Aeronautics and astronautics – Miscellaneous
Patent
1995-12-18
1998-01-13
Barefoot, Galen L.
Aeronautics and astronautics
Miscellaneous
244195, 117901, B64C 1316
Patent
active
057070261
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a process for piloting or flying an aircraft in order to improve a microgravity state and a corresponding system. Its applications are those of microgravity; the science of materials, the science of life, equipment tests for use in astronautics, etc.
2. Prior Art
It is known that it is possible to artificially create a very low gravity level within an aircraft by placing the latter on a free fall trajectory, or in other words by performing a ballistic flight.
FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows such a trajectory z(t). Starting with a level flight the aircraft is accelerated and then an entry pull-up is imposed thereon. The lift is then cancelled out and the thrust reduced in order to compensate drag. The aircraft then describes an ellipse segment of a theoretical nature, which could be likened to a parabola. At the end of the parabola, the aircraft undergoes an exit pull-up.
In order to prevent any contact between the equipment where microgravity experiments have to be performed and the aircraft cabin, it is known to release the equipment in the cabin at the start of the parabolic phase and it is then allowed to evolve in free floating form.
In order to adapt the aircraft trajectory, the pilot is supplied with information allowing him to correct the flight in such a way that the equipment remains in free floating form. A first solution is obtained by filming the equipment and displaying its image in the cockpit. The pilot is then able to correct the trajectory of his aircraft as a function of the instantaneous position of the equipment.
With this method, the microgravity level reached in such flights scarcely drops below 10.sup.-3 g, which is often very inadequate. Moreover, this method is unstable as a result of the aircraft response time.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to obviate these disadvantages. To this end, it proposes a process for piloting or flying an aircraft making it possible to perform free floating sequences of at least 10 seconds and reach much better microgravity levels of approximately 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-6 g.
These objectives are achieved as a result of a particular choice of the information supplied to the pilot for the purposes of correcting the trajectory. This information is the vertical component of the relative position of the aircraft, which is no longer instantaneous, but instead anticipated. This anticipation which, in practice is a few seconds, enables the pilot to anticipate the trajectory correction. Thus, freedom is obtained from the aircraft response time and certain piloting instabilities are avoided.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a process for piloting an aircraft in order to improve a microgravity state, in which: released, equipment relative to the aircraft, said process being characterized in that the information processed is the vertical component of the anticipated relative position of the equipment, the anticipation time being determined and regulatable.
It is also possible to calculate the vertical component of the anticipated relative position of the equipment on the basis of release conditions for said equipment and aircraft flying parameters.
Advantageously, it is also possible to process second information, which is the longitudinal component of the anticipated relative position of the equipment.
It is also possible to process third information, which is the transverse component of the anticipated relative position of the equipment.
The present invention is not limited to the manual piloting or flying of an aircraft. It can also be applied in the case of automatic piloting. In this case, the calculated information, which, according to the invention, consists of the vertical component of the anticipated position, is compared with a reference value and the difference between the calculated information and the reference constitutes an error signal used for automatically correcting the control of the aircraft.
The present invention also relates
REFERENCES:
patent: 3077557 (1963-02-01), Joline et al.
patent: 4408740 (1983-10-01), Kleber
patent: 5020743 (1991-06-01), von Burn et al.
patent: 5093260 (1992-03-01), Mesland
patent: 5243544 (1993-09-01), Schoess
patent: 5427335 (1995-06-01), Sanders et al.
Lefebvre Luc
Mercier Flavien
Barefoot Galen L.
Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales
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