Autopilot

The PowerPlane system operates through an onboard autopilot sensor and control system. Commercial airliners have flown on autopilots for several decades and have proven to be safe. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) are also widely used in military applications. Dr. Paul Williams, the Ampyx Power Lead Control Engineer has thorough experience in developing control systems for UAV’s with British Aerospace Engineering (BEA systems).

Redundancy

Apart from the autopilot control algorithms, the electronic hardware of the sensor and control system is inherently safe by design through the application of triple hardware redundancy. If a critical electronic component malfunctions, this ensures that it’s functionality is taken over seamlessly by a redundant identical component.

Safety system

The correct functioning of the autopilot is at all times monitored by a safety system. In the event that the autopilot does not confirm its correct operation to the safety system, a parachute is automatically deployed and the winch on the ground starts reeling in at maximum speed the cable at which the airplane is flying. The airplane then descends on the parachute while connected to the cable reeling in and touches down within a 50 meter radius of the winch on the ground. Within this radius there are no obstacles or buildings minimizing the risk of damage.

Cable

It is conceivable that the Dyneema cable at which the airplane is flying would break at some point in time. Chances of this event occurring are minimized by predictive/preventive maintenance and replacing the cable before the end of it’s lifecycle. In the event that the cable does brake, the airplane will be in a free flying state. The autopilot recognizes this event instantly and initiates a landing at a predefined location next to the winch on the ground at the landing strip for these rare occasions.

Lightning

It is likely that lightning strikes the PowerPlane system while in operation once in a while. To counteract the effect of these occurrences a lightning conductor is applied within the Dyneema cable at which the airplane is flying. In the event that the autopilot malfunctions under this scenario the safety system which has been described earlier is activated.