Flight Control Design Best Practices Relative to Active Control Technology
Abstract
Task Group SCI-26 was formally initiated in 1996, in response to well-publicized and highly visible accidents that had occurred in the latest technology aircraft both in the US and in Europe. These accidents were due to deficiencies in the flight control system designs. Other recent programs had less-well-publicized FCS development problems, with time and cost overruns more the mie than the exception. The Task Group has just published a report, which begins with a review of some examples of flight control problems. They span the history of flight from the time when the practice of flying was preceding theoretical developments up to more recent time when it might be thought that flight control designers "should know better". Then there is a chapter detailing lessons learned from various programs with positive results, which leads into a section detailing a series of recommended best practices. The second part of the report continues with some theoretical aspects. First, there is a discussion of flying qualities criteria, and the current state of the art of "carefree handling" which is related to this symposium. Next there is an extensive discussion of the latest results from research into PIOs, followed by a discussion of modelling and system identification. The Task Group members originally laid out this report to present an assessment of design methods, but no correlation was found between the method used and the problems of the past, or the successes. The theme of the symposium, "Active Control Technology", is interpreted to mean the use of flight control technology to minimize the pilot's workload in accomplishing every mission task. Specifically, it covers a range of applications from tailoring the responses to prevent undesirable characteristics, such as departures or limit exceedances, all the way through to automatic recovery systems that take control away from the pilot.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADP011120
Entities
People
- David J. Moorhouse
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory