A Simulation Evaluation of a Four-Engine Jet Transport Using Engine Thrust Modulation for Flightpath Control
Gilyard, Glenn B. and Conley, Joseph L. and Le, Jeanette and Burcham Jr., Frank W. (1991) A Simulation Evaluation of a Four-Engine Jet Transport Using Engine Thrust Modulation for Flightpath Control. Technical Report NASA TM-4324, Research Engineering, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.
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Abstract
The use of throttle control laws to provide adequate flying qualities for flightpath control in the event of a total loss of conventional flight control surface use was evaluated. The results are based on a simulation evaluation by transport research pilots of a B-720 transport with visual display. Throttle augmentation control laws can provide flightpath control capable of landing a transport-type aircraft with up to moderate levels of turbulence. The throttle augmentation mode dramatically improves the pilots' ability to control flightpath for the approach and landing flight condition using only throttle modulation. For light turbulence, the average Cooper-Harper pilot rating improved from unacceptable to acceptable (a pilot rating improvement of 4.5) in going from manual to augmented control. The low frequency response characteristics of the engines require a considerably different piloting technique. The various techniques used by the pilots resulted in considerable scatter in the data. Many pilots readily adapted to a good piloting technique while some had difficulty. The research demonstrates a new and viable approach to providing an independent means of redundancy or increasing the redundancy capability of transport aircraft flightpath control.
| EPrint Type: | NASA Technical Memorandum |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Atmospheric turbulence, Automatic control with thrust, Boeing 720 airplane, Control simulation, Control theory, Flight control, Flight paths, Throttles-only control, Thrust control |
| Subjects: | (01 - 09) Aeronautics: (08) Aircraft Stability And Control Aircraft/Project: Boeing 720 |
| ID Code: | 329 |
| Deposited On: | 01 September 2004 |
| Additional Information: | 22 pages. Prepared for the AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE 27th Joint Propulsion Conference, Sacramento, California, June 24–26, 1991. |
