Integrated fire and flight control system for controlling the angle of attack of a rotary wing aircraft
AssigneeSikorsky Aircraft Corporation
InventorsPhillip J. Gold, Donald L. Fogler, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated fire and flight control system of the type which controls aircraft flight dynamics to referenced values defined by a weapon launch solution to provide optimum aircraft to target orientation, further optimizes the aircraft's angle of attack (AOA) to the target by controlling the aircraft's vertical speed to modify the aircraft's rate of climb or descent as necessary to produce an actual pitch attitude that is within a range of AOA values corresponding to the range of permissive weapon launch vertical speeds recommended by the weapons manufacturer.
Claims11
Integrated fire and flight control (IFFC) apparatus for controlling the response of a weapons equipped rotary wing aircraft to commanded maneuvers from pilot operable controls, including a displacement collective stick and a sidearm controller, each for commanding a change in the rotary wing controlled surfaces, and one or more pilot operable switches for providing selectable actuation of IFFC operating modes, including an altitude hold mode and a weapons launch mode, the aircraft having sensors for providing sensed signals indicative of the actual values of the aircraft's operating parameters, and further having a source of weapon solution command signals indicative of operating parameter values deemed desirable to optimize aircraft operation in the weapons launch mode, the apparatus comprising;
- flight control means, responsive to the pilot operable controls, to the sensed signals, and to fire control signals presented thereto, and including signal processing means having memory means for storing signals representative of one or more flight control algorithms which prescribe desired present values of selected aircraft operating parameters in response to present values of the sensed signals and of said fire control signal, said flight control means providing flight control signals for modifying pilot commanded changes to the rotary wing controlled surfaces in response to said desired present values of said flight control algorithms;
- and
- fire control means, responsive to the pilot operable controls, the sensed signals, and to the weapon solution command signals, for providing, in the presence of the weapons launch mode, said fire control signals to said flight control means to alter said desired present values and said flight control signals in dependence on the weapon solution command signals;
- as characterized by:
- the sensed signals including the actual values of the aircraft's vertical speed, vertical acceleration, altitude, and airspeed;
- the weapon solution command signals including weapon identification signals for identifying a pilot selected weapon system;
- said flight control signals including a collective axis command signal for modifying pilot commanded changes in the aircraft's collective axis in response to a pilot commanded vertical speed signal;
- and
- said fire control means including a reference source of angle of attack (AOA) limit signals for providing for each weapon system identified by said weapon identification system, an associated maximum desired AOA value to be maintained by the aircraft during operation of the identified weapon, said fire control means, in response to said AOA limit signals in the presence of said weapon launch mode, presenting said fire control signals to said flight control means such as to modify said pilot commanded vertical speed value in dependence on said AOA limit signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.