Integrated Braking and Ground Directional Control for Tactical Aircraft

An autonomous ground handling system is being developed that integrates and automatically controls selected aircraft functions, such as the rudder, brakes, and nose wheel steering, to prevent Air Force aircraft from veering off runways during adverse weather operations. The system uses only aircraft-generated signals and pilot inputs to control the lateral forces on the aircraft and Steep it on the runway centerline. Piloted simulations of an F-4 equipped with the system indicate that it can extend the crosswind landing capability of the aircraft into a region designated “unsafe” by the flight manual.