Independent Systems Engineering Consultancy

Civil aero engine control - from requirement to certification.

Moth Systems is an independent UK systems engineering practice for civil aero engine control. Twenty-plus years of hands-on work across Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, Trent XWB, Trent 900 and Trent 700 Refresh programmes - the kind of engineer prime contractors bring in when a FADEC verification queue has to close before flight clearance, not after.

Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 Trent XWB Trent 900 Trent 700 Refresh ARP4754 DO-178
What we do

Systems engineering that closes the gap between specification and flight clearance.

Prime contractors and their tier-2 suppliers use Moth Systems for the same set of problems, framed as services below. Every engagement is scoped in writing, priced against a statement of work, and delivered under the discipline the aerospace supply chain expects.

Requirements

Requirements Management

Analysis of existing and creation of new requirements for engine electronic controllers, gas-turbine control functions and airframe interfaces. Traceability from customer statement of work through to system acceptance.

Design

Control System Design

Specification, design and validation of FADEC and EEC functions - starting, quick and auto relight, airframe inputs and outputs, power supplies, data entry, on-aircraft interactive maintenance tests. Programme experience across four Trent variants.

V and V

Verification and Validation

System verification to ARP4754 - test script creation and review, system testing, test data analysis, fault investigation, configuration control, verification documentation. Technical lead to verification teams within fixed software lifecycles.

Certification

Qualification and Certification

Flight clearance activities for development and series production aircraft. Managing certification for new products through UK MoD, export and NATO customer requirements. Compliance, traceability and justification matrices against customer requirements.

Assurance

Quality and Design Assurance

Quality planning, demonstration and acceptance trials, software vetting, investigation of quality problems, design-review attendance. Ministry of Defence and commercial contracts. Ensuring project compliance to company procedures.

Programme

Compliance Management

Creation of compliancy, traceability and justification matrices against customer requirements on partnered support programmes. Management-by-maturity approach to design maturity reporting so the business can make decisions with a clear view of risk.

Programme heritage

The engine programmes behind the work.

A representative slice of the civil aero engine control work Moth Systems has led or contributed to. Named clients and platforms are on the public record; specific role, team size and engagement dates are available on request under NDA.

Rolls-RoyceBoeing 787 - Trent 1000

System Verification, ARP4754

Verification of aircraft engine control requirements. Technical lead to system verification engineers - test script creation and review, system testing, test data analysis, fault investigation, configuration control, training and development plans. Coordinating with the customer to hold quality, cost and schedule within fixed software lifecycles.

Rolls-RoyceAirbus A330 - Trent 700 Refresh

Replacement EEC design

Control-system design activities on the Trent 700 Refresh programme. Software requirement management (analysis of existing and creation of new requirements), specification, design and validation of the replacement Engine Electronic Controller within the FADEC system. Liaising with customers, software, hardware, systems and safety to hold phased functional software releases to fixed timescales.

Rolls-RoyceAirbus A350 - Trent XWB

Gas turbine engine control

Control-system design for the Trent XWB gas-turbine engine control system. Software requirement management, specification, design and validation of functions within the engine control system - starting, quick and auto relight, airframe inputs and outputs, power supplies, data entry plug.

Rolls-RoyceAirbus A380 - Trent 900

Engine control and monitoring

System design activities to define, implement and validate engine control and monitoring requirements. Software requirement management, specification, design and validation for the on-aircraft interactive maintenance tests. Day-to-day liaison with Airbus in France and internal Rolls-Royce departments across Software, Hardware, Verification, Safety, Service Engineering and Publications.

Beyond civil aero

Two decades of heritage across defence, submarine and avionics.

The civil aero engine-control specialisation sits on top of a broader systems-engineering career across UK defence programmes. Available for reference and, where relevant, direct engagement.

  • Typhoon Aircraft - qualification and certification, managing flight clearance for new products including Centurion, ESCAN Radar and Damocles LDP against UK MoD, export and NATO customer requirements.
  • Eurofighter Helmet - systems team lead across the project lifecycle, from specification to verification. Requirements management, system integration, qualification, rig and flight trials.
  • ASTUTE Submarine - engineering-change control through the software development process. Technical assessment of change for software, hardware and safety; sole point of contact with customer and suppliers.
  • Sonar Systems - systems engineering across the full lifecycle for submarine, surface-ship and airborne sonar and command-and-control systems.
  • CAPTOR Radar - environmental stress screening test equipment for the CAPTOR radar processor and receiver, from requirements capture through qualification to customer acceptance.
  • MoD Emergency Personal Locator Beacon - system design, qualification and acceptance for flight clearance into service.
About

One consultant. Real programmes. Statement-of-work discipline.

Moth Systems Limited is a UK-registered independent systems engineering consultancy. Engagements are held to prime-contractor delivery standards. Availability, day rate and current NDAs are shared on request.

Gerrad McGhee
Managing Director

Systems design consultant with proven experience in the electronics and controls industry across the electronics, aerospace and defence supply chain. Background covers systems engineering, software and hardware design, quality assurance and manufacturing.

How engagements work

Every engagement starts with a scoping conversation - the shape of the problem, the standards it lives under, the deliverable and the deadline. From there we agree a statement of work, a fixed price or day-rate envelope, and a review cadence. Moth Systems can lead, support or embed with an existing team, on site or remote, single-consultant or leading a partnered team from Moth's network.

Standards and clearances

Work is scoped to the applicable standards - ARP4754, DO-178, DO-254, Def Stan 00-56 - and to the customer's own delivery framework. UK-eligible for engagements requiring security clearance; current status confirmed on request.

Talk to Moth

The cost of a conversation is nothing.

If a FADEC verification queue is longer than you expected, or a certification package needs an independent lead, tell us where you are. We answer every email in one working day.

Email
systems@themoth.co.uk
Telephone
07880 555 367
Response time
Within one UK working day
Registered office
Moth Systems Limited, United Kingdom
Full registered address on Companies House.
Companies House
Company number - to be confirmed from Companies House record before publish.
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