New Carrier Landing Tech Wows Pilots on First Deployment

[TuFun]

Pilots love this...

"With PLM flight control logic, the descending F/A-18 Hornet (http://www.military.com/equipment/f-18c-d-hornet) or E/A-18 Growler (http://www.military.com/equipment/ea-18g-growler) will use its flaps to help control rate of descent, allowing for a more consistent throttle speed and fewer manual corrections."

"The use of the new technology had caused accuracy rates to skyrocket — so much so that the target arresting cable, usually the second of three on the Bush, was wearing out faster than the others and had to be rotated."

Read more here:

https://www.defensetech.org/2017/05/08/new-carrier-landing-tech-wows-pilots/

[Tom Clayton]

I understand that carrier landings are the hardest landings on the planet, but I worry about adding tech to make them easy. If pilots become too reliant on the tech, what happens when the tech fails and they're left with manual control?

[Allen]

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[Ganter]

I understand that carrier landings are the hardest landings on the planet, but I worry about adding tech to make them easy. If pilots become too reliant on the tech, what happens when the tech fails and they're left with manual control?


Capt. James McCall, commanding officer of Carrier Air Wing 8 aboard the Bush:
“Because it doesn’t have full redundancy, we still expect our youngest aviators to come out of our training pipeline and learn how to fly the jet manually, so they have a baseline to fall back on in case of some sort of aircraft malfunction,” he said. “I do expect those requirements to change as the system is fully redundant.”

[stansdds]

I agree, if there is system redundancy, it will be good to go, until then, pilots need to learn how to trap manually.

[PhantomTweak]

Capt. James McCall, commanding officer of Carrier Air Wing 8 aboard the Bush:
“Because it doesn’t have full redundancy, we still expect our youngest aviators to come out of our training pipeline and learn how to fly the jet manually, so they have a baseline to fall back on in case of some sort of aircraft malfunction,” he said. “I do expect those requirements to change as the system is fully redundant.”


I don't think, at least not often :D , that the Navy/MC will ever do away with fully manual recovery requirements for their pilots. ALL their pilots. No matter the tech, it will invariably fail, including redundant systems, at the worst possible moment. When the pilot is just turning into the groove, at night, with a 100'AGL ceiling, and heavy wind gusts. They can either loose a plane, and maybe a pilot(s) too, or maintain the requirements for all their pilots to stay up on manual landing abilities.
Tech is wonderful stuff, and invariably fails when you need it most. Murphy is alive and well, and the military is chock full of gremlins :D

Pat☺

[PhantomTweak]

Capt. James McCall, commanding officer of Carrier Air Wing 8 aboard the Bush:
“Because it doesn’t have full redundancy, we still expect our youngest aviators to come out of our training pipeline and learn how to fly the jet manually, so they have a baseline to fall back on in case of some sort of aircraft malfunction,” he said. “I do expect those requirements to change as the system is fully redundant.”


I don't think, at least not often :D , that the Navy/MC will ever do away with fully manual recovery requirements for their pilots. ALL their pilots. No matter the tech, it will invariably fail, including redundant systems, at the worst possible moment. When the pilot is just turning into the groove, at night, with a 100'AGL ceiling, heavy pitch and roll on the boat, and heavy wind gusts. They can either loose a plane, and maybe a pilot(s) too, or maintain the requirements for all their pilots to stay up on manual landing abilities.
Tech is wonderful stuff, and invariably fails when you need it most. Murphy is alive and well, and the military is chock full of gremlins :D

Pat☺

[PRB]

Back in the 1980s there was (and still is I'm guessing) a system called ACLS, Automatic Carrier Landing System. It was radar data from the ship (SPN-42) transmitted to the plane via data link, that was used to "tweak" the plane's autopilot system to allow zero visibility approaches. Even back then we heard that it was "so accurate" that they had to "dial in some error" so they wouldn't wear out the number 3 arrester cable. This MAGICCARPET (that's a stupid acronym, lol) system sounds pretty cool, and is just one more tool in the toolbox to get pilots aboard safely.

[PhantomTweak]

Even back then we heard that it was "so accurate" that they had to "dial in some error" so they wouldn't wear out the number 3 arrester cable.
I remember hearing that too. Sounded awfully good to me! Is it true? I dunno, but if it is, that pretty impressive. Sounds like the new MAGICCARPET system is as good or better.
I do remember too, however that the FCLP and carrier-borne recovery requirements didn't change a bit. They wisely make darn sure the pilots can recover aboard without any magic system helping them, other than the pretty lights and not so pretty LSO's :D
LSO's are certainly a magic system, no doubt. They go stand on the deck in the best, and worst, weather imaginable, for more hours than there are in the day, right in the way of a possible plane crash, with no escape available other than a net to dive into. Talking calmly to a possibly panicy, dead tired, scared to death pilot. Who can't see the boat, or anything else other than the on-board instrumentation in their bird. Assuming that, as well as the engines, are actually functioning. Braver men than I!! But an essential, if nothing else, last resort for the pilots to rely on. Talk about a weight on their shoulders...
Alto I swear the AI LSO's in the vLSO program have it in for me...:a1089:

In any event, I don't see the NAVY/MC doing away with their FCLP, and on-board recovery, requirements any time in the near future. OR the LSO's, for that matter. I don't see either going anywhere, even with a Magic Carpet for the planes to ride down on :untroubled:

I still do a LOT of FCLP and on-board recovery practice. Someday, I may even get decent. Not necessarily GOOD, but passable...
Pat☺

[joe bob]

I am reading this entirely differently. This sounds similar to the DLC on the F-14 controlling rate of descent by altering lift rather than by power changes
I don't see where it is an automatic landing system, it gives more precise glide slope control what ever type of approach you are making, it is another control that the pilot is using rather than anything automatic.
That is the way I understand it anyway.

Regarding the ACLS, I recall reading in the 1980's that rain could cause erratic data, arguably one of the times you need it most.
As mentioned earlier, it was another tool in the bag rather than anything intended to replace the LSO.

[PRB]

It is an interesting system. In flying the USAF C-17 sim a year ago I learned something about USN carrier landings. The C-17 sim instructor said the C-17 lands "on the back side" of the power curve. I asked him what that meant, and he gave me a "pilot lingo" answer that didn’t make any sense to me at the time. Turns out it’s this: Pulling back on the stick results in an increase of both lift and drag. Above a certain speed, pulling back results in more lift than drag, with the result that the plane "goes up". However, below that certain speed, pulling back on the stick results in more drag than lift, and the only thing that happens is the plane slows, and descends. Navy planes have to land at a high AOA, so the hook can snag a wire, which is a slow airspeed, which is below that airspeed where pulling aft on the stick generates more drag than lift, and it’s why they use power to control glide slope and stick to control airspeed, also called "behind" or, as the C-17 pilots say "on the back side of" the power curve. But at that speed, power changes are less effective at glide slope corrections than fwd/aft stick would be at slightly higher airspeeds. Hence the desire for a "flight control mode" that would assist through the use of flaps. Very cool. Assuming I understood all that, lol.

[Victory103]

Not like DLC, that's an a/c system used by the pilot to make glideslope corrections.

Good write up on the VRS forums by a RW F-18F driver, they use the term Precision Landing Mode (PLM).