NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA) · 1996 · 46 citations · 5 references
EngineeringAerospace EngineeringSystems EngineeringAircraft DesignFlight MechanicsPropulsionAircraft ControlAircraft StabilityControl SystemsEmergency ManeuversFlight Management SystemsFlight SimulationDigital Flight Control SystemsFlightFlight Control ArchitectureFlight Control System SimulationFlight Control SystemsFlight Test Performance EvaluationFlight TestingSafety-critical Flight Control
A propulsion-controlled aircraft (PCA) system for emergency flight control of aircraft with no flight controls was developed and flight tested on an F-15 aircraft at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The airplane has been flown in a throttles-only manual mode and with an augmented system called PCA in which pilot thumbwheel commands and aircraft feedback parameters were used to drive the throttles. Results from a 36-flight evaluation showed that the PCA system can be used to safety land an airplane that has suffered a major flight control system failure. The PCA system was used to recover from a severe upset condition, descend, and land. Guest pilots have also evaluated the PCA system. This paper describes the principles of throttles-only flight control; a history of loss-of-control accidents; a description of the F-15 aircraft; the PCA system operation, simulation, and flight testing; and the pilot comments.
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Dynamic Ground Effects Flight Test of an F-15 Aircraft
Stephen Corda, Mark T. Stephenson, Frank W. Burcham et al. · 1994 · 13 citations