WILJAM FLIGHT TRAINING

Chapter 3.3
Artificial Horizon
Introduction
The artificial horizon (gyro horizon) comprises of a vertical spin axis earth gyro having freedom
of movement in all three planes, and indicates the aeroplane attitude relative to its pitch (lateral)
and roll (longitudinal) axes, which is essential when a natural horizon is unavailable, eg. when
flying in cloud.

The instrument is either air or electrically driven, although the principal of operation is identical.
The gyro spin axis is maintained vertical with reference to the centre of the earth, and a bar
positioned at 90 to the spin axis represents the local horizon. A symbol representing a
miniature model aeroplane is fixed to the instrument case, and represents the rear view of the
true aeroplane, which on some instruments is adjustable to suit the pilots own eye level, and the
particular aeroplane pitch trim setting. A typical artificial horizon display is shown on the next
page.
In flight, the aeroplanes movement about its pitch or roll axis is indicated instantaneously by
movement of the case relative to a horizon (natural horizon) bar, which is held in the local
horizontal by gyro rigidity. The position of the model aeroplane relative to the bar represents
the attitude of the aeroplane to the natural horizon, whilst the position of a pointer relative to a
fixed scale represents the aeroplanes angle of bank.

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Dive and climb are indicated by the model aeroplane moving up and down with respect to the
horizon bar, whilst the angle of bank is indicated by the model aeroplane appearing to bank in
relation to the horizon bar. The indications expected during various flight attitudes are shown
below.

The exact angle of bank is indicated by a pointer at the bottom of the instrument, and provides a
direct indication of any change of attitude, without any lag being involved.
Construction of an Air driven (Classic) Artificial Horizon
A schematic view of an air driven artificial horizon is shown on the next page. This type is
commonly used in light aeroplane, and as a standby instrument in commercial aeroplanes. It is
operated by a vacuum pump, which evacuates the air from the instrument case and gyro
housing (inner gimbal). This creates a depression within the instrument, and the surrounding
atmosphere enters the instrument through a filtered inlet. The air then passes through channels
to jets mounted within the inner gimbal, which direct air onto buckets cut into the periphery of
the rotor, and cause the rotor to rotate at approximately 13,000 rpm, in an anti-clockwise
direction when viewed from above. The air is then evacuated through a pendulous unit,
mounted below the rotor casing, via four ports that are controlled by two pairs of linked

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pendulous vanes, and provide a mechanism for maintaining the gyro spin axis in its vertical
plane.
The rotor spins about a vertical axis (Z-Z1) and is mounted in bearings within a sealed case,
which forms the inner gimbal.

X1

The inner gimbal is mounted in bearings within a rectangular shaped outer gimbal and is free to
rotate 55 either side of its horizontal position, about the lateral axis (Y-Y1). This enables the
aeroplanes pitch attitude to be determined, and is directly indicated by movement of the horizon
bar. The horizon bar arm is actuated by a guide pin, which protrudes from the gyro stabilised
rotor housing (inner gimbal), and moves in a curved guide slot in the outer gimbal.
The outer gimbal is mounted in an air tight instrument case, with its pivots along the fore and aft
axis (X-X1), and is free to rotate through 110 either side of its central position, in order to
determine the roll attitude of the aeroplane. A background plate representing the sky is fixed to
the front end of the outer gimbal and carries a bank pointer, which registers against a bankangle scale. Movement in both cases is limited by resilient stops, which prevent any internal
damage to the instrument.
The instrument is gyro stabilised, and arranged so that when the gyro is erect, the horizon bar is
horizontal with reference to the earths surface, and the angle of bank pointer is in its centre
position, showing the gyro to be vertically erect with reference to the earths surface.
Bank indication is given by an index on the sky plate, which reads against a scale printed on the
glass face of the instrument. When the aeroplane banks, the rotor, inner gimbal and outer
gimbal remain rigid in their level position, whilst the instrument case, and hence printed scale,
moves with the aeroplane; thus the position of the sky plate index indicates the aeroplanes
bank angle against the scale.
Operation of an Air driven Artificial Horizon
During level flight the aeroplane's vertical axis is parallel to the rotor spin axis, with the guide pin
in the centre of the slot in the outer gimbal, and the horizon bar centralised. During a climb or

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descent, the rotor, and hence inner gimbal will remains rigid with reference to the local vertical,
whilst the outer gimbal and instrument case will move with the aeroplane, and turn about the
Y-Y1 axis. When the aeroplane starts to climb, the rear of the instrument case and outer gimbal
will follow the nose of the aeroplane and will rise up. This will cause the guide pin to move,
relative to the inner gimbal, thus displacing in the slot in the outer gimbal, and placing the
horizon bar below the model aeroplane, giving a relative indication of a climb. Conversely when
the aeroplane starts to descend the rear of the instrument case and outer gimbal will be
depressed with the nose of the aeroplane. The movement of the guide pin will cause the
horizon bar to move above the model aeroplane, thus providing a relative indication of a dive.
During a roll manoeuvre the instrument case and model aeroplane will rotate about the fore and
aft axis (X-X1), but the gyro assembly, including the inner gimbal, outer gimbal and horizon bar
will remain level. The model aeroplane will thus turn in relation to the horizon bar, and will
provide an indication of bank.
The Air Driven Artificial Horizon Erection System
The air driven instrument incorporates a mechanical pendulous vane unit, which erects the
gyroscope into its vertical position, and also maintains its spin axis in that position during its
operation. A typical unit is shown below.

VANE

The unit is fastened to the underside of the rotor housing and consists of four knife-edged,
pendulously suspended vanes, which are fixed in diametrically opposed pairs, on two shafts
supported in the unit body. One shaft is parallel to the pitch axis (Y-Y,), whilst the other is
parallel to the roll axis (X-X,) of the gyroscope. In the sides of the unit body are four small,
elongated ports, one located under each vane. Suction air, after spinning the gyro rotor, is
exhausted through the ports, and the reaction of these diametrically opposed streams of air

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applies a force to the unit body. The vanes, under the influence of gravity, always hang in the
vertical position, and govern the amount of airflow from the ports. They also control the forces
applied to the gyroscope by the exhaust air reaction forces. When the gyroscope is in its
vertical position the knife-edge of each vanes will equally bisect each port, thus making all four
port openings of equal dimension, as shown on the next page.

The air reactions will similarly be equal, and the resultant forces about each axis will be in
balance. If the spin axis is however displaced from its vertical position, as shown below, the
pair of vanes positioned on the Y-Y, axis will remain vertical, thus fully opening one port whilst
the diametrically opposing port will be fully closed.
Y

Y1

The increased reaction force produced by the air being expelled from the fully open port will
result in a torque being applied to the gyro body in the direction of the arrow, and thus according
to the law of precession, the unit will rotate about the pitch axis (Y-Y1),. The spin axis will
therefore be returned to its local vertical or erect position, when the vanes will again equally
bisect the ports, and will result in equal reaction forces again.
Errors Associated with the Air Driven Artificial Horizon
The air driven artificial horizon suffers from both acceleration and turning errors, and for the
purpose of explanation it is assumed that the gyro rotor rotates in an anti-clockwise direction
when viewed from above.
Acceleration Error. This error is also known as the Take-off error, since is most
noticeable during the take-off phase of flight, and is caused by the pendulous unit and
its associated vanes. The pendulous unit makes the rotor housing (inner gimbal)
bottom-heavy, so that when the aeroplane accelerates, a force due to the unit's inertia,
which is effective at the bottom of the rotor system, will act in the direction of the flight
crew. The resulting force will be precessed through 90 in an anti-clockwise direction,
and will lift up the right-hand side of the outer gimbal. This will cause the sky-plate,

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which is attached to the outer gimbal to rotate anti-clockwise, and will indicate a false
turn to the right against the bank angle index. Additionally during the acceleration both
of the laterally (left and right) mounted side vanes will additionally be thrown aft, with the
result that the right-hand side port will fully open and the left-hand side port will fully
closed. This will in turn produce a reaction force on the right-hand side, which when
precessed through 90, will lift the inner gimbal, and will indicate a false climb. A
classic artificial horizon will thus indicate a false climbing turn to right during the
take-off phase of flight.
Turning Error. During a turn the longitudinally (fore and aft) mounted vanes on the airdriven artificial horizon will be displaced due to the centrifugal force acting on the
pendulous unit. This will cause one port to open, whilst the opposing port will close, and
a reaction force will be set up along the fore and aft axis of the aeroplane (X-X1). After
precessing the force through 90, it will tend to lift the outer gimbal on the left or right
hand side depending on the direction of the turn. This will result in a false bank
indication, or Erection Error. It follows that during a left turn the instrument will
indicate a reduced left bank indication, whilst during a right turn the instrument will
indicate a reduced right bank indication.
The centrifugal force will additionally cause the pendulous unit to swing outwards in the
opposite direction to that of the turn, which will cause the inner gimbal to give a false
indication of climb or descent. This is alternatively known as a Pendulosity Error.
During a left turn the classic artificial horizon will indicate a false climb, and during a
right turn will indicate a false descent. These two forces will act together, and during a
360 turn will reach a maximum value at 180, and return to zero when the turn is
complete. In modern gyroscopes however the axis of rotation is slightly offset from its
true vertical to counter these errors, although this is only valid for one particular rate of
turn, and airspeed. The scales are similarly offset so that the indications are not
affected during straight and level flight.
Construction of an Electrically Driven Artificial Horizon
An example of an electrically driven artificial horizon is shown below.

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It is made up with the same basic components as the vacuum-driven type, except that the
vertical spin axis gyroscope is a squirrel-cage induction motor. Unlike conventional induction
motors, where the rotor normally revolves inside the stator, in order to make the motor small
enough to be accommodated within the space available in a modern miniaturised instrument,
the rotor is designed so that it rotates in bearings outside the stator. This ensures that the mass
of the rotor is concentrated as near to the periphery as possible, thus ensuring maximum inertia,
and adequate rigidity.
The "squirrel-cage motor" design is not only used in the artificial horizon, but is also used in
other instruments that employ electrical gyroscopes. The motor assembly is carried in a housing
that forms the inner gimbal, and is supported in bearings in the outer gimbal, which in turn is
supported in bearings in the front, and rear casing of the instrument. The horizon bar assembly
is in two parts, and like the air driven version is similarly pivoted at the rear of the outer gimbal.
The instrument is fitted with a torque motor erection system, which maintains the gyro in its
vertical axis. The electrical motor rotates the rotor at approximately 22,500 rpm, and if the power
supply fails it is indicated by a solenoid-actuated OFF flag, which appears in the face of the
indicator.
Torque Motor and Levelling Switch System
The torque motor electrical system consists of two torque control motors, which are
independently operated by mercury levelling switches; one is mounted parallel to the
longitudinal axis, and one is mounted parallel to the lateral axis. The lateral switch detects
displacement of the gyroscope in roll, and is connected to the torque motor mounted across the
pitch axis, whilst the longitudinal switch detects displacements in pitch, and is coupled to a
torque motor mounted across the roll axis. Each levelling switch consists of a sealed glass tube
containing three electrodes and a small quantity of mercury.

When the gyro is running and in its normal operating position, the mercury in the levelling
switches will lie in the centre of the tubes, and will only be in contact with the centre electrode,
whilst the two outer electrodes, which are connected to their respective torque motors, will
remain open as shown above.
The autotransformer in the system reduces the voltage to a nominal value (20V), which is then
fed to the centre electrode of the switches, so that no current flows to the torque motors when
the system is level. If the gyro is displaced, eg. about the pitch axis (Y-Y1), the pitch-levelling
switch will be displaced, and the mercury will roll in the direction of pitch to make contact with
one of the outer electrodes. This will result in the electrical circuit being completed to the
laterally mounted pitch torque motor, thus energising the motor, and causing it to apply a torque
force. According to the law of precession, a subsequent force will act on the gyro about the

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pitch axis, and will return the gyro spin axis back to its vertical position. The pitch levelling
mercury switch will now be returned to its normal operating position, with the mercury element
now only in contact with the central electrode, thereby removing the electrical supply from the
pitch torque motor.
Electrical - Fast Erection
On many electrically operated gyro horizons that employ the torque motor method of erection,
there is also a roll cut out switch, which is designed to prevent false erection signals being sent
to the erection torque motors during a prolonged turn. In this arrangement, if the gyro rotor spin
axis becomes more than 10 misaligned from the vertical, a commutator switch, fitted to the
outer gimbal ring will interrupt the current flow between the mercury switches and the torque
motors. If the gyro had been switched off, and had subsequently toppled, this device will also
prevent automatic erection taking place.
In order to overcome the problem, and to bring the gyro to its operational state as quickly as
possible, a fast erection system is provided. This system is designed to bypass the roll cut out
switch, and to apply a higher than normal voltage to the erection motors. A typical system is
shown below, where only one mercury switch and one torque motor are shown to emphasise
how the system operates

If the gyroscope exceeds the appropriate limits of movement from its vertical position, it is
important that the gyro is brought back to normal as quickly as possible, and this is achieved by
pushing in the fast-erection switch. In this position the torque motors are supplied directly with
115volts, which increases the torque motor output and hence produces greater torque. This will
result in the erection rate increasing from the normal 5 per minute, to between l20 and 180
per minute, depending on the particular design. In order to prevent the torque motor
overheating it is important that the fast-erection switch is not be used continuously for longer
than 15 seconds, nor is it used when the gyro is in its vertical position.
Errors Associated with the Electrically Driven Artificial Horizon
The electrically driven artificial horizon like the air driven derivative similarly suffers from both
acceleration and turning errors.
Acceleration Error. In the case of the electrically driven gyro horizon, the inner gimbal
does not have a pendulous erection unit hanging below it as in the case of the air driven
or classic version, and is therefore not subject to the apparent turn component of
acceleration error. However, the mercury in the longitudinally mounted switch will hang
back and complete the circuit to the pitch torque motor, and will cause the instrument to

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indicate only a false climb, and not an apparent climbing turn to the right, as in the
case of the air driven variant.
Turning Error. The sole effect on an electrically driven gyro is to displace the mercury
in the lateral mercury switch, to complete the circuit via one or other of the outer
electrodes to the roll torque motor, causing the instrument to indicate only a false bank,
and not a false indication of turn and climb or descent, as in the case of the air driven
variant
Remote Vertical Gyro
On many modern aeroplanes, the attitude indicator is fed from a remote vertical gyro unit, which
is normally sited in the avionics bay. This gyro works in the same way as the electrical gyro just
described except that it is not linked directly to a presentation. Pitch and bank data is fed to the
remote (panel mounted) indicator by means of an electrical synchro transmission system. The
same attitude information can also be fed to the autopilot so that it can use the same data as
the flight crew are viewing. The biggest advantage of using the remote vertical gyro is that it can
provide greater degrees of freedom, and also the indicator can be constructed to present all
attitudes with virtually unlimited freedom.
Standby Attitude indicator
Many modern aeroplane employ integrated flight systems, which include indicators that can
display not only pitch and roll attitude data from a remotely located vertical axis gyroscope, but
also associated guidance data from radio navigation systems. In these systems there is no
longer a need for a separate artificial horizon to be fitted, but in order to satisfy the airworthiness
requirements one has to be fitted, as a standby attitude indicator. This provides the necessary
indication should the circuits controlling the aeroplane attitude display fail.

An example of the face of a typical standby indicator is shown above. This instrument uses an
internal gyroscope, which is electrically operated and is powered during normal operation by the
aeroplanes II5V 3-phase supply. If the normal power supplies fail a static inverter, will provide
28V DC from the battery busbar, and will automatically supply the standby artificial horizon.
Power from this source is always available, so attitude indications are continually displayed.
In place of the conventional stabilised horizon bar method of displaying pitch and roll, a
stabilised spherical element is adopted as the reference against an aeroplane symbol. The
upper half of the element is coloured blue (sky) to display climb attitudes, while the lower half is

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black, to display descending attitudes. Each half is graduated in l0 increments up to 80 climb
and 60 descent. A pointer and scale indicates the bank angle in the normal manner. The
indicator also has a pitch-trim adjustment and a fast-erection facility. When the knob is rotated
in its "IN" position, the aeroplane symbol may be positioned through 5 variable pitch trim.
Pulling the knob out, and holding it, will alternatively energise a fast-erection circuit.

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