Variably manned aircraft
First Claim
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1. A flight control system, comprising:
- a plurality of subsystems cooperatively configured to;
monitor operations of an aircraft that is controlled by at least one onboard pilot, the monitored operations including at least one of health of the aircraft, activity of the at least one onboard pilot, and progress of a mission objective;
determine an event based on an anomaly of one of the monitored operations, the event to initiate a subsequent fully automated control of the aircraft;
receive an input from the at least one onboard pilot of the aircraft, the input in response to the event and used by the flight control system when implementing the subsequent fully automated control of the aircraft, wherein the input is a selection of one of a plurality landing sites for the aircraft; and
engage in control of the aircraft by performing fully automated control of the aircraft based at least in part on the input, the fully automated control to occur with an omission of additional inputs from the at least one onboard pilot.
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Abstract
In accordance with an embodiment, a system includes a plurality of subsystems cooperatively configured to control an aircraft in accordance with a plurality of manning modes, the system configured to perform fully automated control of the aircraft while operating in any of the plurality of manning modes, wherein the plurality of manning modes include: two onboard operators; one onboard operator; and no onboard operator, wherein the system receives input from a remotely located operator by way of wireless signals.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A flight control system, comprising:
a plurality of subsystems cooperatively configured to; monitor operations of an aircraft that is controlled by at least one onboard pilot, the monitored operations including at least one of health of the aircraft, activity of the at least one onboard pilot, and progress of a mission objective; determine an event based on an anomaly of one of the monitored operations, the event to initiate a subsequent fully automated control of the aircraft; receive an input from the at least one onboard pilot of the aircraft, the input in response to the event and used by the flight control system when implementing the subsequent fully automated control of the aircraft, wherein the input is a selection of one of a plurality landing sites for the aircraft; and engage in control of the aircraft by performing fully automated control of the aircraft based at least in part on the input, the fully automated control to occur with an omission of additional inputs from the at least one onboard pilot. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method, comprising:
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monitoring flight control operations of an aircraft that is controlled by at least one onboard pilot; switching control of the aircraft to fully automated control of the aircraft by a flight control system during one or more phases of travel when an anomaly is detected during the monitoring of the flight control operations; providing, in response to the switching control, a list of selections for user input to the at least one onboard pilot; and receiving an input from the list of selections from the at least one onboard pilot subsequent the occurrence of the anomaly, the input being used at least in part by the flight control system to execute the fully automated control of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification