Flight Control Modes and Command Precompensation

Abstract

In this section a design specification is drawn up which covers the whole flight envelope. The present control study is restricted to longitudinal control of the aircraft as at present lateral actuation systems are not available to the flight controller on the VAAC research Harrier. However, longitudinal control of the Harrier presents both the greater control challenge and also the greatest potential for reduction in pilot workload. An attempt is made to justify the choices made in the specification alongside its exposition. The specification has been arrived at using a variety of sources including the considerations in §3.3. Discussions with DRA pilots and flight control engineers were highly influential, as were the design study and flight simulations carried out in [4]. Figure 12.1 gives an overall plan of the flight modes.