Basic Flight Automation

Question 1

What is a CCV?

Uses?

Answer 1

Control Configured Vehicle
A vehicle in which computers, working in harmony with the pilot, make decisions based on information received from flight data sensors, and on the strength of those decisions, make adjustments to the aircraft’s controlling mechanisms, thus directing certain aspects of its flight.
Stability augmentation, Artificial stability, Gust alleviation, Active flutter suppression.

Question 2

Why might and aircraft use inner loop flight controllers?

Answer 2

To reduce the workload of the pilot. The flight controllers will ensure that the aircraft does not stall etc. Allowing the pilot to focus on other issues.

Question 3

Flying Quality Levels (1-3)?

Answer 3

Def-Stan 970

1: clearly adequate for the mission flight phase.
2: adequate for the mission flight phase but with some degradation in mission effectiveness, or increased pilot workload, or both.
3: (applicable to b,c,d and termination of a) AC can be controlled but to the point where mission effectiveness is inadequate or total workload for the pilot is reaching capacity.

Question 4

Describe the 3 types of stability.

Answer 4

Statically Stable, Neutrally Stable, Statically Unstable.

Question 5

Flight phases (A-D)?

Answer 5

A: Rapid manoeuvring, precision tracking or precise flight path control.
B: Gradual manoeuvres, without tracking although accurate flight path control may be required.
C: Terminal flight phases accomplished (normally) using gradual manoeuvres usually requiring accurate flight path control.
D: Terminal flight phases accomplished using V/STOL techniques and which usually require accurate flight path control.

Question 6

Autopilot modes?

Answer 6

Attitude: maintains current attitude.
Datum: maintains a datum, altitude, vertical speed, Mach, IAS
Acquire/Capture: acquisition of altitude, heading, ILS localiser/glideslope