technology development, which we can ultimately leverage to deliver the best rotorcraft solutions to global operators.”

Airbus has been testing its own VSR700 uncrewed helicopter in partnership with the French Armament General Directorate (DGA).