Flight control system for a rotary wing aircraft
AssigneeSikorsky Aircraft Corporation
InventorOle Wulff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary wing aircraft includes an airframe including an extending tail. The airframe includes a longitudinal axis that extends through the extending tail. The rotary wing aircraft also includes a main rotor assembly including at least one rotor hub supporting a plurality of rotor blades configured and disposed to rotate about a main rotor axis, at least one elevator arranged at the extending tail, and a control system operably connected to the main rotor assembly and the at least one elevator. The control system is configured and disposed to adjust each of a pitch rate and an attitude of the airframe by selectively adjusting a position of the at least one elevator.
Claims10
A rotary wing aircraft comprising:
- an airframe including an extending tail, the airframe including a longitudinal axis that extends through the extending tail;
- a main rotor assembly including at least one rotor hub supporting a plurality of rotor blades configured and disposed to rotate about a main rotor axis;
- at least one elevator arranged at the extending tail;
- and
- a control system operably connected to the main rotor assembly and the at least one elevator, the control system including a hub moment estimator operatively connected to the at least one rotor hub, a hub moment sensor operatively connected to one of the at least one rotor hub and the hub moment estimator, an attitude/pitch rate sensor operatively connected to the airframe, and a hub moment mixer operable to control hub moment, the control system being configured and disposed to adjust each of a pitch rate and an attitude of the airframe by selectively adjusting a position of the at least one elevator, the control system further including
- a hub moment feedback system operatively connected to one of the hub moment sensor and the hub moment estimator, and the rotor hub and the moment mixer, wherein the control system selectively adjusts rotor hub moment based on an input from the hub moment feedback system;
- and
- a pitch rate and attitude feedback system operatively connected to the attitude/pitch rate sensor and the moment mixer, wherein the control system selectively adjusts a position of the at least one elevator based on an input from the pitch rate and attitude feedback system.
A method of controlling a rotary wing aircraft comprising:
- selectively adjusting a position of at least one elevator to control at least one of a pitch and an attitude of the rotary wing aircraft;
- sensing a pitch and an attitude with an attitude/pitch rate sensor mounted to an airframe of the rotary wing aircraft;
- generating a pitch and attitude feedback signal from the sensed pitch and attitude, the pitch and attitude feedback signal being introduced into a moment mixer to selectively adjust the position of the elevator:
- determining main rotor hub moment through one of a hub moment sensor and a hub moment estimator;
- and
- generating a hub moment feedback signal from the one of the hub moment sensor and the hub moment estimator, the hub moment feedback signal being introduced into the moment mixer to selectively adjust pitch of one or more rotor blades operably coupled to a main rotor assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.