DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF FLYING QUALITIES FOR MANUAL OPERATION OF A TILTROTOR UAV

Development and testing of the flying qualities of the Eagle Eye tiltrotor UAV for manual operations controlled by a ground-based pilot are discussed. The aircraft control law concept provides a vehicle which in essence flies itself and requires only guidance commands to perform its mission. Extensive use of simulation enabled development of the control laws and pilot-interface and resulted in the Eagle Eye’s excellent stability and controllability, as demonstrated in four series of flight tests. Pilot workload is low in that most mission maneuvers can be commanded with single controller inputs. The rudderless design of the Eagle Eye performed well and appears feasible for future tiltrotor application. Flight test resulted in improved modeling of the aircraft, which increases confidence in the success of future control law developments (e.g., automated shipboard operations).