John and Chips,. .Save the cold chills for mid-December when its might hot!
The control laws do not add or subtract from the aerodynamic capability of the basic helicopter, so they won't let an LTE prone yaw system off the hook, and they won't stop you from flying out of trim, if that's what you command.
The control laws are actually like using Windows as the operating system for your PC. Old fashioned machine language is faster, uses less code, and is more prone to inexplicable software coding errors (until the code is run a bunch and de-bugged).
Windows runs as wysiwyg, so you know exactly what you will get, and the human error rate is very much lower. The fact that I'll give $5 to anyone who is on this web site in machine language, and never spend a cent proves which way you all want it!
The advanced laws allow you to command velocity while creeping up to a hoistee, or an oil rig. You do not have to balance attitude to command the acceleration to then judge how much to vary the velocity. If a gust comes by, the controls automatically retrim the attitude to wash it out, while you are looking hard for wires or obstructions. If you get into white-out or brown-out, you simply relax and let the aircraft settle down to zero ground speed while you search for cues (the controls already have their cues from the intertial and GPS sensors, they are not browned-out). The laws work exactly as easily in the darkest night, in the thickest fog and driving rain.
A quick look at our accident statistics shows that we are responsible in the majority of accidents. They call it "pilot error" but it is really due to the fact that the job we have to do is simply not do-able some of the time. Either we settle for the fact that helos must have accident rates 2 or 3 times higher than airplanes, or we do something about it.
As George Carlin says, "They pay me to think up goofy s**t!" Advanced control laws are the next wave because we decided not to settle for the same old crap we were given when that was all that was possible to have. We had the gall to think that maybe the pilot wanted a helicopter that simply did what he commanded, and not what it wanted to do!
[ 24 January 2002: Message edited by: Nick Lappos ]</p>