When aircraft are flown outside of their established operating limits – the flight envelope – and correction efforts are not made or occur too late, it can lead to loss of control in flight (LOC-I).
Safety innovation 🧵 on The Airbus flight envelope protection.
High angle-of-attack protection: This protects against the risk of an aerodynamic stall, including in situations of wind shear, as well as during dynamic manoeuvres or in gusty conditions
High-speed protection: The aircraft is protected against overspeed situations that may eventually result in potential control difficulties, as well as structural concerns due to high aerodynamic loads
Pitch attitude protection: The pitch angle is limited between a minimum and a maximum value to prevent climbs or descents that are too steep.
Bank angle protection: The bank angle and roll rate are limited to maximum values to prevent excessive banking, along with turns that are too steep, as well as the risk of the aircraft becoming inverted
Load factor protection: The aircraft’s vertical acceleration is kept within safe limits for the airplane’s structure
Low energy and alpha floor protection: They ensure that a suitable level of aircraft energy is maintained in flight, with corrections made via manual or automatic increases in engine thrust.
LOC-I accidents have reduced by 89% for latest gen. of aircraft equipped with flight envelope protection
Today, fly-by-wire flight control & flight envelope protection have become a norm. Beyond Airbus, examples include Boeing’s 777 & 787, Embraer’s E-Jets & the Sukhoi Superjet.
📹 credits : Manchester Flight Sim Centre & Airbus