Development of an Active Flight Envelope Warning Method for General Aviation Aircraft
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Date
2015-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
The term "general aviation" accounts for all civilian flights that are not scheduled (or chartered) passenger airlines. Loss of control incidents in flight are the primary cause of fatal general aviation accidents. By definition, a loss of control event is a preventable occurrence where a pilot should have maintained or regained control of their aircraft. Giving a pilot sufficient warning to correct dangerous situations is crucial in preventing loss of control. Existing warning methods are based on physical margins of aircraft limitations and do not directly consider how much time is left to act before loss of control. This research focuses on the development of a method that uses real-time inertial and aerodynamic data to calculate and improve warnings of flight envelope limitations. X-Plane 10, a realistic flight simulator, was used to simulate the flight of a Cessna 172, a common general aviation aircraft. The flight model of X-Plane has been compared to empirical data with favorable results, indicating X-Plane is a reasonable platform on which to investigate an active warning system. The development of an X-Plane software plugin for a constant-time warning system method is discussed in detail. The plugin utilizes aircraft and flight model data from X-Plane to consider proximity to a potential loss of control event before issuing a warning. When configured to warn the pilot 2.2 seconds before loss of control, coefficient of lift based methods showed up to an additional 1.1 seconds of margin when compared to traditional stall warning methods and an overall stall warning margin of approximately 2 seconds. With careful consideration of the physical state of the aircraft, the system is meant to give the pilot at least 2 or 3 seconds to correctly react to a dangerous situation. This type of "constant-time" warning is a novel approach to preventing loss of control and offers distinct advantages over more traditional methods, which can leave pilots with very little time to react. The method demonstrated can use visual and aural warnings and can be modified to adjust its time warning margin based on the potential for fatal loss of control. Such a system could be integrated into current general aviation aircraft using digital cockpit hardware or a standalone electronic box. The proof-of-concept created for this warning technique opens possibilities of more capable yet less costly loss of control mitigation systems that have the potential to greatly reduce general aviation fatalities.
Description
Honorable Mention - Denman Undergraduate Research Forum 2015
Keywords
general aviation, stall warning, loss of control, flight simulation, Cessna 172