REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 .
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1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE October 1997 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Technical Paper
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Development and Flight Test of an Emergency Flight Control System Using Only Engine Thrust on an MD-11 Transport Airplane 5. FUNDING NUMBERS WU 522 15 34
6. AUTHOR(S) Frank W. Burcham, Jr., John J. Burken, Trindel A. Maine, and C. Gordon Fullerton
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) NASA Dryden Flight Research Center P.O. Box 273 Edwards, California 93523-0273 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER H-2170
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, DC 20546-0001 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER NASA /TP-97-206217
11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Unclassi.ed—Unlimited Subject Category 08 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE
13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) An emergency .ight control system that uses only engine thrust, called the propulsion-controlled aircraft (PCA) system, was developed and .ight tested on an MD-11 airplane. The PCA system is a thrust-only control system, which augments pilot .ightpath and track commands with aircraft feedback parameters to control engine thrust. The PCA system was implemented on the MD-11 airplane using only software modi.cations to existing computers. Results of a 25-hr .ight test show that the PCA system can be used to .y to an airport and safely land a transport airplane with an inoperative .ight control system. In up-and-away operation, the PCA system served as an acceptable autopilot capable of extended .ight over a range of speeds, altitudes, and con.gurations. PCA approaches, go-arounds, and three landings without the use of any normal .ight controls were demonstrated, including ILS-coupled hands-off landings. PCA operation was used to recover from an upset condition. The PCA system was also tested at altitude with all three hydraulic systems turned off. This paper reviews the principles of throttles-only .ight control, a history of accidents or incidents in which some or all .ight controls were lost, the MD-11 airplane and its systems, PCA system development, operation, .ight testing, and pilot comments.
14. SUBJECT TERMS Emergency Control, MD-11, Propulsion Control, Throttle-only control 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 92
16. PRICE CODE A05
17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT Unclassi.ed 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE Unclassi.ed 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT Unclassi.ed 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT Unlimited
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