Limited Flight Evaluation of Side Stick Controller Force-Deflection Characteristics on Aircraft Handling Qualities

Abstract : Air-to-air, air-to-ground, and instrument approach and landing tasks were used in the evaluation. Twenty-three flights were flown in the Calspan NT- 33A, variable stability aircraft. Data presented consists of Cooper-Harper pilot ratings and comments on each side stick configuration. The air-to-air tracking test consisted of the AFFTC 'Handling Qualities During Tracking Technique'. For this task, the evaluation pilots perferred the combination of relatively large control stick motion with light control force gradients and, to a lesser degree, the combination of relatively small control stick motion with heavy control force gradients. A fixed stick was not evaluated. The aircraft's lateral- directional characteristics were objectionable during this tracking task (rudder pedal inputs were not used) and detracted from the pilot's ability to evaluate lateral control effectiveness and control harmony. Based upon a limited number of tests, it appeared that varying control force harmony did not improve pilot ratings. Data gathered during air-to-ground tracking or during landings were insufficient and did not lead to any conclusions. The approach tracking task, which was to track the Edwards AFB instrument landing system, did not enable the pilots to finely discriminate between control configurations, and no conclusions could be drawn. (Author)