An In-Flight Investigation of Nonlinear Roll Control

An in-flight simulation was undertaken to study the piloting problems associated with a type of nonlinear control effectiveness which is characteristic of spoiler roll control systems. Typically, the initial response is small or even zero, followed by a narrow region of highly effective control, and a final one of moderate effectiveness.

Results for the landing flare and touchdown, which turned out to be the critical flight phase, indicate that a substantial amount of dead zone and changing effectiveness can be tolerated, but the best level of handling is obtained with linear, aileron-like control.