Methods and apparatus for automatically extending aircraft wing flaps in response to detecting an excess energy steep descent condition

A method, comprising:

• determining, by executing one or more non-transitory machine-readable instructions with one or more processors of a control system of an aircraft, whether the aircraft is experiencing an excess energy steep descent (EESD) condition, the EESD condition corresponding to a flight path angle that meets or exceeds an angular threshold when engines of the aircraft are operating at idle thrust, wherein the angular threshold varies based on a speed of the aircraft;
• and
• in response to determining that the aircraft is experiencing the EESD condition, commanding, by executing one or more non-transitory machine-readable instructions with the one or more processors, an actuator of the aircraft coupled to a flap of the aircraft to extend the flap from a current flap position to a subsequent flap position defined by a flap extension sequence.

A computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method of automatically extending aircraft wing flaps, the method comprising:

• determining whether an aircraft is experiencing an excess energy steep descent (EESD) condition, the EESD condition corresponding to a flight path angle that meets or exceeds an angular threshold when engines of the aircraft are operating at idle thrust, wherein the angular threshold varies based on a speed of the aircraft;
• and
• in response to determining that the aircraft is experiencing the EESD condition, commanding an actuator of the aircraft coupled to a flap of the aircraft to extend the flap from a current flap position to a subsequent flap position defined by a flap extension sequence.