Unit Synopsis
In this unit you will learn advanced concepts of control systems engineering and their applications in avionics. You will be introduced to conceptual design of analog and digital control systems. You will investigate and validate different sensor types and their applicability in aircraft control systems. You will learn how to analyse aircraft control systems and represent them using standard control systems building blocks. You will also learn and practice to simulate aircraft control systems using industry standard software to validate the control concepts implemented.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 3 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: Essential Mathematics for Control Systems AND Automatic Flight Control and Communication Systems Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2026
Term 2 - 2027 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 3. Practical and Written Assessment | 20% |
| 4. Take Home Exam | 40% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain the building blocks of aircraft control systems
- Analyse the function of sensors in an aircraft control system
- Examine analog and digital controller designs of dynamic controller systems
- Model and analyse the behaviour of dynamic systems and controllers using appropriate mathematical, graphical and computer-aided tools
- Model and analyse different aircraft control systems using simulation software
- Work collaboratively and autonomously and communicate professionally in presenting your solutions.
The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Engineering Technologists in the areas of 1. Knowledge and Skill Base, 2. Engineering Application Ability and 3. Professional and Personal Attributes at the following levels:
Introductory
3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability. (LO: 6N)
3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership. (LO: 6N)
Intermediate
1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the technology domain. (LO: 2I 4I 5I)
1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice and contextual factors impacting the technology domain. (LO: 4I 5I)
1.6 Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable engineering practice in the technology domain. (LO: 4I 5I)
2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects within the technology domain. (LO: 5I)
3.2 Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains. (LO: 6I)
Advanced
1.1 Systematic, theory-based understanding of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and the engineering fundamentals applicable to the technology domain. (LO: 1I 4A 5A)
1.2 Conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics, and computer and information sciences that underpin the technology domain. (LO: 1I 4A)
1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the technology domain. (LO: 1I 2A 4A)
2.1 Application of established engineering methods to broadly defined problem-solving within the technology domain. (LO: 3N 4I 5A)
2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources within the technology domain. (LO: 4A 5A)
2.3 Application of systematic synthesis and design processes within the technology domain. (LO: 4I 5A)
Note: LO refers to the Learning Outcome number(s) which link to the competency and the levels: N - Introductory, I - Intermediate and A - Advanced.
Refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Course Moodle site for further information on Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Engineering Technologists and course level mapping information.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |||
| 3 - Practical and Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | ||
| 4 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | |||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | • | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |