Conceptual Design and Evaluation of Upset-Recovery Systems for Civil Transport Aircraft

Abstract

This paper describes the conceptual design and evaluation results of both manual and automatic variants of an aircraft upset-recovery system that has been assessed by experienced airline pilots. The two system variants provide additional layers of protection to what currently exists in aircraft flight-control systems. Apart from the manual pilot-assisted guidance variant, the other variant takes over full automatic control of the aircraft when it accidentally enters an upset due to a range of potentially catastrophic loss of control in-flight scenarios (e.g., crew incapacitation, adverse atmospheric conditions, and onboard system failures). The aim of the piloted-evaluation campaign was to assess the added value of the different upset-recovery-guidance variants in a relevant operational environment, and how well they relieve or assist the pilot in recovering the aircraft, hence bringing the aircraft back into the safe flight envelope following an upset. An initial assessment was made in terms of the preference of the tested automatic upset-recovery system configurations to reduce pilot workload, increase situation awareness, and allow safe interaction with the manual or automated system for upset recovery. The piloted-simulator results show that the functionalities of the system adequately support pilots during upset recovery. Specifically, the automatic modes have the highest impact on workload reduction, situation awareness, stress reduction, and acceptability. The study shows that longer-term solutions for upset-recovery guidance and loss-of-control prevention should focus on automatic solutions in combination with visual-guidance and monitoring cues.