VERTICAL FLIGHT PATH AND SPEED CONTROL AUTOPILOT

DESIGN USING TOTAL ENERGY PRINCIPLES

A. A. Lambregts*
Boeing Commercial A i r p l a n e Company
S e a t t l e , Washington 98124

Abstract navigation/performance computer systems. Also,

new t a k e o f f , go around and " f l i g h t l e v e l
A generalized automatic flight control change" modes were added t o t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e .
system has been developed, t h a t i n t e g r a t e s a l l As a r e s u l t , t h e l a t e s t AFCS designs have become
l o n g i t u d i n a l f l i g h t p a t h and speed c o n t r o l q u i t e complex, w i t h r e p l i c a t i o n o f t h e b a s i c
functions, p r e v i o u s l y p r o v i d e d by a p i t c h f l i g h t p a t h and speed c o n t r o l c a p a b i l i t y i n
a u t o p i l o t and a u t o t h r o t t l e . I n t h i s design, a t h r e e computer systems.
n e t t h r u s t comnand i s computed based on t o t a l
energy demand a r i s i n g f r o m b o t h f l i g h t p a t h and
speed t a r g e t s . The e l e v a t o r command i s computed
based on t h e energy d i s t r i b u t i o n e r r o r between night Control
f l i g h t p a t h and speed. The engine c o n t r o l i s
c o n f i g u r e d t o produce t h e commanded n e t t h r u s t .
The design i n c o r p o r a t e s c o n t r o l s t r a t e g i e s and
h i e r a r c h y t o d e a l s y s t e m a t i c a l l y and e f f e c t i v e l y
w i t h a l l a i r c r a f t operational requirements,
c o n t r o l n o n - l i n e a r i t i e s and performance l i m i t s .
Consistent decoupled maneuver control is
achieved f o r a l l modes and f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s
w i t h o u t o u t e r l o o p g a i n schedules, c o n t r o l l a w
submodes o r c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n d u p l i c a t i o n .

Introduction

The automatic f l i g h t c o n t r o l systems (AFCS)

i n use today have evolved by successive a d d i t i o n
o f functions. This i s especially t r u e i n t h e
p i t c h a x i s , where t h e p i t c h a t t i t u d e h o l d mode F i g u r e 1 . T y p i c a l C o n t r o l F u n c t i o n Overlap,
was t h e f i r s t a t t e m p t t o automate t h e e l e v a t o r Conventional AFCS
c o n t r o l and r e l i e v e t h e p i l o t o f c o n s t a n t
control attention. Soon t h e speed h o l d and
a l t i t u d e h o l d modes f o l l o w e d as more u s e f u l ways
to stabilize the aircraft. Next. the F i g u r e 1 shows an example o f t h e f u n c t i o n a l
maneuvering modes v e r t i c a l speed and a l t i t u d e o v e r l a p o f t h e t h r e e computer systems. The
s e l e c t were added. The j e t age brought w i t h i t u n d e r l y i n g system a r c h i t e c t u r e i s o b v i o u s l y n o t
t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e automatic approach and ideal. The r o o t o f t h e problem l i e s i n t h e
l a n d i n g c o n t r o l modes and t h e automatic t h r o t t l e t r a d i t i o n a l b u t non-optimal bottom up design
system t o c o n t r o l t h e approach speed. The f u l l method o f adding one c o n t r o l l o o p / c o n t r o l mode
f l i g h t regime a u t o t h r o t t l e system was i n t r o d u c e d a t a time. F i g u r e 2 shows s c h e m a t i c a l l y t h e
only recently, a f t e r the r i s e i n f u e l prices c o n t r o l system s t r u c t u r e f o r a c o n v e n t i o n a l
prompted t h e need t o c r u i s e a t speeds near t h e a u t o p i l o t and a u t o t h r o t t l e . Traditionally, the
minimum d r a g o r maximum range speed. At t h e s e a u t o p i l o t c o n t r o l s t h e f l i g h t p a t h through t h e
speeds, l o n g t e r m a u t o p i l o t p a t h c o n t r o l t h r o u g h elevator. the autothrottle controls speed
t h e e l e v a t o r a t c o n s t a n t t h r o t t l e causes poor through t h e t h r o t t l e s .
speed stability or even instability and
t h e r e f o r e h i g h p i l o t workload. Closure o f t h e
speed control loop through the throttle
alleviates t h e problem. Extension o f the
a u t o t h r o t t l e t o serve d u r i n g c r u i s e and o t h e r
f l i g h t regimes was t h e r e f o r e a l o g i c a l d e c i s i o n .

I t should be noted t h a t , over t h e years,

numerous AFCS development and improvement
programs were spurred by t h e d e s i r e and need t o
remove o p e r a t i o n a l l i m i t a t i o n s and performance
deficiencies. More and more new modes and
design provisions resulted, often without
y i e l d i n g a b e t t e r i n s i g h t i n t h e fundamental
system d e s i g n problem.

The p e r c e p t i o n o f inadequacies i n t h e b a s i c
autopilot and autothrottle capability
p r e c i p i t a t e d a complete new a r r a y o f e l e v a t o r
and t h r o t t l e c o n t r o l modes i n t h e l a t e s t

* Member o f AIAA. F i g u r e 2. Conventional A u t o p i l o t / A u t o t h r o t t l e

Copyright GI American Institute of Aernnautics and
Astronautics, Inc.. 1983. All rights reserved. 559
T h i s c o n t r o l s t r a t e g y has s e r i o u s l i m i t a t i o n s : throttle activity in turbulence for
conventional autothrottle systems.
S t a b l e a l t i t u d e c o n t r o l through t h e e l e v a t o r , Autopilot reversion t o the a t t i t u d e hold
w i t h t h r u s t h e l d c o n s t a n t , can o n l y be mode g e n e r a l l y c u t s down t h e t h r o t t l e
achieved conditionally, depending on a a c t i v i t y dramatically, while turning the
s u f f i c i e n t l y h i g h t h r u s t l e v e l and speed. a u t o t h r o t t l e o f f a l t o g e t h e r o f t e n produces
I t prompted t h e need f o r a f u l l f l i g h t t h e l o w e s t RMS o f speed e r r o r s . However, i n
regime a u t o t h r o t t l e . t h e process, l o n g t e r m p a t h t r a c k i n g and
speed t r a c k i n g i s a l s o l o s t .
S t a b l e speed c o n t r o l t h r o u g h t h e t h r o t t l e s
i s generally not possible w i t h constant The a u t o t h r o t t l e performance i s p a r t i c u l a r l y
elevator. Because the basic airplane s e n s i t i v e t o t h e s t a t i c and dynamic engine
c o n t r o l must be speed s t a b l e , speed changes characteristics. Basically, w i t h both the
r e q u i r e e l e v a t o r t r i m changes. Thus, t h e a u t o p i l o t and a u t o t h r o t t l e engaged, the
autothrottle is unusable unless the engine' becomes a " t h r u s t a c t u a t o r , " much
a u t o p i l o t i s engaged. l i k e the elevator actuator. The a u t o p i l o t
depends h e a v i l y on t h e dependable and
Climb and descent maneuvers can be i n i t i a t e d invariable operation of the elevator
through t h e e l e v a t o r , b u t g e n e r a l l y n o t a c t u a t o r . The h i g h degree o f v a r i a b i l i t y o f
sustained without retrimming t h r u s t . The t h e engine as a t h r u s t a c t u a t o r has been
a u t o t h r o t t l e speed c o n t r o l l o o p can p r o v i d e another source of endless autothrottle
the thrust trimning function, but only t o design modifications. The e n g i n e l s t h r u s t
t h e e x t e n t t h e r e i s enough t h r u s t margin . t o o u t p u t p e r degree o f t h r o t t l e v a r i e s w i d e l y
s a t i s f y t h e f l i g h t p a t h command f r o m t h e as a f u n c t i o n o f a l t i t u d e , Mach number and
autopilot. For l a r g e p a t h commands, t h e temperature. Bleed v a l v e o p e r a t i o n , b l e e d
t h r u s t w i l l l i m i t , causing l o s s o f speed a i r extraction, t h r u s t l i m i t s , control cable
control. By d e s i g n t h e e l e v a t o r a u t h o r i t y back l a s h , h y s t e r e s i s and v a r i a b i l i t y i n t h e
always exceeds t h e p i t c h t r i m requirement a t response dynamics make t h e p r e s e n t j e t
maximum o r minimum t h r u s t , allowing the engines extremely p r o b l e m a t i c elements i n
a u t o p i l o t t o induce s t a l l o r overspeed. t h e automatic c o n t r o l loop. Compensation
Numerous i n c i d e n t s o f t h i s n a t u r e have f o r a l l major engine s e n s i t i v i t i e s i n t h e
occurred. Reference 1 g i v e s an example. a u t o t h r o t t l e c o n t r o l laws has been necessary
t o make t h e system work. T h i s has r e q u i r e d
An a u t o p i l o t speed r e v e r s i o n mode can a u t o t h r o t t l e r e d e s i g n and r e c e r t i f i c a t i o n
safeguard a g a i n s t t h i s r i s k . However, f o r w i t h each new engine and each major engine
n e a r l y a l l AFCS i n use today t h e p i l o t must revision.
p r o v i d e t h i s safeguard--at l e a s t f o r some
a u t o p i l o t / a u t o t h r o t t l e mode combinations. The d e s i g n method t o achieve a s a t i s f a c t o r y
compromise between the desired path
I n t h e l a t e s t designs (Boeing 737 Advanced, tracking, speed tracking. controller
767, 757) t h e f l i g h t l e v e l change mode a c t i v i t y , maneuver responsiveness and f u e l
a l l e v i a t e s t h i s problem d u r i n g t r a n s i t i o n e f f i c i e n c y f o r a l l mode combinations and
f r o m one a l t i t u d e t o another by temporary f l i g h t conditions i s n o t w e l l established.
speed c o n t r o l r e v e r s i o n t o t h e a u t o p i l o t and The design process relies heavily on
v e r t i c a l speed c o n t r o l t o t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e . experience, i n t u i t i o n , e m p i r i c a l approaches
However, good v e r t i c a l speed c o n t r o l t h r o u g h and t r a d i t i o n .
t h e t h r o t t l e s i s d i f f i c u l t t o achieve, and
so is smooth maneuver initiation and The fragmented system a r c h i t e c t u r e does n o t
t e r m i n a t i o n , w h i l e h a v i n g t o " s w i t c h horses." l e n d i t s e l f t o e f f i c i e n t implementation o f
g e n e r a l d e s i g n p r o v i s i o n s such as speed
Both t h e e l e v a t o r and t h r o t t l e c o n t r o l l i m i t i n g and normal a c c e l e r a t i o n l i m i t i n g ,
produce coupled flight p a t h and speed because p r o v i s i o n s have t o be made a t
responses. As a result, path control numerous places and t h e r e q u i r e d s o l u t i o n s
maneuvers by t h e a u t o p i l o t induce speed a r e d i f f e r e n t each t i m e . This leads t o
p e r t u r b a t i o n , and speed c o n t r o l maneuvers by complex d e s i g n implementations w i t h many ad
t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e produce p a t h d e v i a t i o n s . hoc solutions of limited usefulness,
These c o n t r o l c o u p l i n g e r r o r s and a s s o c i a t e d sometimes v o i d o f a sound p h y s i c a l b a s i s .
controller transients are undesirable. The danger o f such a design approach l i e s !
E f f o r t s t o minimize these c o u p l i n g e r r o r s m o s t l y i n t h e f a c t t h a t such designs a r e
and p r o v i d e good system damping l e a d t o h i g h exceedingly d i f f i c u l t t o t e s t adequately
feedback gains. T h i s i n t u r n produces d u r i n g t h e design stage. This i n t u r n sets
unacceptably high control activity in the stage for difficult and costly
turbulence, p a r t i c u l a r l y on t h e t h r o t t l e s . improvement programs l a t e r .

H i s t o r i c precedence o f t h e a u t o p i l o t and One of the most persistent criticism

superior control a u t h o r i t y o f the elevator
have a l l o w e d t h e p a t h c o n t r o l requirements
t o be s a t i s f i e d f i r s t , o f t e n a t t h e expense
o f t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e speed c o n t r o l . T h i s has
r e s u l t e d i n an u n s o l v a b l e d e s i g n problem f o r
t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e and a poor r e p u t a t i o n f o r
t h e d e s i g n and designers a l i k e ! For example,
t i g h t a u t o p i l o t p a t h c o n t r o l w i l l aggravate
expressed about t h e p r e s e n t g e n e r a t i o n o f
AFCS, i n p a r t i c u l a r about t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e ,
i s the lack of p i l o t - l i k e control strategy
i n t h e e x e c u t i o n o f f l i g h t p a t h and speed
commands. Pilots i n t u i t i v e l y coordinate
e l e v a t o r and t h r o t t l e i n p u t s . They a l s o
t a k e advantage o f s t o r e d energy by u s i n g t h e
e l e v a t o r t o c o n v e r t speed t o a l t i t u d e and
 vice versa when possible, to avoid coupling. T h i s r e s u l t p o i n t e d s t r a i g h t back t o
unnecessary thrust transients. In t h e i n e f f i c i e n t h a n d l i n g o f t h e p o i n t mass
turbulence, pilots move the throttles control problem by the autopilot and
infrequently. I f windshear i s d e t e c t e d , t h e autothrottle!
p i l o t g e n e r a l l y responds w i t h l a r g e d i s c r e t e
t h r o t t l e inputs. As a r e s u l t , t h e Boeing research c o n t r a c t
work was r e d i r e c t e d i n 1979 by NASA t o b e g i n t h e
I n t h e e a r l y seventies, extensive e f f o r t s a t conceptual development o f a f u l l y i n t e g r a t e d
Boeing were d i r e c t e d t o produce an improved automatic f l i g h t p a t h and speed c o n t r o l system
a u t o t h r o t t l e system f o r t h e 8747. The t h r o t t l e t h a t can handle a l l design requirements w i t h o u t
/
a c t i v i t y problem was a l l e v i a t e d c o n s i d e r a b l y by d u p l i c a t i o n o f f u n c t i o n s and i n c o r p o r a t e many
a s i g n a l c a n c e l l a t i o n technique, using the long standing design objectives. The work was
-180" phase difference between turbulence c a r r i e d o u t under NASA c o n t r a c t s NAS1-14880 and
induced airspeed deviations and inertial NAS1-16300 during 1979-1980 and 1980-1981.
acceleration.= The resulting sluggish D e t a i l e d system design and r e d u c t i o n t o p r a c t i c e
response t o windshears was c o r r e c t e d by t h e was c a r r i e d o u t under Boeing IR&D f u n d i n g d u r i n g
a d d i t i o n o f a n o n l i n e a r windshear d e t e c t i o n and t h e 1979-1982 p e r i o d .
compensation circuit3. The autopilot/
a u t o t h r o t t l e c o n t r o l c o o r d i n a t i o n problem was I n t e g r a t e d E l e v a t o r and T h r u s t C o n t r o l Desinn
addressed on t h e 8747 w i t h t h e development o f a
method t o p r e v e n t a c c e l e r a t i o n s induced by The o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e research were:
f l i g h t p a t h d e v i a t i o n s , f r o m causing i n e f f i c i e n t
t h r o t t l e a c t i v i t y and e x c i t i n g a p o o r l y damped Integration of a l l control functions o f
autopilot autothrottle coupling motion4. t h e p i t c h a u t o p i l o t , a u t o t h r o t t l e , and
T h i s method, c a l l e d "energy compensation." was a navigation/performance computer system
f i r s t a t t e m p t t o use t h r u s t f o r c o n t r o l o f t h e i n t o a s i n g l e g e n e r a l i z e d c o n t r o l concept.
a i r c r a f t ' s energy s t a t e s h o r t term, and c o n t r o l s e r v i n g a l l modes and f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s .
o f speed l o n g term. I t decoupled t h r o t t l e
response f r o m e l e v a t o r c o n t r o l and improved t h e P r o v i d e decoupled f l i g h t p a t h and speed
system damping. The d i f f i c u l t y was t h e l a c k o f maneuver c o n t r o l by t h e use o f p i l o t - l i k e
a u t o p i l o t / a u t o t h r o t t l e crossfeed t o recognize control strategies.
i n t e n t i o n a l f l i g h t p a t h changes t o i n h i b i t t h e
compensation and a v o i d l a r g e speed e r r o r s . Eliminate functional overlap and
s t r u c t u r e t h e c o n t r o l reference hierarchy
Other a t t e m p t s a t implementing p i l o t - l i k e to preclude exceeding the airplane
c o n t r o l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s may be found i n t h e performance and s a f e t y l i m i t s ( g - l i m i t ,
Lockheed L-1011 (ARMA) and Boeing 747 (DELCO) YLIMITI ~ . ~ V S T A L L . VMO/MMO. f l a p p l a c a r d s ) .
Performance Management Systems. Here t h e i d e a
i s t o c r o s s f e e d speed e r r o r s , l i m i t e d i n s i g n a l M i n i m i z e e l e v a t o r and t h r o t t l e a c t i v i t y
a m p l i t u d e t o t h e energy equivalence o f -100 c o n s i s t e n t w i t h meeting f l i g h t p a t h and
f t , t o t h e e l e v a t o r f o r " c o n t r o l assistance,' speed tracking requirements a t each
t h e r e b y r e d u c i n g energy i n e f f i c i e n t t h r o t t l e f l i g h t condition.
activity, but incurring a slight altitude
wandering. S i m p l i f y t h e p i l o t - m a c h i n e i n t e r f a c e and
extend t h e o p e r a t i o n a l c a p a b i l i t y .
Many o f t h e above d e s c r i b e d o p e r a t i o n a l and
performance l i m i t a t i o n s were a l s o experienced by Reduce hardware and s o f t w a r e .
NASA d u r i n g t h e Terminal Configured V e h i c l e
Program (TCVP) f 1 i g h t expetiments, u s i n g a 8-737 Provide consistency i n design o f various
a i r c r a f t . Boeing was i n s t r u m e n t a l i n t h e d e s i g n modes and commonality with display
o f an advanced s t a t e o f t h e a r t guidance and concepts.
c o n t r o l and a v i o n i c s system onboard t h i s a i r c r a f t
and a s s i s t e d t h e NASA d u r i n g t h e 1974-1979 Desinn C o n s i d e r a t i o n s
p e r i o d w i t h research t o develop a i r b o r n e system
concepts, o p e r a t i o n s procedures. and a v i o n i c s An e a r l i e r Boeing study had i n v e s t i g a t e d
technology t o p r o v i d e s a f e r and more e f f i c i e n t f l i g h t path angle crossfeed t o the a u t o t h r o t t l e
a i r c r a f t o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e t e r m i n a l area. and speed t o t h e a u t o p i l o t t o p r o v i d e decoupled
speed and f l i g h t p a t h responses. A V-canonical
Here again, t h e area o f i m p r o v i n g t h e system r e p r e s e n t a t i o n was used t o i d e n t i f y t h e
simultaneous operation of autopilot and transfer functions f o r the desired controls o f
a u t o t h r o t t l e was addressed, with particular speed due t o t h r u s t and f l i g h t p a t h due t o
a t t e n t i o n t o t h e need t o a n t i c i p a t e t h r u s t e l e v a t o r , as w e l l as t h e t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n s f o r
requirements f o r v e r t i c a l maneuvers and t h e t h e undesired c o u p l i n g e f f e c t s o f p i t c h i n g
t r a d e o f f problem between speed t r a c k i n g i n moment due t o speed (M/AV) and f o r c e a l o n g t h e
windshear and t h r o t t l e a c t i v i t y i n t u r b u l e n c e . f l i g h t p a t h due t o f l i g h t a n g l e (F/Ay). These
T h i s work soon e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l c r o s s c o u p l i n g e f f e c t s can be e l i m i n a t e d by
AFCS design had reached a development p l a t e a u g e n e r a t i n g equal and o p p o s i t e p i t c h i n g moments
and t h a t f u r t h e r improvements were n o t simple t o and f o r c e s w i t h t h e e l e v a t o r and t h r o t t l e . T h i s
obtain w i t h i n the existing architecture. It t e c h n i q u e was found t o be i m p r a c t i c a l because
also established t h a t the thrust pitching t h e modelled c a n c e l l a t i o n t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n s a r e
moments--earlier b e l i e v e d t o be an i m p o r t a n t i l l - c o n d i t i o n e d and cause s e r i o u s d e g r a d a t i o n o f
contributor to undesirable thrust/pitch the c o n t r o l l e r a c t i v i t y i n turbulence.
i n t e r a c t i o n - - h a d l i t t l e e f f e c t on t h e t h r o t t l e
a c t i v i t y and t h e s p e e d / f l i g h t path control
 Interestingly, the "energy compensation1' i n i t i a t i o n and l o n g t e r m f o r t r i m m i n g o f t h e
technique, f e e d i n g back f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e t o t h e f l i g h t path. T h i s d e s i g n worked b u t d i d n o t
a u t o t h r o t t l e w i t h the opposite sign, prevents provide the desired smooth and decoupled
t h r u s t response t o f l i g h t p a t h p e r t u r b a t i o n s and maneuver c o n t r o l , a l t h o u g h a l l feedbacks were
elevator control. I t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were scaled i n r e l a t i v e energy q u a n t i t i e s .
d e s i r a b l e , except t h a t proper t h r u s t response t o
i n t e n t i o n a l f l i g h t p a t h changes would have t o be T o t a l Enernv C o n t r o l Concept
developed.
Numerous v a r i a t i o n s o f t h e above design were
Also, the potential flight path angle i n v e s t i g a t e d t o achieve a l l o f t h e o b j e c t i v e s .
(yp) concept was considered. Display of The b e s t o v e r a l l c o n f i g u r a t i o n was found t o be
had been proven t o be v a l u a b l e t o t h e one i n which t h e t h r u s t command (6Tc) i s
;?lot f o r s e t t i n g the required t h r u s t f o r a developed f r o m t h e sum o f f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e . e r r o r
d e s i r e d f l i g h t p a t h angle: (y,) and the acceleration error (V,/g),
f o r b o t h s h o r t t e r m and l o n g t e r m c o n t r o l :

where y = f l i g h t path angle = h / ~ where KTp and KTI are gain constants, S
r e p r e s e n t s t h e Laplace o p e r a t o r . T h i s was a
v = acceleration along the f l i g h t path l o g i c a l development, c o n s i d e r i n g t h e analogy o f
(airmass r e f e r e n c e d ) yp as a t h r u s t d i r e c t o r d i s p l a y . Equation
( 4 ) may be expressed i n terms o f t h e energy r a t e
g = g r a v i t y constant control :

T = thrust

D = drag

W = a i r c r a f t weight

h = v e r t i c a l speed

v = airspeed T h i s c o n t r o l c a l l s f o r t h e use o f t h r u s t t o
reduce t h e t o t a l energy e r r o r t o zero w i t h a
Assuming low maneuvering r a t e s , t h e d r a g D f i r s t o r d e r t i m e c o n s t a n t T E = KT~/KTI. Since t h e
i s m a i n l y a f f e c t e d by l o n g t e r m speed changes. engines a r e t h e b a s i c energy source o f t h e
Thus, s h o r t t e r m yp i s m a i n l y a f u n c t i o n o f aircraft. i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e t o develop t h e
t h e t h r u s t s e t t i n g T and n o t a f f e c t e d by t h r u s t command based on t h e energy demand. The
elevator control. Therefore, a t a g i v e n t h r u s t s u i t a b i l i t y o f t h i s c o n t r o l a l s o follows from
level yp indicates the "potential flight t h e e q u a t i o n o f m o t i o n a l o n g t h e f l i g h t path,
p a t h a n g l e " t h a t can be achieved by b r i n g i n g t h e solved f o r t h r u s t r e q u i r e d :
a c c e l e r a t i o n t o zero by a p p l y i n g e l e v a t o r u n t i l
the displayed actual f l i g h t path angle y
becomes equal t o the y . The yp s i g n a l
can a l s o be r e l a t e d t o t h e Petal energy r a t e (E) Assuming t h e i n i t i a l t h r u s t i s trimmed
of the a i r c r a f t : a g a i n s t drag, t h e n i t f o l l o w s t h a t t h e s h o r t
t e r m t h r u s t requirement i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e
sum o f f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e and a c c e l e r a t i o n and
a l s o p r o p o r t i o n a l t o w e i g h t . The d r a g v a r i a t i o n
i s g e n e r a l l y slow, e s p e c i a l l y f o r commercial
t r a n s p o r t s , and can be taken c a r e o f by i n t e g r a l
control. Therefore, a d r a g r e l a t e d feedback i s
n o t needed. The t h r u s t command ( 4 ) and ( 6 ) a r e
or ES = V yp ( s p e c i f i c energy r a t e ) (3) i n normalized f o r m f o r u n i t w e i g h t . The t o t a l
t h r u s t command i s t h e r e f o r e o b t a i n e d by s c a l i n g
Further, t h e e l e v a t o r and t h r o t t l e c o n t r o l t h e s p e c i f i c t h r u s t up i n p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were considered. The e l e v a t o r t o t a l weight o f t h e a i r p l a n e .
can be used s h o r t t e r m f o r b o t h speed c o n t r o l
and f l i g h t p a t h c o n t r o l . Long term, t h e use o f W i t h t h r u s t c o n t r o l used t o s a t i s f y t h e
e l e v a t o r i s e s s e n t i a l f o r speed c o n t r o l . The t o t a l energy r a t e requirement, an energy r a t e
t h r u s t can be used s h o r t term, f o r b o t h speed d i s t r i b u t i o n e r r o r can s t i l l e x i s t , i . e . , too
and f l i g h t p a t h c o n t r o l . Long term, t h e use o f h i g h a f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e / t o o l o w an a c c e l e r a t i o n
t h r u s t i s generally essential f o r path c o n t r o l . o r v i c e versa. The e l e v a t o r i s t h e i d e a l
I n i t i a t i o n o f a speed maneuver w i t h o u t f l i g h t c o n t r o l l e r t o r e c t i f y t h i s problem, s i n c e i t
path perturbation or vice versa requires p r o v i d e s i n essence o n l y a r o t a t i o n a l c o n t r o l
coordinated elevator and thrust inputs. which does n o t d i r e c t l y a f f e c t t h e t o t a l energy
Accordingly, the f i r s t successful integrated s t a t e o f t h e a i r c r a f t . C o r r e c t i o n o f t h e energy
t h r o t t l e and' e l e v a t o r c o n t r o l system used t h e rate distribution can, in principle, be
elevator control short term f o r both f l i g h t path accomplished e i t h e r by f e e d i n g back t h e f l i g h t
and speed maneuver i n i t i a t i o n and l o n g t e r m f o r p a t h a n g l e e r r o r y, or the acceleration
speed trimming. Likewise, t h r u s t was used s h o r t error 9,/g to the elevator. The
t e r m f o r b o t h f l i g h t p a t h and speed maneuver u n c o n t r o l l e d v a r i a b l e w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y go t o
zero. However, choosing either y, or
V,/g for feedback t o the elevator will
result in favoring short term control of that
variable over t h e uncontrolled variable under
conditions of external disturbances, such a s
turbulence or windshear. In that case, a path
deviation may be transformed into a speed
deviation short term or vice versa. If on the
other hand both the acceleration error V,/g
and the flight path angle error y, are fed
back t o the elevator, then the energy rate
errors (energy errors) will be weighted equally
and therefore tend t o be redistributed equally
between g and y, short term. The
latter approach was choosen as the starting
position. Thus, using proportional plus
integral control the elevator command becomes:
&eC = (KEP + ~~~/s)(i,/g-y,) + damping (8)
The quantity (i,/g-y,) will be referred t o a s
i,-the energy rate distribution error, where L is
known in classical dynamics a s the "Lagrangean".
Then
= ~ E p i , + KEIL, + damping terms (10)
This control calls for the use of the
elevator t o redistribute the energy rate error
equally between flight path angle and
acceleration, following a first order response
with a time constant T D = KEP/KEI.
The damping terms in (9) consist of the
conventional feedbacks (i.e., pitch rate, pitch
attitude) that are necessary t o stabilize t h e
short period pitch dynamics. The resulting
basic system implementation is shown in figure 3.
Figure 3. Basic Total Energy Control System
It .should be nqted that the proportional
terms K ~ ~ E s ,and KE~L,, have been implemented a s
K T ~ E , and K E ~ L without reference t o the
commands. Thus, these quantities are the
absolute total energy rate and the difference in
energy rate between the flight path angle and
acceleration. In t h e regulator sense of the
control (stability, bandwidth), this change makes
no difference. However, the advantage of this
implementation relates t o t h e transient response
of t h e controller t o command inputs yc or
g . Step command inputs are processed only
through the integral control signal paths and
result in controller rate commands, making the
control responses smooth and also eliminatlng
command overshoot during capture. Proportional
signal paths of y, and V,/g would
contribute an unwanted zero in t h e numerator of
y/yc and V/Vc transfer functions, hence
response overshoots.
Control Decoupling. System Stability & Bandwidth
The energy based design approach clearly
reveals t h e relative elevator and thrust control
requirements t o decouple flight path and speed
maneuvering. In case of either a flight path or
accelera>ion maneuver, both the total energy rate
error E, and the energy rate distribution
error i, must go t o zero simultaneously,
otherwise energy will be transferred from one
variable t o the other, before both errors settle
t o zero. This requires in principle that T E = T D
or KTP/KTI = K E ~ / K E I . Considering the flight path
angle change maneuver, requiring &Tc = Whyc and
steady state hec = byc, t h e other basic
gain relationships KTP = KEP = 1.0 and KTI
= KEI follow. Further, t h e pitch and thrust
responses must be matched. The following
approach was used t o solve this problem.
First, the engine is made t o produce the
required net thrust at all flight conditions, by
conversion of the net thrust command t o a
command in terms of the engine control variable
(engine pressure ratio EPR, or fan speed N,)
and closing a feedback loop around the engine
using this variable. This engine control loop
is designed t o minimize variation of the engine
dynamics at different flight conditions and
provide overshoot free thrust response. For
conventional engines, actuated through the
throttles. t h e steady state throttle position
command is provided by a separate forward feed
predictor term.
Next, t h e pitch innerloop dynamics are
matched t o the thrust dynamics by judicious
choice of t h e innerloop feedbacks and gains.
The variable elevator effectiveness must be
compensated by gain scheduling the overall
elevator command a s a function of dynamic
pressure. Finally, the gains KTI and KEI
(TE and TD) are chosen to produce
decoupled, overshoot free acceleration and
flight path angle responses.
Figure 4. Frequency Response y/yc
 The resulting "natural decoupl ing" of f 1 ight
very high damping t o be achieved (C ,
path angle and acceleration maneuvers allows
.8) for
all dynamic modes. In fact it was possible t o
achieve approximately critical damping on all
modes. without resorting t o low bandwidth.
Figure 4 shows examples of the y/yc
frequency responses at different flight
conditions and illustrates the smoothness of t h e
control. There is no evidence of coupling modes
and the bandwidth is constant (-1 rad/sec).
Speed and Path in Space Control Modes
This basic total energy control concept
requires normalized commands yc and Vc/g.
For the speed and path-in-space control modes, Figure 5. Basic TECS Architecture and
these are developed a s follows. When a speed Mode Hierarchy
error V, exists, an acceleration is
commanded proportional t o and counteracting that
speed error: After extensive linear analyses of the basic
control modes, the entire TEC system was
implemented in a fully nonlinear real time
simulator and coupled t o a control cab, allowing
This control calls for an exponential detailed system development and pilot evaluation
reduction of the speed error with a time constant of all the modes and at any flight condition.
TV = l/Kv. Likewise, when an altitude This way, many detailed system features were
error relative t o the desired path exists, a developed interactively with the evaluating
vertical speed is commanded proportional t o and pilots. The described system responses were
counteracting that altitude error: obtained from this detailed nonlinear simulation.
Normal Acceleration Limiting
commanding an exponential reduction of h, The normal acceleration is an = ~ i .
with a time constant ~h = l/Kh. The hc Since the flight path angle y responds t o a
signal is then normalized into a yc by command yc in a smooth overshoot free way.
division of this signal by speed V: normal acceleration limiting is simply
i m p l e ~ e n t e d by rate lilhiting the yc signal
t o yc = a n L 1 ~ ~ ~ /(flgure v 5). The same
rate limit is ..also applied t o the ic/g signal
T o preserve the correct relative energy SO that V~LIMIT/g = anLIMIT/V, to
relationship of speed errors and altitude maintain t h e same processing in both signal
errors, the gains KV and Kh are selected paths. This assures that for dual commands, the
equal, yielding also identical dynamics of speed signals add up t o zero for either the thrust
and altitude. The magnitude of K V and Kh is commands or the elevator command, thereby
selected t o provide the desired response assuring smooth control without undesired
bandwidth consistent with the innerloop gains, controller activity.
such that the responses are overshoot free.
The outerloop error of any speed or flight
path control mode can thus be normalized into
t h e Vc and yc signals for input t o t h e
generalized elevator and thrust command
computation. For the speed modes (MACH, CAS),
the outerloop errors are first converted t o true
airspeed errors t o assure correct signal scaling.
Using this design approach, the complete
I1Total Energy Control Systemo1 (TECS) was built
up, t o provide all the control functions
previously provided by the autothrottle and pitch
autopilot. Figure 5 shows the resulting T E C S
architecture and mode hierarchy. The VERT NAV
and TIME NAV mode provide the capability t o
control t o flight path and speed trajectories
(4D) specified by a navigation/peformance Figure 6. ALT/CAS Modes. Combined
computer system. The V M A ~ and VHIN modes Decent/Acceleration
engage automatically t o provide speed limit
protection.
Figure 6 illustrates the normal acceleration
limiting (.lg) and the negligible throttle
response for simultaneous descent/speed up
commands, with - zero total energy change.
Since the ~ / gresponse is equal and opposite t o
t h e y response a t c o n s t a n t t h r u s t , t h e r a t e l i m i t e d , t h e speed c o n t r o l dynamics through t h e
limit on gc/g also provides normal e l e v a t o r a r e i d e n t i c a l t o t h e l i n e a r case
a c c e l e r a t i o n l i m i t i n g f o r speed maneuvers w i t h because a c c e l e r a t i o n i s i n e f f e c t o b t a i n e d by
thrust a t the l i m i t . T ~ rSa t e l i m i t y i e l d s commanding a f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e change t h a t
v e r y smooth t h r u s t b u i l d up f o r l a r g e speed y i e l d s t h e same f o r c e from g r a v i t y as would be
maneuvers and helps t o c u t down c o n t r o l l e r obtained from the engine in the linear
a c t i v i t y i n turbulence. (decoupled) c o n t r o l case. Note a l s o i n f i g u r e 8
t h a t speed does n o t d e v i a t e d u r i n g t h e descent
Operations With L i m i t T h r u s t maneuver i n i t i a t i o n and d u r i n g f i n a l c a p t u r e o f
t h e commanded a l t i t u d e . The a l t i t u d e and speed
When t h r u s t reaches t h e l i m i t , o n l y t h e capture time constants are selected t o provide
elevator remains a v a i l a b l e t o c o n t r o l one sufficient anticipation for the t h r u s t to
variable. Most o f t e n , i t i s t h e f l i g h t p a t h respond , s t a r t i n g f r o m a spooled down i d l e
a n g l e command yc t h a t causes t h e t h r u s t t o c o n d i t i o n and a v o i d command overshoots.
l i m i t , e.g., i n t h e f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e mode when
t o o h i g h a command y c i s s e l e c t e d ( f i g u r e Speed L i m i t i n g
6). o r i n t h e a l t i t u d e mode when a l a r g e change
i n a l t i t u d e i s commanded. I n those cases, speed Speed l i m i t i n g i s implemented, as an a b s o l u t e
c o n t r o l i s c o n t i n u e d through t h e e l e v a t o r , t h e p r i o r i t y control. Normalized Vc s i g n a l s a r e
f l i g h t p a t h e r r o r c o n t r o l l o o p i s opened a t t h e computed a t a l l times f o r t h e VMIN and VMAX
c r o s s f e e d t o t h e e l e v a t o r command computation speed l i m i t i n g modes. The Qc o f t h e engaged
( f i g u r e 3) and t h e t h r u s t command i n t e g r a t o r i s mode (CAS, MACH, o r TIME. NAV) i s c o n t i n o u s l y
p u t i n t o h o l d . L i n e a r c o n t r o l i s resumed when a compared with the VcvMIN and ~cvMAx
t h r u s t r a t e command i s developed t o d r i v e t h e commands o f t h e minimum speed and maximum speed
t h r u s t command back i n t o t h e l i n e a r range. Thus, limit odes. These modes engage autonomously
speed c o n t r o l w i l l g e n e r a l l y be g i v e n p r i o r i t y . when !cVMIH > Vc or V ~ v M A X < VC and
e l i m i n a t i n g t h e r i s k o f s t a l l i n g on c l i m b o u t p r o v i d e f u l l a n t i c i p a t i o n , so t h a t undershoots/
with a yc that cannot be s a t i s f i e d or overshoots a r e avoided. Unsafe speed commands
overspeed due t o t o o steep a descent. This by t h e p i l o t o r t h e n a g i v a t i o n / performance
o p e r a t i o n y i e l d s c l i m b and descent w i t h l i m i t computer w i l l thus be r e j e c t e d . As discussed
t h r u s t f o r l a r g e a l t i t u d e change commands, see p r e v i o u s l y , speed l i m i t c o n t r o l i s n o t impaired
f i g u r e 7. by t h r u s t l i m i t s . F i g u r e 8 shows a h i g h speed
g l i d e s l o p e c a p t u r e w i t h Vc reduced below t h e
f i n a l approach speed. The a i r p l a n e captures
VMIN and t h e g l i d e slope simultaneously, w h i l e
t h e t h r o t t l e s remain a t i d l e . Then speed reduces
t o r e c a p t u r e VMIN a t each f l a p e x t e n s i o n .

F i g u r e 7. ALT/CAS Modes, Descent

w i t h Subsequent D e c e l e r a t i o n

The speed priority also provides the

o p e r a t i o n a l f l e x i b i l i t y t o change speed d u r i n g
climb/descent a t maximum/minimum t h r u s t w i t h o u t
t h e need f o r t h e p i l o t t o manually r e c o n f i g u r e
t h e modes, see f i g u r e 7. Here, a f t e r t h r u s t
l i m i t s a t i d l e due t o a l a r g e descent command i n
t h e a l t i t u d e c o n t r o l mode. a command i s g i v e n t o F i g u r e 8. High-speed G l i d e Slope Capture
d e c e l e r a t e from 300 K t t o 250 K t . This i s w i t h F l a p Extension and VMIN C o n t r o l
accomplished through t h e e l e v a t o r c o n t r o l by
t e m p o r a r i l y r e d u c i n g t h e descent r a t e u n t i l t h e
speed command is captured. The vertical F l i g h t Path C o n t r o l P r i o r i t y
v e l o c i t y i s prevented f r o m g o i n g p o s i t i v e d u r i n g
d e c e l e r a t i o n a t i d l e therust by l i m i t i n g t h e I n t h e G l i d e Slope c o n t r o l , t h e V e r t i c a l
deceleration command Vc/g to the , t o t a l N a v i g a t i o n and V e l o c i t y Vector C o n t r o l Wheel
a v a i l a b l e energy r a t e , represented by (V/g+y). S t e e r i n g modes, i t i s sometimes d e s i r a b l e t o
Alternatively, i t i s possible t o l i m i t the m a i n t a i n p a t h c o n t r o l p r i o r i t y when t h e t h r u s t
acceleration/ deceleration t o only a portion o f jimits. I n these cases, t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n e r r o r
t h e t o t a l a v a i l a b l e energy r a t e , and r e s e r v e t h e V,/g error i n p u t t o t h e e l e v a t o r command
remainder f o r climb/descent. computation, r a t h e r than t h e f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e
e r r o r yc, i s removed d u r i n g p e r i o d s w i t h
It should be noted that when thrust is t h r u s t i n the l i m i t ( f i g u r e 4). As a r e s u l t
 peed w i l l wander. However, when e i t h e r
LvMIN or (cVMAX
speed command, p a t h
becomes t h e controlling
c o n t r o l w i l l be abandoned
and speed c o n t r o l w i l l once a g a i n become
p r i o r i t y . so t h a t s t a l l o r overspeed i s avoided. CAS, Itn SW
300
Seqment t o Segment F l i g h t Path T r a n s i t i o n

C o n t r o l t o any s t r a i g h t l i n e segment of a
p a t h i n space i s accomplished by d e v e l o p i n g a
normalized incremental f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e e r r o r
between t h e c u r r e n t and t h e upcoming p a t h
segment ( f i g u r e 9 ) :

TIME (mc)

I n (14). and ; a r e i n e r t i a l l y smoothed

v e r t i c a l speed and a i r s p e e d . The f i r s t t e r m
develops an i n c r e m e n t a l f l i g h t path angle F i g u r e 10. VERT NAV/CAS Modes, C o n t r o l t o
comand r e l a t i v e t o t h e upcoming p a t h segment. Preprogrammed Path
The second t e r m develops t h e r e l a t i v e f l i g h t
h5 t o make y, = 0, hence t h e c a p t u r e
will start sooner, so t h a t the v e r t i c a l
a c c e l e r a t i o n s w i l l remain t h e same.

For t h e g l i d e s l o p e mode, the l i n e a r

altitude error h, is derived by gain
s c h e d u l i n g o f t h e a n g u l a r beam d e v i a t i o n . The
y, derivation, together w i t h the integral
c o n t r o l structure, provides inherent i n e r t i a l
smoothing o f beam noise, depending on t h e
selected T V ~ .

S p e c i a l Modes
Path Segment 2 A Go Around C o n t r o l

F i g u r e 9. Segment-to-Segment The Go Around mode i s s i m p l y implemented by

Path T r a n s i t i o n
p a t h a n g l e Ay between t h e c u r r e n t and t h e
upcoming p a t h segment. Computation o f t h i s
s t a r t s as soon as t h e c o n t r o l i s armed t o
Y h e r c e p t a new p a t h i n space.
For large h, the first term will
dominate and c a l l f o r a steepening o f t h e
i n t e r c e p t angle. As l o n g as t h i s c o n d i t i o n
e x i s t s , c o n t r o l toward t h e n e x t segment i s
inhibited. As t h e a i r p l a n e progresses toward
t h e new path, t h e y, w i l l change s i g n .
t h a t p o i n t , t h e c u r r e n t p a t h segment i s t a n g e n t
t o t h e e x p o n e n t i a l c a p t u r e t r a j e c t o r y toward t h e
n e x t segment and c o n t r o l r e l a t i v e t o t h e n e x t
segment i s engaged. The c o n t r o l t h e n smoothly
develops f u l l y c o o r d i n a t e d t h r u s t and e l e v a t o r
commands based on y, t o c a p t u r e t h e new p a t h
overshoot f r e e , w i t h o u t t h e need f o r extraneous
c a p t u r e l o g i c o r c a p t u r e submodes ( f i g u r e 8 ) .
The Kh s e t s t h e c a p t u r e t i m e c o n s t a n t .
Both t h e G l i d e Slope and V e r t i c a l N a v i g a t i o n
modes a r e implemented t h i s way. F i g u r e 10
i l l u s t r a t e s how t h e V e r t i c a l N a v i g a t i o n mode
a l l o w s p r e c i s e f o l l o w i n g o f a f i v e segment p a t h
i n space, w i t h o u t i n d u c i n g speed e r r o r s . Note
t h a t no p a t h e r r o r develops d u r i n g a speed
change f r o m 250 t o 300 Kn.
Note t h a t e q u a t i o n ( 1 4 ) p r o v i d e s f o r p a t h
c a p t u r e s which a r e f u l l y a d a p t i v e t o speed.
W i t h i n c r e a s i n g speed, i t takes an i n c r e a s i n g
s w i t c h i n g t o a f i x e d yc (one l i n e o f d i g i t a l
code). I t p r o v i d e s f u l l y a d a p t i v e performance
f o r weights and a v a i l a b l e engine t h r u s t . The
f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e command i s s e l e c t e d t o p r o v i d e
t h e d e s i r e d i n i t i a l p u l l up and f i n a l c l i m b
gradient. T h i s yc i s n o t r a t e l i m i t e d i n
o r d e r t o minimize a l t i t u d e l o s s . I t i s p o s s i b l e
t o o b t a i n over . 5 g v e r t i c a l a c c e l e r a t i o n , i f
desired. For a heavy a i r c r a f t , more than t h e
a v a i l a b l e t h r u s t may be r e q u i r e d t o s a t i s f y
yc. I n t h a t case, f u l l t h r u s t climb i s
o b t a i n e d w i t h speed c o n t r o l l e d by t h e e l e v a t o r .
For l i g h t w e i g h t c o n d i t i o n s , o n l y p a r t i a l t h r u s t
At w i l l s a t i s f y yc. The p a r t i a l power avoids
excessive c l i m b g r a d i e n t s and p i t c h a t t i t u d e s .
The mode i s s a f e i n case o f engine f a i l u r e s : t h e
thrust on t h e remaining engines w i l l be
increased and i f i n s u f f i c i e n t t o s a t i s f y y c ,
a max t h r u s t maneuver w i t h speed c o n t r o l l e d by
the elevator w i l l result.
Automatic Landing F l a r e C o n t r o l
The automatic l a n d i n g f l a r e c o n t r o l has been
implemented u s i n g a m o d i f i e d " V a r i a b l e Tau" h
c o n t r o l law5. Upon r e a c h i n g a f i x e d f l a r e
height. t h e y, s i g n a l i s r e p l a c e d by t h e
signal ( h + BIAS) K ~ V G / V which i n e f f e c t
develops a Aye through t h e i n t e g r a l c o n t r o l
paths, commanding the airplane to fly a
geometrically f i x e d f l a r e t r a j e c t o r y t o the
runway, f o r a l l f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s . T h i s comes
about through t h e groundspeed dependent g a i n
K ~ V G . The ti s i g n a l which i s a l s o used f o r
d e v e l o p i n g y i s d y n a m i c a l l y changed over from i n e r t i a l r e f e r e n c e system, u s i n g a c o n t i n u o u s l y
a b a r o m e t r i c t o runway r e f e r e n c e d q u a n t i t y . In running bias compensated third order
t h e speed c o n t r o l p a t h a n e g a t i v e Vc is complementary f i l t e r . A The i n e r t i a l l y smoothed
i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g f l a r e , which augments t h e t r u e a i r s p e e d s i g n a l V i s developed i n a f i r s t
p i t c h r o t a t i o n and d r i v e s t h e t h r o t t l e t o t h e o r d e r complementary f i l t e r u s i n g groundspeed
a f t stop. The t h r o t t l e r a t e w i l l be modulated VG. T h i s s i g n a l i s used t o n o r m a l i z e t h e
by feedback o f t h e a c t u a l a c c e l e r a t i o n . Good outerloop path deviations i n t o f l i g h t path angle
performance was achieved on t h e s i m u l a t o r f o r a e r r o r s and a l s o t o develop t h e ~ r o p o ~ t i o n a l
variety of conditions. However, exhaustive f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e feedback s i g n a l y = h / ~f o r
t e s t i n g has n o t y e t been conducted. a l l modes. The f i l t e r i n g i s done t o minimize
c o n t r o l l e r a c t i v i t y i n t u r b u l e n c e and airmass
Computer Augmented Manual C o n t r o l r e f e r e n c e d f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e q u a n t i t i e s a r e used
because t h e energy concept and t h e t h r u s t
The T o t a l Energy C o n t r o l system i s i d e a l l y requirements ( e q u a t i o n 7) r e l a t e s t o airmass
s u i t e d f o r p r o v i d i n g f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e based referenced q u a n t i t i e s .
computer augmented control because o f the 1?
system's decoupled c o n t r o l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . In The f l i g h t p a t h a c c e l e r a t i o n V/g i s d e r i v e d
t h i s mode, a l s o c a l l e d V e l o c i t y Vector C o n t r o l s h o r t t e r m f r o m t h e t h r u s t t o w e i g h t r a t i o T/W
Wheel S t e e r i n g s , a r a t e o f change o f f l i g h t and t h e airmass referenced f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e
p a t h a n g l e command ( q c ) p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e y, and l o n g t e r m from t r u e a i r s p e e d VT:
column f o r c e i s developed. The +column f o r c e
s i g n a l i s g a i n scheduled w i t h 1/V t o p r o v i d e
c o n s t a n t s t i c k f o r c e p e r "g", and i n t e g r a t e d t o
develop t h e f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e command y,.
4n i n e r t i a l f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e feedback y ~ = Like the signal, i/g i s referenced t o
~ / V G i s used t o develop t h e b a s i c e r r o r s i g n a l airmass l o n g term, because t h e o b j e c t i v e i s !o
y, and p r o v i d e l o n g t e r m c o n t r o l r e l a t i v e c o n t r o l airspeed. The s i g n a l component (T/W - y )
t o an i n e r t i a l r e f e r e n c e . T h i s fc s i g n a l i s r e p r e s e n t s t h e f l i g h t p a t h a c c e l e r a t i o n minus
a l s o f e d forward t o t h e t h r u s t and e l e v a t o r t h e e f f e c t o f d r a g changes. I t i s used i n s t e a d
commands t o o b t a i n t h e d e s i r e d response l a g o f of inertial acceleration to eliminate
y relative to yc without causing speed u n d e s i r a b l e c o n t r o l responses t o l a r g e gusts,
perturbations. windshear, speedbrake and f l a p changes. Since
8747 TECS d r a g changes a r e n o t sensed d i r e c t l y , the
throttles w i l l not respond immediately t o
speedbrake or flap changes, allowing the
a i r p l a n e t o slow down/speed up n a t u r a l l y and
g i v i n g t h e p i l o t t i m e t o make a p p r o p r i a t e speed
command adjustments.

I n t h e p r e f e r r e d TECS c o n f i g u r a t i o n t h e T/W
s i g n a l i s developed by p r o c e s s i n g t h e computed
T/W command through a transfer function
approximating the actual engine transfer
function (observer). T h i s approach reduces t h e
e f f e c t s o f engine dynamics v a r i a t i o n s between
low and h i g h t h r u s t s e t t i n g s and reduces s i g n a l
i n t e r f a c e requirements f o r t h e a c t u a l system
W E . ..s implementation.

F i g u r e 11. V e l o c i t y CWS Responses t o C o n t r o l i n Turbulence and Windshear

12 l b Column Pull/Push
I n c o n v e n t i o n a l AFCS designs, t h e a u t o p i l o t
F i g u r e 11 shows examples o f responses g e n e r a l l y uses t h e h i g h e r e l e v a t o r c o n t r o l
t a i l o r e d t o y i e l d ,T. - 2.5 sec, t h e f a s t e s t a u t h o r i t y t o c o n t r o l t h e p a t h a t t h e expense o f
response a c h i e v a b l e w i t h p a r a l l e l servos w h i l e a u t o t h r o t t l e speed c o n t r o l . Airspeed i s t h e
a v o i d i n g e l e v a t o r over c o n t r o l and s t i c k f o r c e v a r i a b l e most s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d by t u r b u l e n c e
reversal. and c o n v e n t i o n a l a u t o t h r o t t l e systems a r e o f t e n
i n e f f e c t i v e i n r e d u c i n g t h e RMS speed e r r o r s ,
I t should be noted t h a t t h e T i s too because o f t h e r e l a t i v e l y l o w a u t h o r i t y and slow
l o n g f o r c l o s u r e o f t h e p r i m a r y p i l o t yoop u s i n g engine response. For l a r g e gusts o r windshear
y-display. To overcome t h i s problem, the and o p e r a t i o n s near t h e r e f e r e n c e speed, t h e
yc i s displayed along w i t h y. The y c situation is further aggravated when the
had been shown on t h e NASA 8737 t o be a a u t o p i l o t a t t e m p t s t o compensate speed l i f t l o s s
s a t i s f a c t o r y primary p i l o t display f o r the by commanding a p i t c h i n g up. Several i n c i d e n t s
f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e CWS mode. of induced stalls and loss of control.
a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h i s problem have been r e p o r t e d
Feedback S i g n a l Synthesis and s t u d i e d by D.E. Johnston, e t a l . '
Johnston concluded t h a t maneuvers i n v o l v i n g
The T o t a l . Energy System. uJes, f il t e j e d o r energy change can leave t h e a i r p l a n e o u t o f t r i m
e s t i m a t e d feedback s i g n a l s , h, h, V and V. The on e l e v a t o r and t h r u s t , and t h e r e f o r e v u l n e r a b l e
a l t i t u d e and a l t i t u d e r a t e s i g n a l s h and h a r e to surprise turbulence and windshear. To
developed by i n e r t i a l l y smoothing b a r o m e t r i c s u r v i v e such encounters he recommends h i g h g a i n
a l t i t u d e w i t h v e r t i c a l a c c e l e r a t i o n f r o m an a t t i t u d e and low g a i n a i r s p e e d feedback c o n t r o l
through t h e e l e v a t o r , combined w i t h a " p o t e n t i a l
f l i g h t p a t h a n g l e " t h r u s t d i r e c t o r . J.G. Jones
( r e f e r e n c e 8) argues a t l e n g t h why t h r u s t should
be used t o c o n t r o l t o t a l energy and e l e v a t o r t o
control energy distribution to effectively
combat t u r b u l e n c e and windshear.
The TECS system does e x a c t l y t h a t and f o r c e s
t h e designer t o c o n s i d e r t h e t r a d e o f f between
f l i g h t p a t h and speed t r a c k i n g . Both t h r u s t and
elevator control work equally hard i n a
c o o r d i n a t e d way and u s i n g t h e same i n f o r m a t i o n
t o reduce t h e e r r o r s t o zero. On t h e one hand.
speed p e r t u r b a t i o n s t e n d t o be converted t o p a t h
p e r t u r b a t i o n s f o r t h e s h o r t t e r m by t h e e l e v a t o r
c o n t r o l , which tends t o e q u a l i z e t h e energy
errors. On t h e o t h e r hand. t h e more e f f e c t i v e
t h r u s t c o n t r o l reduces t h e t o t a l energy e r r o r s
q u i c k e r . On balance, f o r t h e same p a t h t r a c k i n g
i n t u r b u l e n c e as f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l a u t o p i l o t s ,
t h e speed t r a c k i n g and t h r o t t l e response i s
improved.
A f a r more e f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l s t r a t e g y i s t o
r e l a x t h e speed c o n t r o l somewhat ( h i g h e r T Q )
and recover t h e speed s a f e t y margin i n windshear
by i n c r e a s i n g t h e a i r s p e e d . T h i s approach was
implemented by s i m p l y adding a b i a s p r o p o r t i o n a l
t o t h e headwind ( t h e o n l y dangerous case) o n t o
t h e speed command o f t h e VMIN mode. It
results in a h i g h approach a i r s p e e d f o r
headwinds which i s a l l o w e d t o b l e e d down t o t h e
f i n a l approach speed, as t h e headwind shears o u t
d u r i n g descent.
F i g u r e 13 i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t u s i n g t h i s c o n t r o l
s t r a t e g y , a windshear o f 5 Kn/sec, f a r i n excess
o f t h e performance o f t h e a i r p l a n e , c o u l d be
handled w i t h o u t s t a l l i n g and w i t h r e l a t i v e
r e l a x e d c o n t r o l (TC = 10 sec). The a i r p l a n e
was s e t up i n t h e ALTITUDE/CAS mode a t 500 f t
altitude. The headwind r e s u l t s i n an i n i t i a l
approach speed 30 Kn above t h e r e f e r e n c e speed.

The balance o f f l i g h t p a t h and speed e r r o r s

due t o e x t e r n a l d i s t u r b a n c e s can be s h i f t e d by
r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the r e l a t i v e f l i g h t path angle
and a c c e l e r a t i o n p r o p o r t i o n a l feedback
gains, t o t h e e l e v a t o r (K and 2-K i n f i g u r e 3 ) .
T h i s does n o t e f f e c t t h e system bandwidth o r
damping basically, because these feedback
s i g n a l s a r e complementary a t c o n s t a n t t h r u s t .

I n windhshear. ,the feedback of airmass

r e f e r e n c e d y and V/g p r o v i d e s d i r e c t t h r u s t
corrections through the proportional signal
path, thereby reducing deviations from t h e F i g u r e 13. TEC System Response t o Severe
i n e r t i a l r e f e r e n c e path. The speed t r a c k i n g Windshear
performance is further affected by the
a c c e l e r a t i o n complementary f i l t e r t i m e c o n s t a n t A f t e r t h e speed s t a r t s t o b l e e d o f f due t o t h e
T ~ J and the overall speed feedback gain windshear, t h e t h r o t t l e s s t a r t forward, t h e
level. Small rq y i e l d s t i g h t speed t r a c k i n g p i t c h a t t i t u d e increases s l o w l y , b u t t h e a n g l e
i n windshear b u t h i g h e r c o n t r o l l e r a c t i v i t y i n of attack increases rapidly. After the
turbulence. The effect of T~I, on path t h r o t t l e s h i t the forward l i m i t , path c o n t r o l i s
t r a c k i n g i s opposite. T h i s performance t r a d e abandoned, b u t speed c o n t r o l c o n t i n u e s through
o f f i s shown i n f i g u r e 12. A t h i g h e r a l t i t u d e s t h e e l e v a t o r . The a i r p l a n e then p i t c h e s ' d o w n t o
t i g h t speed c o n t r o l i n windshear i s less r e c a p t u r e t h e VMIN speed and t h e a i r p l a n e
c r i t i c a l and low c o n t r o l l e r a c t i v i t y i s d e s i r e d , s e t t l e s i n t o a c o n s t a n t speed descent. I n the
hence ~i is programmed t o increase w i t h process, t h e speed energy b l e e d o f f h o l d s t h e
altitude. F i g u r e 12 i n d i c a t e s t h a t f o r TC < p a t h as h i g h as p o s s i b l e .
10 sec the control activity penalty in
t u r b u l e n c e f o r i m p r o v i n g speed t r a c k i n g i n Using t h i s c o n t r o l s t r a t e g y , t h e system can
windshear becomes high. Alternate design be t a i l o r e d t o y i e l d an optimum f l i g h t p a t h and
approaches, u s i n g e x p l i c i t windshear d e t e c t o r s , speed performance t r a j e c t o r y t o enhance chances
were found to yield virtually identical o f s u r v i v a l o f a g i v e n l e v e l o f severe windshear.
performance t r a d e o f f s . Such d e t e c t o r s use t h e
same b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n and add unnecessary F l i q h t Evaluation
complexity2.
The T o t a l Energy c o n t r o l System i s scheduled
t o be e v a l u a t e d i n f l i g h t on t h e NASA 8-737
a i r c r a f t under t h e A i r Transport Operating
System Program, i n t h e summer o f 1984. The
Boeing Company will provide the system
d e f i n i t i o n and a s s i s t t h e NASA under c o n t r a c t
w i t h checkout o f a complete TECS s i m u l a t i o n ,
f l i g h t software specification, software t e s t
development and f l i g h t t e s t p l a n n i n g . Flight
t e s t s w i l l be d i r e c t e d t o e v a l u a t e t h e system
s 5737 T€CS performance and a l l o p e r a t i o n a l aspects o f t h e
system.
hndlng Approach
I I
10 20 .o Conclusions
--T$-mu
The d e s c r i b e d T o t a l Energy C o n t r o l System
F i g u r e 12. Windshear/Turbulence Performance Trade s a t i s f i e d t h e s t a t e d design o b j e c t i v e s f o r a

568
f u n c t i o n a l l y i n t e g r a t e d t h r u s t and e l e v a t o r References
c o n t r o l system and i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e f o l l o w i n g
desirable features: 1. A v i a t i o n Week, Nov. 26, 1979; Feb. 23, 1981,
March 2, 1981 : Mexicana DClO S t a l l I n c i d e n t .
A l l automatic f l i g h t p a t h and speed
c o n t r o l modes a r e normalized t o use t h e 2. 'Turbulence Compensated T h r o t t l e C o n t r o l
same g e n e r a l i z e d e l e v a t o r and t h r u s t System," US Patent 3,840,200 and 3,892,374.
command computation.
3. "Windshear Detection System," US Patent
A l l c o n t r o l modes w i l l have c o n s i s t e n t 3,955,071.
dynamic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .
4. 'Thrust and F l i g h t Path C o n t r o l Decoupling
Decoupled f l i g h t p a t h and speed maneuver System." US Patent 3,901,466 and 3,989,208.
c o n t r o l i s achieved n a t u r a l l y by f o r w a r d
feed of either command to both 5. A.A. Lambregts, J.F. Creedon, "Development
controllers. and F l i g h t E v a l u a t i o n o f Automatic F l a r e
Laws w i t h Improved Touchdown Dispersion,"
T h r o t t l e response t o c o n s t a n t energy AIAA Paper 80-1757. August 1980.
a i r c r a f t dynamics a r e e l i m i n a t e d .
6. A.A. Lambregts, "Development o f a C o n t r o l
All maneuver and flight envelope Wheel S t e e r i n g Mode and S u i t a b l e D i s p l a y s
l i m i t i n g p r o v i s i o n s a r e implemented a t t h a t Reduce P i l o t Workload and Improve
one c e n t r a l p o i n t i n t h e c o n t r o l law, E f f i c i e n c y and S a f e t y o f Operation i n t h e
a f f e c t i n g a l l modes. Terminal Area and i n Windshear," AIAA Paper
79-1 887, August 1979.
C o n t r o l p r i o r i t y i n cases o f t h r u s t
l i m i t i n g i s d e a l t w i t h i n a s i m p l e and 7. D.E. Johnston, et. a1 ., "Manual and
s a f e manner. Automatic Flight Control D u r i n g Severe
Turbulence P e n e t r a t i o n , " NASA C R 2677. A p r i l
I n windshear, t h e feedback o f b o t h f l i g h t 1976.
p a t h a n g l e and a c c e l e r a t i o n e r r o r s t o
t h e t h r u s t and t h e e l e v a t o r c o n t r i b u t e s 8. J.G. Jones, " F l i g h t i n Turbulence," AGAR0
t o more e f f e c t i v e and s a f e r c o n t r o l . C.P. 140, 1973.

I n t u r b u l e n c e , p a t h t r a c k i n g and speed
t r a c k i n g e r r o r s can be weighted t o
produce t h e d e s i r e d performance balance.

Mode s w i t c h i n g i s t r a n s i e n t f r e e , and
t h e s w i t c h i n g l o g i c uses o n l y i n t e r n a l
c o n t r o l law states. Cormand r e i n i t i a l -
i z a t i o n , c a p t u r e submodes and o u t e r l o o p
g a i n schedules have been avoided.

T h i s energy based c o n t r o l system i s

generally applicable. Transfer to
another airplane requires on1 y the
e l e v a t o r and t h r u s t i n n e r l o o p a d a p t a t i o n
and implementation of the airplane
s p e c i f i c f l i g h t envelope l i m i t s . For
example, t r a n s f e r and checkout on t h e
s i m u l a t o r o f t h e complete system w i t h
a l l modes f r o m t h e 8-737 t o 8-747 was
accomplished i n 6 e n g i n e e r i n g man months,
w i t h o u t changes t o t h e energy based
o u t e r l o o p c o n t r o l system s t r u c t u r e o r
gains.

The design reduces hardware by e l i m i n a t i o n

o f t h e a u t o t h r o t t l e computer and t h e a s s o c i a t e d
i n t e r f a c e s and redundant sensors. The complete
s i n g l e channel c o n t r o l l a w s o f t w a r e r e q u i r e s
o n l y -2500 words o f memory--a f a c t o r o f 4 l e s s
t h a n f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l designs o f comparable
c a p a b i l i t y . Numerous improvements i n performance
and o p e r a t i o n a l capabi 1i t y have been r e a l i z e d .
P i l o t workload i s reduced by s i m p l e r more
e f f e c t i v e mode c o n t r o l and system c o n f i g u r a t i o n
annunciation,. w i t h o u t a m b i g u i t i e s , f u n c t i o n a l
overlap or operational r e s t r i c t i o n s .