This looks like a regular IT server room. But it is actually the main avionics compartment of an Airbus A350, a rare view into what sits at the very front of the aircraft, directly beneath the cockpit floor. Inside are 22 purpose built computing modules made by Thales, each... costing more than $100,000+ They host multiple aircraft systems, processing everything from flight controls and landing gear to hydraulics, fuel, electrical systems and flight warnings. All of them are connected through a dual redundants AFDX network, with 14 switches and 29 remote data concentrators distributed throughout the aircraft. Keeping this computing architecture running requires an estimated 50-60+ kW of electrical power. The electricity keeping all of this computing hardware alive is generated in real time from the aircraft's two engines. Each engine mechanically drives two generators through its accessory gearbox, giving the A350 four generators capable of producing up to 100 kVA each. That electricity then flows through the aircraft's power network, where transformers and rectifiers convert it into the different AC and 28 V DC supplies the avionics need. And if those generators fail, the aircraft has layers of backup power, including the APU and, in an extreme emergency, a ram air turbine that deploys automatically if all systems fail. The A350 has two independent avionics cooling circuits, heat extraction fans and backup airflow paths to keep the computers within their operating limits. So the next time you hear the word autopilot, remember what it really takes to make an Airbus A350 fly itself, An entire architecture of computers, networks, redundant power and cooling, hidden beneath the floor where no passenger ever sees it. Source, maintenancemodeshow more

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