Thierry Dubois is a freelance writer specializing in helicopters, business aviation and aerospace technology. He earned a degree in fluid dynamics from an engineering school in Toulouse, France in the mid-1990s. At an unexpected crossroads, he found his first job in journalism. In 1997, he started working for French aerospace weekly Air &amp; Cosmos in Paris. This lasted until 2000, when he moved south to Lyons. He then became a freelancer, working for various aerospace publications and has been part of the AIN team since late 2000. In addition to writing about business aviation, Thierry shares responsibility for the rotorcraft section. He also is a regular on-site writer for AIN’s daily editions at international airshows such as the Paris, Farnborough, Dubai and Singapore shows, as well as at EBACE in Geneva.
In 2007, he won the Honeywell award for “Best systems or technology submission” at the Aerospace journalist of the year awards. In 2013, he won an Aerospace Media Award for the "Best Safety, Training &amp; Simulation Submission."
In other activities, Thierry moderates international conferences on aviation technology topics. Thierry is married and has three children, who seem to begin enjoying the mountains–as their parents do.

Writer

Thierry Dubois

Equipment manufacturer Sagem, which is developing the fly-by-wire (FBW) controls that will be installed on the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-07-31/details-emerge-x4-dauphin-replacement">Eurocopter X4 medium twin</a>, is pledging they will improve safety, reduce pilot workload and enhance flying precision. Although fixed-wing aircraft have used FBW for decades, integrating the system on a helicopter is more complicated.
The move to FBW begins with “cutting the direct link between the pilot’s body and the aircraft’s control surfaces,” Guillaume Thin, Sagem’s v-p in charge of “future helicopter program,” told AIN.
With a FBW system, “the aircraft no longer needs detailed orders, as it does a lot by itself,” said Thin. “A computer interprets the pilot’s orders and determines the optimal order to send to the control surfaces,” he added. Sagem produces the FBW system of the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/ain-defense-perspective/2011-01-07/eurocopter-makes-progress-nh-90-tiger-and-x3">NH90</a>, a 24,000-pound military transport helicopter that is already in service. The company is incorporating its experience with this program as well as recent progress in on-board computers into the X4 “future helicopter program” application.
Reliability, computing power and compactness of the system has improved since initial applications. More critically, these computers need less electric power, making it possible to design a FBW system for a helicopter in the 11,000-pound class.
Introduction of the FBW system will make flying a helicopter simpler, according to Thin. First, the system will reduce the number of controls the crew uses, as “innovative” sidesticks will regroup several functions and the interface will include touchscreen displays.
Another benefit of a FBW system is flight envelope protection, both from an aerodynamic and propulsion standpoint, Thin emphasized. The result is a reduction in pilot workload, as the pilot no longer has to think about these safety margins. In addition, the company expects better precision, since the computer determines the right movement for the control surface, even though the environment is changing. For example, the computer understands the pilot’s input and finds a way for the helicopter to respond accordingly, regardless of turbulence.
As the system simplifies flying, training should also become more straightforward, according to Thin. “You are using high-level parameters such as heading, speed and climb rate, as opposed to low-level ones such as control surface angles,” he said.
A challenge, Thin added, will be integrating the FBW controls with the navigation system.
Eurocopter has planned two versions of the X4, one for 2016, with a more advanced one to follow in 2020 (see AIN, August, page 52). Sagem believes its FBW system can be ready in 2018. Eventually, actuators will be electric, too (as opposed to hydraulic). The first in line are the tailrotor's pitch actuators.
Sagem is also developing new optronics to give the pilot a broad picture of the situation, combining traffic, weather, terrain and obstacle information.&nbsp;
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Sagem Touts FBW Benefits on Eurocopter X4

Equipment manufacturer Sagem, which is developing the fly-by-wire (FBW) controls that will be installed on the Eurocopter X4 medium twin, is pledging they 

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