PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AF 447 Thread No. 10
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Old 29th Sep 2012, 20:47
  #530 (permalink)  
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: florida
Age: 81
Posts: 1,610
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I would pray that future pilots, and even some of the "monitors" of today, would understand what makes planes fly.

I do not buy into the "technology will make things feel 'natural'" argument unless we have pure "monitors" and Nintendo crews that are clueless when sierra happens. Otherwise, why have crews at all? Trust the technology and let HAL talk to the SLF's and maybe have one or two human flight attendants. Is that what we are looking at?

The "monitors" must understand what makes planes fly. AoA versus lift, change in speed at the same AoA versus lift, thrust versus drag, overspeed symptoms, stall symptoms, flight control laws that disguise the natural aerodynamic characteristics of the jet, flight control reversion laws, appropriate control inputs when sierra happens and HAL syas, "Dave..... you got it!"

Our system had the same trim implementation as the 'bus except we could trim for any gee from plus 3.5 to about minus 1.5 or so. We mostly trimmed for one gee, and we had the "auto trim" just like the 'bus. However, we were much more advanced when pulling or pushing due to the AoA inputs. e.g. you could pull all you wanted, but eventually you got to one gee and max AoA. In between, you rode the curve of AoA versus gee - pick an AoA and gee changed with speed, or pick a gee and AoA would change with speed. Duhhhh. Gear down and you trimmed for AoA, same as Orville did when he taught me to fly.

Back when the Earth was still cooling, we tried pitch rate laws, pure AoA laws, and finally got to a pitch rate/roll rate/ AoA/ gee control law, all mixed together to get the jet to do what you wanted and it wanted. Worked for me, and still does almost 40 years later. Why is that?
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