Emergency Flight Planning for a Generalized Transport Aircraft with Left Wing Damage

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77332/1/AIAA-2007-6873-998.pd

Altitude-Loss Optimal Glides in Engine Failure Emergencies -- Accounting for Ground Obstacles and Wind

Engine failure is a recurring emergency in General Aviation and fixed-wing UAVs, often requiring the pilot or remote operator to carry out carefully planned glides to safely reach a candidate landing strip. We tackle the problem of minimizing the altitude loss of a thrustless aircraft flying towards a designated target position. Extending previous work on optimal glides without obstacles, we consider here trajectory planning of optimal gliding in the the presence of ground obstacles, while accounting for wind effects. Under simplifying model assumptions, in particular neglecting the effect of turns, we characterize the optimal solution as comprising straight glide segments between iteratively-determined extreme points on the obstacles. Consequently, the optimal trajectory is included in an iteratively-defined reduced visibility graph, and can be obtained by a standard graph search algorithm, such as A$^*$. We further quantify the effect of turns to verify a safe near-optimal glide trajectory. We apply our algorithm on a Cessna 172 model, in realistic scenarios, demonstrating both the altitude-loss optimal trajectory calculation, and determination of airstrip reachability

Hypersonic Research Vehicle (HRV) real-time flight test support feasibility and requirements study. Part 2: Remote computation support for flight systems functions

The requirements are assessed for the use of remote computation to support HRV flight testing. First, remote computational requirements were developed to support functions that will eventually be performed onboard operational vehicles of this type. These functions which either cannot be performed onboard in the time frame of initial HRV flight test programs because the technology of airborne computers will not be sufficiently advanced to support the computational loads required, or it is not desirable to perform the functions onboard in the flight test program for other reasons. Second, remote computational support either required or highly desirable to conduct flight testing itself was addressed. The use is proposed of an Automated Flight Management System which is described in conceptual detail. Third, autonomous operations is discussed and finally, unmanned operations

Emergency Flight Planning for the Generalized Transport Model Aircraft with Left Wing Damage

A nontrivial fraction of aviation accidents are caused by in-flight damage or failures that reduce performance. Researchers are working to ensure future avionics recognize the impact of damage/failures and guide the aircraft to a safe landing. This thesis presents an end-to-end Adaptive Flight Planner (AFP) for such emergencies and applies it to a damage situation in which a Generalized Transport Model (GTM) aircraft loses a significant fraction of its left wingtip. Trimmed (non-accelerating) flight conditions define the post-damage/failure aircraft flight envelope. A landing site search algorithm is augmented to define the reachable landing footprint and to prioritize the feasible landing runways within this region. End-to-end landing trajectories are constructed as a sequence of trim states and corresponding transitions. An LQR-based PID nonlinear controller enables the damaged GTM aircraft to correctly track trajectory commands over trimmed flight and transition segments. A suite of emergency scenarios are used to evaluate AFP performance

Development of Return to Base Flight Trajectory Generator Based on Dubins Path - Vector Field Method

In a Return to Base (RTB) situation, aircraft needs to immediately fly back to its origin airport. Since there is no published flight procedure for an RTB, an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) will assist the pilot for the flight procedure to fly. The objective of this work is to generate a flight trajectory in RTB situation based on the available airport flight procedures (departure and arrival) in Kertajati airport. The Dubins Path was used as a method to generate the flight trajectory and supported by the Vector-Field Methodology. The Python programming simulation was used to simulate the flight trajectory generation in the normal condition, second closest waypoint condition, and different parameters value condition. The trajectory was simulated based on flight characteristic of a single engine aircraft (Cesna 172) and multi-engine aircrafts (Boeing 737-800NG). The simulation results show that the Dubins Path and Vector-Field methodology success to generate the flight trajectory in different types of condition and parameters. The increase in aircraft velocity and the decrease in aircraft bank angle caused an increase in the aircraft turning radius. While, the decrease in aircraft flight path angle caused increase in the length of Dubins Path line

High-speed civil transport flight- and propulsion-control technological issues

Technology advances required in the flight and propulsion control system disciplines to develop a high speed civil transport (HSCT) are identified. The mission and requirements of the transport and major flight and propulsion control technology issues are discussed. Each issue is ranked and, for each issue, a plan for technology readiness is given. Certain features are unique and dominate control system design. These features include the high temperature environment, large flexible aircraft, control-configured empennage, minimizing control margins, and high availability and excellent maintainability. The failure to resolve most high-priority issues can prevent the transport from achieving its goals. The flow-time for hardware may require stimulus, since market forces may be insufficient to ensure timely production. Flight and propulsion control technology will contribute to takeoff gross weight reduction. Similar technology advances are necessary also to ensure flight safety for the transport. The certification basis of the HSCT must be negotiated between airplane manufacturers and government regulators. Efficient, quality design of the transport will require an integrated set of design tools that support the entire engineering design team

Artificial Intelligence Applications for Drones Navigation in GPS-denied or degraded Environments

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Destabilized Aircraft Response: The Implications of Pilot Trim Error

abstract: This thesis uses an aircraft aerodynamic model and propulsion data, which represents a configuration similar to the Airbus A320, to perform trade studies to understand the weight and configuration effects of “out-of-trim” flight during takeoff, cruise, initial approach, and balked landing. It is found that flying an aircraft slightly above the angle of attack or pitch angle required for a trimmed, stabilized flight will cause the aircraft to lose speed rapidly. This effect is most noticeable for lighter aircraft and when one engine is rendered inoperative. In the event of an engine failure, if the pilot does not pitch the nose of the aircraft down quickly, speed losses are significant and potentially lead to stalling the aircraft. Even when the risk of stalling the aircraft is small, the implications on aircraft climb performance, obstacle clearance, and acceleration distances can still become problematic if the aircraft is not flown properly. When the aircraft is slightly above the trimmed angle of attack, the response is shown to closely follow the classical phugoid response where the aircraft will trade speed and altitude in an oscillatory manner. However, when the pitch angle is slightly above the trimmed condition, the aircraft does not show this phugoid pattern but instead just loses speed until it reaches a new stabilized trajectory, never having speed and altitude oscillate. In this event, the way a pilot should respond to both events is different and may cause confusion in the cockpit.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Aerospace Engineering 201

Assessment of flying-quality criteria for air-breathing aerospacecraft

A study of flying quality requirements for air breathing aerospacecraft gives special emphasis to the unusual operational requirements and characteristics of these aircraft, including operation at hypersonic speed. The report considers distinguishing characteristics of these vehicles, including dynamic deficiencies and their implications for control. Particular emphasis is given to the interaction of the airframe and propulsion system, and the requirements for dynamic systems integration. Past operational missions are reviewed to define tasks and maneuvers to be considered for this class of aircraft. Areas of special concern with respect to vehicle dynamics and control are identified. Experience with the space shuttle orbiter is reviewed with respect to flight control system mechanization and flight experience in approach and landing flying qualities for the National Aerospace Plane (NASP)