Single lever power controller for manned and unmanned aircraft

A single lever power control apparatus for controlling an aircraft powerplant, comprising:

• a manually-operable lever for generating a pilot thrust command;
• and
• a processor, coupled to said lever, for (i) receiving the generated pilot thrust command, (ii) receiving a plurality of detected ambient air conditions, (iii) receiving a plurality of detected powerplant performance parameters, (iv) determining first and second powerplant control commands based on the received pilot thrust command, the detected ambient air conditions, and the powerplant performance parameters, and (v) outputting first and second output signals respectively corresponding to the first and second powerplant control commands,
• wherein said processor alters the first and second powerplant control commands, determines a rate of climb from the detected ambient flight conditions, and adjusts at least one of the first and second powerplant control commands based on the rate of climb.

A control apparatus for use with a single lever aircraft engine power controller, said apparatus comprising:

• a first input for receiving detected airspeed;
• a second input for receiving detected air pressure;
• a third input for receiving a thrust command from the single lever;
• a memory for storing propeller RPM and manifold air pressure commands which maximize thrust efficiency for predetermined airspeed, air pressure, and thrust command conditions;
• a processor for concurrently determining a propeller RPM command value and a manifold air pressure command value from said memory to produce maximum thrust efficiency for the detected airspeed, the detected air pressure, and the received thrust command;
• a first output for outputting a propeller RPM actuator command based on the determined propeller RPM command value;
• and
• a second output for outputting a manifold air pressure actuator command based on the determined manifold air pressure command value, said first and second outputs being provided concurrently.

A method of controlling an aircraft engine with a single lever power controller, comprising the steps of:

• generating an engine thrust command with the single lever;
• detecting ambient air flight conditions;
• concurrently determining an engine rotation command and an engine load command based on the generated thrust command, the detected ambient air flight conditions, and a predetermined maximum thrust efficiency value for the detected ambient air flight conditions and thrust command;
• and
• concurrently outputting first and second control signals based, respectively, on the engine rotation command and the engine load command.

A storage medium for storing computer-readable instructions for causing an aircraft computer to control an aircraft engine, comprising:

• instructions for causing the aircraft computer to read a thrust command from a manually-operable single lever;
• instructions for causing the aircraft computer to read detected ambient air flight conditions;
• and
• instructions for causing the aircraft computer to access a memory with the thrust command and the flight conditions and to concurrently determine therefrom a predetermined engine rotation command and a predetermined engine load command, the engine rotation command and the engine load command being predetermined for maximum thrust efficiency at the detected ambient air flight conditions and the read thrust command.