Flight control systems properties and problems, volume 1

This volume contains a delineation of fundamental and mechanization-specific flight control characteristics and problems gleaned from many sources and spanning a period of over two decades. It is organized to present and discuss first some fundamental, generic problems of closed-loop flight control systems involving numerator characteristics (quadratic dipoles, non-minimum phase roots, and intentionally introduced zeros). Next the principal elements of the largely mechanical primary flight control system are reviewed with particular emphasis on the influence of nonlinearities. The characteristics and problems of augmentation (damping, stability, and feel) system mechanizations are then dealt with. The particular idiosyncracies of automatic control actuation and command augmentation schemes are stressed, because they constitute the major interfaces with the primary flight control system and an often highly variable vehicle response

Feasibility of conventional control techniques for large highly coupled elastic boost vehicles Final report

Control techniques for large highly-coupled elastic boost vehicles with elastic and fuel slosh mode frequencies close to desired control frequencies - motion equation

A data storage, retrieval and analysis system for endocrine research

This retrieval system builds, updates, retrieves, and performs basic statistical analyses on blood, urine, and diet parameters for the M071 and M073 Skylab and Apollo experiments. This system permits data entry from cards to build an indexed sequential file. Programs are easily modified for specialized analyses

Study, definition and analysis of pilot/system performance measurements for planetary entry experiments

Definition analysis for experimental prediction of pilot performance during planetary entr

Space Shuttle flying qualities and flight control system assessment study, phase 2

A program of flying qualities experiments as part of the Orbiter Experiments Program (OEX) is defined. Phase 1, published as CR-170391, reviewed flying qualities criteria and shuttle data. The review of applicable experimental and shuttle data to further define the OEX plan is continued. An unconventional feature of this approach is the use of pilot strategy model identification to relate flight and simulator results. Instrumentation, software, and data analysis techniques for pilot model measurements are examined. The relationship between shuttle characteristics and superaugmented aircraft is established. STS flights 1 through 4 are reviewed from the point of view of flying qualities. A preliminary plan for a coordinated program of inflight and simulator research is presented

Space Shuttle flying qualities criteria assessment. Phase 5: Data acquistion and analysis

The development of flying qualities experiments (OFQ) as a part of the Orbiter Experiments Program (OEX) was continued. The data base was extended to use the ground based cinetheodolite measurements of orbiter approach and landing. Onboard the cinetheodolite data were analyzed from flights STS 2 through 7 to identify the effective augmented vehicle dynamics, the control strategy employed by the pilot during preflare, shallow glide, and final flare segments of the landing, and the key approach and touchdown performance measures. A plan for an OFQ flying qualities data archive and processing is presented

Investigation of interactions between limb-manipulator dynamics and effective vehicle roll control characteristics

A fixed-base simulation was performed to identify and quantify interactions between the pilot's hand/arm neuromuscular subsystem and such features of typical modern fighter aircraft roll rate command control system mechanization as: (1) force sensing side-stick type manipulator; (2) vehicle effective role time constant; and (3) flight control system effective time delay. The simulation results provide insight to high frequency pilot induced oscillations (PIO) (roll ratchet), low frequency PIO, and roll-to-right control and handling problems previously observed in experimental and production fly-by-wire control systems. The simulation configurations encompass and/or duplicate actual flight situations, reproduce control problems observed in flight, and validate the concept that the high frequency nuisance mode known as roll ratchet derives primarily from the pilot's neuromuscular subsystem. The simulations show that force-sensing side-stick manipulator force/displacement/command gradients, command prefilters, and flight control system time delays need to be carefully adjusted to minimize neuromuscular mode amplitude peaking (roll ratchet tendency) without restricting roll control bandwidth (with resulting sluggish or PIO prone control)

Is All Campaigning Equally Positive? The Impact of District Level Campaigning on Voter Turnout at the 2010 British General Election

A significant comparative literature suggests that campaigning efforts by political parties impact positively, both in terms of mobilization and turnout. However, effects are not uniform. They may be affected by the electoral system used, the electoral circumstances and effectiveness of party management. Studies of district-level constituency campaigning in Britain have identified two important trends. First, that effective targeting is a core component of a successful district campaign strategy in terms of delivering electoral payoffs and that, over time, political parties have become better at targeting resources where they are needed most. While improvements in targeting have helped ensure that all three principal parties’ campaigns have tended to deliver electoral payoffs, a question has arisen as to whether increasingly ruthless partisan targeting by parties could have detrimental effects on overall levels of turnout. Second, they have shown how campaign techniques are continuously being modernised but that, despite these changes, just as in other democracies, more traditional labour-intensive campaigning tends to produce stronger electoral payoffs. This article therefore considers three questions in respect of the impact of district level campaigns on turnout: whether the combined campaign efforts of the three principal parties in Britain are associated with higher levels of turnout; whether the different campaigning styles of parties affect levels of turnout equally; and whether the campaigning efforts of different parties have differential effects on turnout and whether intense partisan targeting does indeed impact upon turnout overall. It shows that while campaigning boosts turnout, the impact varies by campaign technique and by party, as a function not only of targeting but also of electoral context

You get what you (don’t) pay for: The impact of volunteer labour and candidate spending at the 2010 British general election

The published version of this article is fully available from the publisher at the link below.Repeated evidence in Britain demonstrates the positive electoral payoffs from constituency campaigning. However, the impact of such campaigning varies depending upon the electoral context and the effectiveness of campaign management. Debate also exists in respect of the relative impact of traditional versus more modern campaign techniques, as well as between campaign techniques that incur cost and those that are carried out voluntarily. Such debates are of interest not only to academics and political parties, but also to regulators when considering whether to restrict campaign spending in the interests of electoral parity. This article uses candidate spending data and responses to an extensive survey of election agents at the British General Election of 2010 to assess the impact of both campaign expenditure and free, voluntary labour on electoral performance. It suggests that both have some independent impact, but that impact varies by party. The implications of these results are highly significant in both academic and regulatory terms—campaign expenditure can affect electoral outcomes but these effects are offset to some extent by voluntary efforts

Space shuttle flying qualities and criteria assessment

Work accomplished under a series of study tasks for the Flying Qualities and Flight Control Systems Design Criteria Experiment (OFQ) of the Shuttle Orbiter Experiments Program (OEX) is summarized. The tasks involved review of applicability of existing flying quality and flight control system specification and criteria for the Shuttle; identification of potentially crucial flying quality deficiencies; dynamic modeling of the Shuttle Orbiter pilot/vehicle system in the terminal flight phases; devising a nonintrusive experimental program for extraction and identification of vehicle dynamics, pilot control strategy, and approach and landing performance metrics, and preparation of an OEX approach to produce a data archive and optimize use of the data to develop flying qualities for future space shuttle craft in general. Analytic modeling of the Orbiter's unconventional closed-loop dynamics in landing, modeling pilot control strategies, verification of vehicle dynamics and pilot control strategy from flight data, review of various existent or proposed aircraft flying quality parameters and criteria in comparison with the unique dynamic characteristics and control aspects of the Shuttle in landing; and finally a summary of conclusions and recommendations for developing flying quality criteria and design guides for future Shuttle craft