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Meeting	ACGS Committee Meeting 98 - Williamsburg - October 2006
Agenda Location	9 SUBCOMMITTEE E - FLIGHT, PROPULSION AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEMS 9.3 Flight Test of a Retrofit Reconfigurable Control Law on an F-18C
Title	Flight Test of a Retrofit Reconfigurable Control Law on an F-18C
Presenter	Tony Page
Affiliation	NAVAIR
Available Downloads*	presentation
	Downloads are available to members who are logged in and either Active* or attended this meeting.
Abstract	Results are presented for the initial flight tests of a novel in-line retrofit reconfigurable control technique. The technique is designed as an add-on module that is intended to upgrade rather than replace the existing control laws of current aircraft. The purpose is to improve performance and safety in the event of unexpected changes in aircraft dynamics such as those caused by flight control systems failures, damage, or adverse environmental conditions. The technique achieves reconfiguration by augmenting the pilot inceptor commands rather than the actuator commands. That is, the in-line method augments the inputs rather than the outputs of the existing control law. This architecture was chosen to balance reconfiguration performance with expected software certification requirements. The retrofit reconfigurable control algorithms were hosted on specialized research flight control computers that were installed in an F/A-18C for flight testing. Handling qualities were evaluated for simulated aerodynamic control surface failures during four test flights. Failures of either a single aileron or horizontal tail were simulated by commanding the surface to remain locked at a fixed offset from trim. Flight test maneuvers included attitude captures and target tracking. Both cruise and power approach configurations were evaluated. The flight test results show that the technique is effective in restoring acceptable flying qualities following a change in the aircraft dynamics. Verification and validation of the in-line architecture requires further study to determine to what degree the certification requirements may be lessened as compared with those of other retrofit architectures.