Drucella Andersen

Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

April 22, 1993
(Phone: 202/358-4733)

Don Nolan
Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif.
(Phone: 805/258-3447)

RELEASE: 93-75

NASA F-15 MAKES FIRST ENGINE-CONTROLLED TOUCHDOWN

With its flight controls deliberately locked, a NASA F-15

research aircraft yesterday touched down using only engine power
for control at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility,
Edwards, Calif.

The milestone flight was part of a NASA project to develop a

computer-assisted engine control system that lets a plane land
safely with only engine power if its normal control surfaces such
as elevators, rudders or ailerons are disabled.

"After several incidents where hydraulic failures caused

aircraft to lose part or all of their flight controls, including
the crash of a United Airlines DC-10 at Sioux City, Iowa in 1989,
we started work on developing this automatic engines-only control
system. Within a few months, I was pretty sure we could make it
work, but I wasn't sure we would get a chance to fly it," said
Bill Burcham, Chief of Dryden's Propulsion and Performance Branch.

"Now that the technology is proven, I hope to see it

incorporated into future aircraft designs," Burcham added. "I
also hope it never has to be used."
 Changes to the NASA F-15's digital flight control system
include a cockpit panel with two thumb-wheel controls, one for
pitch (nose up and down) and the other for banking (turn)
commands. The system converts the pilot's thumb-wheel inputs into
engine throttle commands.

The flight control system automatically programs the engines to

turn the aircraft, climb, descend and eventually land safely by
varying the speed of the engines one at a time or together.

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The first flights of the system in February 1993 tested the

engine control program as the F-15 performed pitch and bank
maneuvers and did checks of the safety features at 5000 feet (1524
meters). Later flights made progressively lower approaches to a
runway.

The landing mission, flown by NASA research pilot and former

astronaut Gordon Fullerton, was the high point of almost 2 years
of studies that resulted from incidents in which the hydraulic
control systems on large aircraft failed during flight. The
pilots in those cases were left with little or no ability to land
normally using their control surfaces.

"Having the capability to control and land an aircraft without

the use of the flight control system, nor the movement of the
aircraft control surfaces, is a real breakthrough in technology
for improving the safety of future aircraft, both civil and
military," said Dr. James Stewart, NASA Project Manager.

In the initial Dryden studies, an engineer-pilot research team

used simulators to check the handling and control of a four-engine
transport and the F-15. They "flew" the simulated plane in both
the computer-assisted mode and with manual engine control using
hand throttles.

The study showed both aircraft could be controlled somewhat

with manual engine inputs during level flight and easy maneuvers,
but they would be extremely difficult to land successfully. When
the control system was optimized for engine control, simulated
safe flight and landings were possible even in air turbulence and
crosswinds.

The propulsion control software on the F-15 is a research

concept only. In the future, this type of technology could be
applied operationally to multi-engine aircraft with electronic
engine and flight control systems.

McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA), St. Louis, is the main

contractor for the propulsion-only control system. MDA did
engineering analyses, integrated the software into the F-15's
flight control system and supported the test flights.

-end-