Abstract:
For many rotorcraft platforms, incorrect timing of the autorotation flare and deceleration maneuvers may result in significant aircraft damage and injury to the crew, or worse. There is a clear need for new pilot cueing and control augmentation technologies that lead to a higher probability of a successful autorotation landing. This paper describes a recent effort to develop two different Tau (time-to-contact)-based autorotation controllers that can be used to drive visual aids to help guide a pilot to apply the required control inputs to complete a safe autorotative landing. Such controllers may also be useful for fully autonomous autorotation landing for unmanned vehicles.