Engineers from the Moscow Institute of Electromechanics and Automation (MIEA) have developed a new system designed to help aircraft stay on the runway even under the most challenging landing conditions. The complex automatically controls the wing spoilers instead of relying solely on the rudder and brakes.
If the airliner begins to deviate from the runway centerline, the automation partially retracts the spoilers on one half-wing.
The resulting aerodynamic moment helps to turn the aircraft back on course, while simultaneously increasing braking to compensate for the reduction in air resistance.
The algorithm uses data from the localizer, monitors the rudder position, and can intervene even before the pilot exhausts control capabilities. If necessary, the crew can instantly disable the system while maintaining automatic braking.
The patent materials present simulation results. During a landing on an ice-covered runway with a friction coefficient of 0.2, a strong crosswind of 15 m/s, and one engine failure, an aircraft without the new system overran the runway by almost 25 meters.
After the algorithm was activated, the maximum lateral deviation was reduced to approximately 1 meter, and the landing distance even slightly decreased.
Recall that MIEA is a key developer of the information and computing complex for the MC-21 airliner's control system. The published documents are part of a large-scale program for import substitution and improvement of this aircraft's digital fly-by-wire control system.
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