Responding to F-14 Fleet Rudder Hardover Incidents
Abstract
Since the summer of 2000, the F-l4 community has experienced three occurrences of rudder hardover. The NAVAIRSYSCOM F-l4 test and management teams commenced an investigation into the causes of the failure. This investigation led to the development of rudder hardover emergency procedures for the F-l4 aircrews. To assist in developing and evaluating the emergency procedures, the team utilized the F-14 simulation model in the Manned Flight Simulator (MFS) at NAWCAD, Patuxent River, Maryland. Flight fidelity was checked using qualitative comments from an F 14 fleet pilot who experienced the rudder hardover failure in flight and subsequently safely recovered the airplane. A flight test effort was deemed prohibitive due to safety concerns, cost, and the immediate need for NATOPS/PCL procedures required by the fleet squadrons. One challenge in using the simulation was that the resident MFS F-14 aerodynamic model had some limitation that had to be understood when performing tests on these malfunctions. The resultant rudder hardover simulation malfunctions were recently inserted into the F-14 Operational Flight Trainers (OPT's) and are currently being used to train fleet F-l4 pilots to handle this emergency situation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA393597
Entities
People
- Kevin Brenernan
- Mark Bruington
- Thomas Santangelo
Organizations
- Naval Air Warfare Center