Windshear recovery using thrust vectoring

Abstract

This study presents a preliminary evaluation of the application of Thrust Vectoring (TV) technology for improving windshear recovery of civil aircraft in microburst windshear encounters. A numerical trajectory optimization technique based on the method of multiple shooting is applied to achieve a microburst escape with minimal loss of altitude for a Boeing 727 type aircraft. Although the application of TV does result in a slight improvement in recovery altitude, there is also a price to be paid in the sense that TV utilization significantly hampers the ability to gain specific energy during recovery. Maintaining an energy buffer during a microburst encounter is highly desirable to achieve robustness with respect to uncertainness in windshear size and strength. TV aided windshear recovery has also been compared with an alternative approach to improve the windshear survivability capability, namely, the application of lateral maneuvering. The comparison shows that lateral maneuvering is not only a far more effective means to improve the recovery altitude, it also vastly improves energy preservation. In a view of the results established in this study, we feel that TV does not hold out great promise as a useful means to truly improve windshear recovery.