Method and apparatus for moving a swing tail cargo door on an aircraft

A computer implemented method for guiding movement of a mobile tail support apparatus, the computer implemented method comprising:

• receiving radial displacement from a coupling radius of the mobile tail support apparatus from a swing tail cargo door to form a received radial displacement;
• receiving an angle of the mobile tail support apparatus relative to the swing tail cargo door when the mobile tail support apparatus is coupled to the swing tail cargo door to form a received angle;
• and
• selectively changing the movement of the mobile tail support apparatus based on the received radial displacement and the received angle comprising:
• determining whether the movement of the mobile tail support apparatus causes an undesired load on the swing tail cargo door during opening and closing operations;
• and
• responsive to a determination that the mobile tail support apparatus require steering guidance, providing guidance to the operator display device by displaying a desired direction of the movement for the mobile tail support apparatus on a display device, sending steering signals to a steering unit to change a desired direction of the movement for the mobile tail support apparatus, or stopping the movement of the mobile tail support apparatus.

A mobile tail support control system comprising:

• a data processing system;
• an output device coupled to the data processing system capable of generating signals for managing movement of a mobile tail support apparatus;
• a set of load sensors coupled to the data processing system and capable of detecting a set of loads associated with a swing tail cargo door;
• a set of position sensors coupled to the data processing system and capable of detecting a position of the mobile tail support apparatus relative to the swing tail cargo door;
• and
• a computer program product executing on the data processing system is capable of receiving information from the set of load sensors and the set of position sensors and is capable of generating signals to manage the mobile tail support apparatus.

A computer implemented method for guiding movement of a mobile tail support apparatus, the computer implemented method comprising:

• receiving radial displacement from a coupling radius of the mobile tail support apparatus from a swing tail cargo door to form a received radial displacement;
• receiving an angle of the mobile tail support apparatus relative to the swing tail cargo door when the mobile tail support apparatus is coupled to the swing tail cargo door to form a received angle;
• and
• selectively changing the movement of the mobile tail support apparatus based on the received radial displacement and the received angle.

A computer program product for guiding movement of a mobile tail support apparatus, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable media;
• program code, stored on the computer readable media, for receiving a radial displacement of the mobile tail support apparatus from a swing tail cargo door to form a received radial displacement;
• program code, stored on the computer readable media, for receiving an angle of the mobile tail support apparatus relative to the swing tail cargo door when the mobile tail support apparatus is coupled to the swing tail cargo door to form a received angle;
• and
• program code, stored on the computer readable media, for selectively changing the movement of the mobile tail support apparatus based on the received radial displacement and the received angle.