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N91~12 ' 5·70J AN EVALUATION OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEM CONCEPTS FOR GENERAL AVIATION AIRPLANES by E. c. stewart NASA Langley Research Center For presentation to the AIAA/FAA Joint symposium on General Aviation Systems at the Port O-Call Inn, Ocean City, NJ on April 12, 1990 I AN EVALUATION OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEM CONCEPTS FOR GENERAL AVIATION AIRPLANES E. C. stewart NASA Langley Research Center ABSTRACT A piloted simulation study of automatic longitudinal control systems for general aviation airplanes has been conducted. These automatic control systems were designed to make the simulated airplane easy to fly for a beginning or infrequent pilot.
Different control systems are presented and their characteristics are documented. In a conventional airplane control system each cockpit controller commands combinations of both the airspeed and the vertical speed. The best system in the present study decoupled the airspeed and vertical speed responses to cockpit controller inputs. That is , the cockpit throttle lever commanded only airspeed responses, and the longitudinal wheel position commanded only signi f icantly reduced the pilot workload throughout an entire mission of the airplane from takeoff to landing . An important feature of the automatic system was that neither changing flap position nor maneuvering in steeply banked turns affected either the airspeed or the vertical speed. All the pilots who flew the control system simulation were favorably impressed with the very low workload and the excellent handling qualities of the simulated airplane .
The following pages are reproductions of the slides used in this presentation.
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SIMU LATI ON STU DY
OF EASY-TO-FLY
GENERAL AVIATION AIRPLANES
by Eric C. Stewart tv W Flig ht Applications Division co Langley Research Center 1990 AIAA/FAA Joint Symposium on General Aviation Systems April 11-12, 1990 Ocean City,.N. J.
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OUTLINE
• Background • Control description
~ I · Display description
• Evaluation procedure • Results (Video) • Conclusions • Follow-on activities
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PURPOSE
Increase utility and productivity of general aviation airplanes by .
• Making them easier to fly
~ I -Reduce initial training requirements
-Reducing proficiency requirements • Making them safer to fly -Reducing pilot blunders -Eliminating stalls
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ORIGINAL PAGE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRA PH a:
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SIMULATOR SYSTEM
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EVALUATION PROCEDURE
• Non-pilots/pilots as test subjects • 30 minute briefing t-..)
U1 f-' • No practice runs • 1 st run: Display & Decoupled Control I' • 2 nd run: Display & Conventional Control
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MANEUVER
53,000 ft 155 kts 130 kts tv U1 tv 8,000 ft Start .
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1,000 ft Gear Ground Up track Gear Down y Note: Not to Scale (Cloud ceiling =200 feet)
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VIDEO
• Research recording • Recorder over the pilot's shoulder tv Ul W - Pilot actions - Instruments • Superimposed visual scene in upper right corner
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CONTROL ACTIVITY
(With Pictorial HITS Display) Pilots Non-Pilots 1.0 1.0 i Gi 0.8 > 0.8 (U > ...
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> GI > < 0.0 0.0 < THROTTLE LONG . WHEEL T HRO TTLE LONG . WHEEL Cockpit Control Cockpit Control I
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IN-FLIGHT PERFORMANCE
(With Pictorial HITS Display) Pilots Non-Pilots • tv U1 U1 _ l..
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Q) > > IS! ml!!!t:m~ < < o "'«-'4 o LATERAL , 1 00 FT AIRSPEED, KNOTS AIRSPEED, KNOTS L ATERA L, 100 FT Error type Error type
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RESEARCH RESULTS
• One-half of novices completed maneuver on first attempt • Vertical degree-of-freedom is most troublesome -Pictorial visual cues are unfamiliar tv U1 0"\ Horizon line Telephone poles -Longitudinal wheel force trim -Landing maneuver Narrow field of view on simulator L- ( > m
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FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES
• Command arrows - Rotation ~ I - Tracking CX) -......
~ I - Flare
• Automatic pitch control force trim • Additional pictorial altitude cues • Flight Evaluation