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FIGHTER AIRCRAFT FLIGHT CONTROLTECHNOLOGY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS W. E. Nelson, Jr.
Northrop Corporation, Aircraft Division Hawthorne, California First Annual NASA Aircraft Controls Workshop NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia October 25-27, 1983 -- - This figure represents the evolution of control technology. As we compare the airplane, we notice that they current day fighters with the Wright brothers' had achieved control technology and mastered their applications without electronics.
But the future demands further emphasis of pursuing the aspects of control,with the extension of research going into exotic concepts such as vortex management.
Truly, the day of the pilot controlling the aircraft will diminish. As weapon system integration and flight path and navigational integration become more heavily His primary task will be selecting automated, the pilot will become a manager.
his secondary task will be as backup. He will the right functional requirements; act in the fashion he presently performs, that of a pilot.
This figure humorously depicts the challenge the future pilot will have.
However, it is not unattainable, as work on the AFT1 and the present F-18 has The research needed is to establish standards that the designer demonstrated.
can utilize to evaluate his concepts.
Active control elements in flight control technology encompass many technical disciplines. Electronic chip development will result in achieving potential architectures of control laws operating in real time during flight. The high densities and improved computation times will allow greater design flexibility for fault-tolerant applications. Data communications, actuation technology, and electrical power concept, when combined with the elements of the computer, will lead to the indicated technology objectives.
Flight control technology has evolved to a total systems engineering discipline as depicted in this figure. The mission requirements set the needs. The available electronic technology provides the capability. The interface with all avionic and other aircraft subsystems increases the flexibility of the control capability. But hidden inside the effort is an item that can deter the design performance, the validation testing. Thus, a need exists for desiqn standards to relate the desired methods and procedures to be used in the design effort of future vehicles.
Here is a specific example of a control application that is in its infancy. The payoff on potential aircraft can be related into reduced structural weight.
However, further research is needed to explore various concepts and to demonstrate them in both wind tunnel and flight tests.
BATTLE DAMAGE CONSIDERATIONS
FOR ADAPTIVE FLUTTER SUPPRESSION
a SUSTAIN FLUTTER FREE MRATlDU FOLLOWINQ AN ARRAY OF BATTLE DAMAOE STATES l ENHANCE THE EXIttIm) ADAPTIVE ALGORITHM BY SELF-REPAIRIMB CowCEm ‘AYOFF p&q l IMPROVED COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS l DEVELOP ALDORITHMS FOR BATTLE DAMAQE l RAPID BATTLE DAMAGE REPAIR - DETECTION - VOTINQ 8CHEME - ISOLATION - VARIANCE COMTARIW l REDUCED PEACE TIME COST - CONTROL RECONFlDURATlON - REDUNDANTCONTROLSUBFACE OPERATION -------------- l EMPHASIS DN Y F-17 WIND TUNNEL TEST MODEL l INCREASED SOFTWARE COMPLEXITY l CREW INTERFACE ISSUES l COMPUTATIONAL (FRAME TIME) PENALTY The role of "in-flight simulation" needs to,be revived. This area is valuable to relate new design features of control law, systems operation, and interaction with the pilot in a near real-life environment. and to reflect the needed design changes into the new vehicle before a large change impact of cost and schedule is imposed on the project. A new airframe platform is needed to replace the antiquated T-33.
FUTURE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM NEEDS - IMPROVED IN-FLIGHT SIMUIATION
0 VARIETYOF HANDLING QUALITIES ISSUESNEEDFURTHER STUDY-
LATERAL SENSITIVITY, CONTROL HARMONY, PILOT MODES, CRITERIA
0 AVIONICS/PROPULSION INTEGRATION REQUIRE FLIGHT INVESTIGATION
0 HIGH "G" CAPABILITY REQUIRED
0 SOFTWARE INTENSESYSTEMS REQUIRED
I
"Artificial intelligence" (AI) is now the term used to mean what we once referred However, much effort needs to be applied in this to as computer capability.
area to determine the best approaches and resulting payoffs in using the AI The figure indicates examples of concept during real-time computer operation.
applications.
APPLICATIONOF AI METHODS TO FCS ANDAIRCRAFTTECHNOLOGIES
(NEARAND LONGTERM)
PVI, PILOTDECISION AIDIWG,PILOT AS SYSTEM MANAGER
FAULT-TOLERANT COMPUTING (REAL TIME) ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS PROGRAM (NON-REAL TIME)
INTEGRATED PROPULSION/CONTROL SYSTEMS
ADAPTIVECONTROLLERS
OPTIMIZATION WITH REGARD TO HANDLING QUALITIES, TERRAIN
FOLLOWING AND AVOIDANCE, TURBULENCE, FLUTTERSUPPRESS ION
AND LOADALLEVIATION, ETC,
"SUPER-MANEUVERABLE" AIRCRAFT
AVIONICS
ROBOT KS
MANUFACTURING QUALITYASSURANCE AND CONTROL
INDUSTRIAL CONTROL
FACTORY OF-THEFUTURE