The Boeing Company
Methods and systems for controlling aircraft flight performance

Abstract:

Aircraft and methods and systems for controlling performance of an aircraft. The methods and systems allow the aircraft to meet a performance requirement using a set of aircraft flight data and actuators connected to control surfaces. Performance data for primary and secondary actuators are obtained to select between a primary control law for controlling the primary control surface, a secondary control law for controlling the secondary control surface, and a blended control law that controls the primary and secondary control surfaces together. If the primary control surface cannot meet the aircraft performance requirement using the primary control law, the blended control law is implemented if the primary and secondary control surfaces can be used together to meet the performance requirement; otherwise the secondary control surface is used, using the secondary control law, to meet the aircraft performance requirement.