21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-1.11.2

AIRCRAFT LANDING-A TOTAL SYSTEM APPROACH

Papadopoulos C., Self A. W., Kopadoulos G. G.*
Kingston University, United Kingdom; *CAE Invertorn, UK

Keywords: aircraft, landing, system approach

This paper describes the developments made so far in the design and development of an auto-land system for optimising aircraft landing performance. The system takes into account the all-axes aerodynamic and mechanical behaviour of the aircraft at the point of touchdown and landing. The aim is to develop a system that automatically applies the control action to the appropriate aerodynamic and braking systems causing the aircraft to come to rest in an optimal and controlled manner, taking into account weather and runway conditions. The new controller will use main wheel braking from the moment the main gear contacts the runway surface and the wheel velocities match that of the ground. The controller will command the ailerons and main wheel brakes to aid in braking and the ailerons, rudder, nose wheel steering and differential braking to maintain directional stability. A non-linear simulation of a Boeing 747 has been used as a test bed. The paper will describe the theory, rationale and test results received from the non-linear test bed.

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