Active Sidestick Control Integration for Enhanced Aircraft Flight Envelope Protection

TL;DR

This paper presents an integrated approach using Active Control Sidestick (ACS) with nonlinear control laws to enhance aircraft envelope protection and pilot safety, tested in real-time simulation environments.

Contribution

It introduces novel control laws based on Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion for ACS, improving envelope protection and failure detection in aircraft simulations.

Findings

Effective control laws developed for ACS

Enhanced envelope protection in simulations

Real-time simulation validation achieved

Abstract

The design of Envelope and Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO) Protection Features, and Failure Cases detection and prevention using Active Control Sidestick (ACS) is a challenging task. While helping the pilot to respect the envelope limitations also in failure scenarios and, therefore, increasing mission effectiveness, these features may have a significant impact on the aircraft's agility. ACS characteristics are investigated in an integrated environment. A set of effective and flexible control laws based on Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion have been developed in a state-of-the-art aircraft simulation model and coupled with a two-ways communication with the selected ACS. The model can run in real-time in a fixed-based simulator composed of representative cockpit and out-of-the-window.