Vectored thrust Aircraft Advanced flight Control (VAAC) is a UK project, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and managed by the Defence Research Agency (DRA). The project is investigating, through ground-based simulation and flight test on the VAAC Harrier research aircraft, the low speed flight control, handling and cockpit display concepts applicable to an aircraft replacing the Harrier. As part of the project, British Aerospace Defence Limited have designed a revolutionary two-inceptor pitch plane control law for assessment on the project aircraft. This Control Law has now been flight tested and further developed 'in-flight' by the DRA, culminating in a series of successful flight demonstrations to guest pilots. During the latter stages of flight testing the Control Law was modified to allow single-inceptor operation. Flight testing has shown that both the two- and single-inceptor control strategies result in a large reduction in pilot workload, when compared with the VAAC Harrier's three-inceptor arrangement, during the transition from wing-borne to jet-borne flight and hover. This paper describes the Control Law's evolution from initial concept through to the results obtained from flight testing.


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    Title :

    Flight Demonstration of an Advanced Pitch Control Law in the VAAC Harrier Aircraft


    Contributors:
    C. Fielding (author) / S. L. Gale (author) / D. V. Griffith (author)

    Publication date :

    1995


    Size :

    12 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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