BMW 801 Kommandogerat

If a computer is a device that uses inputs to generate outputs Could the Kommandogerat used on the FW-190 be considered as a primitive form of electro-hydraulic-mechanical computer? Addition to this question; Were there any other aircraft previous to this that had a comparable system?

Akuma said:

If a computer is a device that uses inputs to generate outputs Could the Kommandogerat used on the FW-190 be considered as a primitive form of electro-hydraulic-mechanical computer?

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Yes.

Hi,

the BMW 801 Kommandogerät was a very advanced mechanical - hydraulic computer, that made "one lever" action possible. This means that the pilot only had one lever-throttle- to operate and not mixture, propeller pitch etc.

The Kommandogerät was controlling the mixture, the ignition timing, the propeller pitch and the compressor speed.

Akuma said:

If a computer is a device that uses inputs to generate outputs Could the Kommandogerat used on the FW-190 be considered as a primitive form of electro-hydraulic-mechanical computer? Addition to this question; Were there any other aircraft previous to this that had a comparable system?

Click to expand...

As far as I have been able to ascertain, the Fw190 was the first production aircraft to use such a system, however, it seems that Bramo actually did a lot of the early development on the Kommandogerat, which BMW later got when the absorbed Bramo. I`m not sure what the exact proportions of work done by each firm on the unit were, but BMW did a lot of work, so it was more than just copying the Bramo drawings.

Here is a nice image which Tom Fey posted elsewhere on this forum some time ago. The image itself is from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society.
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TA152 and FW190-Series Aircraft Stabilisation and Engine Management Systems.......

Great info on the Kommandogerat. How does this system stack up as a technological advance as compared to, say the autopilot? Were autopilots being used in fighters during WWII? I ask this to try to determine roughly how far along the scale of aviation technology the FW-190 was in terms of aircraft design.

I think the night-fighter versions of the FW190 were equipped with a Patin autopilot, and also some of the long-range (or all-weather) fighter-bomber versions. Day fighters and the F series didn't have an autopilot in view of how short their sorties were. The FW190 was not revolutionary as an airframe for its time but certainly a very competent design. The advanced features were in the equipment, such as electrically push-button-actuated flaps and landing gear as well as the Kommandogerät which enormously eased power management for the pilot. The DB 603 and 605 and the Jumo 213 had a similar system although it was not packed into a single box as in the BMW engine. You might call such systems Full-Authority Analogue Engine Controls (FAAEC) in analogy to the now-usual FADEC engine management systems, as the pilot had only the throttle and manual propeller-pitch control which was used only for take-off and otherwise left in AUTO. The USN test pilots who flew the first FW190 in US hands complained that this system did not allow them to micro-manage the engine; obviously none of them had flown a multi-engine plane in air combat. I believe P38 pilots would have appreciated such a device.

Akuma said:

Were autopilots being used in fighters during WWII?

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There were autopilot systems in use during WWII - while not as complex as today's systems, they were effective.

Also, the Ju87 had an automatic dive recovery system that pulled the Stuka out of it's dive and levelled the aircraft off when engaged.