System and method for automation of rotorcraft entry into autorotation and maintenance of stabilized autorotation

摘要

The system is configured for automation of rotorcraft entry into autorotation. The system can provide a means to assist the flight crew of a rotorcraft in maintaining rotor speed following loss of engine power. The system can automatically adjust control positions, actuator positions or both to prevent excessive loss of rotor speed upon initial loss of engine power before the flight crew is able to react. The system uses model matching to provide axis decoupling and yaw anticipation; it includes pitch control initially to assist in preventing rotor deceleration; and it makes use of collective, pitch, roll and yaw trim functions to provide tactile cueing to the pilot to assist when the pilot is in the loop. The system can reduce workload by assisting the crew with controlling rotor speed and forward speed during stabilized autorotation.

主权项

1. A method of automating an autorotation in an aircraft, the method comprising:
recognizing a failure of an engine; analyzing a flight condition of the aircraft; actuating a swashplate mechanism with a direct command from a flight control computer to an actuator coupled to the swashplate mechanism so as to change a pitch of a plurality of main rotor blades to a predetermined collective pitch value, the predetermined collective pitch value being chosen by the flight control computer referring to a look-up table containing desired collective pitch values for a variety of aircraft flight conditions; and temporarily pausing the step of actuating the swashplate for a period of time after a pilot has made an overriding command.