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Magic Carpet

navyterp67

Well-Known Member
pilot
PLM is not quite "Jesus take the wheel" yet, but Path is pretty damn close. Eventually, manual/auto will be deemed a circus pass, like standby/no HUD are now.
 

pilot_man

Ex-Rhino driver
pilot
My AW was the first non test guys to take it to the boat last fall. Everyone had to do CQ without it. Then after CQ, it was game on for anyone that was senior enough to be an auto flyer. So, for the new JO's, no love. For those who used it, it was awesome. Definitely a game changer. When full redundancy hits and everyone can use it, I can foresee tank states coming down as well as FCLP requirements changing.

What did you guys do for the line periods?
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I've only used it at the field so far, but it's a pretty easy way to fly a "rails" pass. Even on a gusty wind day it does a solid job, far better than ATC. The only gotchas are input errors in glideslope and ship's speed. I forgot to set ship's speed to zero once, and wondered why the delta-path indicator was walking down the runway. You still have to take care of lineup, obviously. I also found it a little tough at first to un-learn the 3-part power correction mindset, but I was a 100% manual flyer on my previous fleet tour, even as a cruise-experienced JO. It's weird to push/pull on the stick until a centered ball and just "let go" until touchdown.

I'm a believer, at least until the jet starts to have degrades. I'm not ready to completely trust it and let go of manual ball flying skills yet, but I can see the writing on the wall, once the proper redundancy is in place. It'll be interesting to see what the fleet thoughts are on it when I re-CQ this summer.

For those currently in the fleet, what's the ball call with Magic Carpet engaged?
Dumb Prowler guy question . . . how does the system handle flight control degrades? As I very vaguely (and quite possibly wrongly) recall, that effects which certain groups of flight controls are flopping around under computer direction, right? My fly-by-wire knowledges are not the greatest.
 

Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Dumb Prowler guy question . . . how does the system handle flight control degrades? As I very vaguely (and quite possibly wrongly) recall, that effects which certain groups of flight controls are flopping around under computer direction, right? My fly-by-wire knowledges are not the greatest.

Right now it can't be used in degraded modes. I think FY19 it will have complete redundancy for flight control degrades / AOA degrades / single engine etc. Pretty much anything.

I promise you I will never die.
 

nugget81

Well-Known Member
pilot
So to quantify the difference between Precision Landing Modes (PLM, otherwise known as Magic Carpet) and your average manual pass, it takes approximately 300 tiny corrections in manual from start to trap, whereas that number is reduced to approximately 6-10 corrections with PLM engaged. Game changer? It would seem so...
 

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
Dumb Prowler guy question . . . how does the system handle flight control degrades? As I very vaguely (and quite possibly wrongly) recall, that effects which certain groups of flight controls are flopping around under computer direction, right? My fly-by-wire knowledges are not the greatest.
It depends on the degrade. It should handle loss of a top-level redundancy without issue, but once actual flight control surfaces start failing (especially a leading or trailing-edge flap), it may not be available. We had a bunch of NATOPS updates to advise us of those situations where PLM (Precision Landing Modes, a.k.a Magic Carpet) may not work.

One big change NAVAIR is supposedly going to make is to re-wire the autothrottle system to work with only one engine operating (it takes an actual hardware change, IIRC), to permit use of PLM single-engine. As Python mentions, there are other changes coming as well, to give PLM full redundancy against as many FCS failures as possible.

So to quantify the difference between Precision Landing Modes (PLM, otherwise known as Magic Carpet) and your average manual pass, it takes approximately 300 tiny corrections in manual from start to trap, whereas that number is reduced to approximately 6-10 corrections with PLM engaged. Game changer? It would seem so...

Definitely a game-changer.
 

Hopeful Hoya

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
The video I saw had a LCDR from VX-23 who was talking about how the goal was to make landing back at the Boat a completely administrative task, so that you could expend that mental energy on the actual mission. He also said he bagged something like 200 touch and go's in a 2 hour period during testing, which he would not have been able to do if he had been flying manually.

So correct me if I'm wrong, but on a Mode 1 the aircraft is flying itself to the deck (or the pilot disconnects right before touchdown) based on cueing data from the boat, but MC is a fundamental change to the FBW logic that 1) decouples the three axes, making it easier to make adjustments while maintaining AOA and speed; and 2) creates HUD symbology and a path vector that takes into account movement of the boat, air disturbances, wind, etc.
 
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Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
The video I saw had a LCDR from VX-23 who was talking about how the goal was to make landing back at the Boat a completely administrative task, so that you could expend that mental energy on the actual mission. He also said he bagged something like 200 touch and go's in a 2 hour period during testing, which he would not have been able to do if he had been flying manually.

So correct me if I'm wrong, but on a Mode 1 the aircraft is flying itself to the deck (or the pilot disconnects right before touchdown) based on cuing data from the boat, but MC is a fundamental change to the FBW logic that 1) decouples the three axes, making it easier to make adjustments while maintaining AOA and speed; and 2) creates HUD symbology and a path vector that takes into account movement of the boat, air disturbances, wind, etc.

That's correct. Unlike a Mode 1, PLM is independent of cueing from the ship.

Not only does it decouple the axes, but the direct lift allows for instantaneous glide slope corrections. On top of that, Path mode automatically holds the exact glideslope with the stick in its neutral position. Stick force either direction instantaneously increases or decreases glideslope, and when the stick is released to neutral the exact glideslope is again recaptured.

Theoretically if you roll into the groove with the ball centered and engage path you should have very little to do the rest of the pass. In reality small deviations will still need to be corrected, but those corrections are far fewer and far easier.
 

EODDave

The pastures are greener!
pilot
Super Moderator
Pilot Man,

I was gone before the line period ended, but all the passes were graded like normal.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
That's correct. Unlike a Mode 1, PLM is independent of cueing from the ship.

Not only does it decouple the axes, but the direct lift allows for instantaneous glide slope corrections. On top of that, Path mode automatically holds the exact glideslope with the stick in its neutral position. Stick force either direction instantaneously increases or decreases glideslope, and when the stick is released to neutral the exact glideslope is again recaptured.

Theoretically if you roll into the groove with the ball centered and engage path you should have very little to do the rest of the pass. In reality small deviations will still need to be corrected, but those corrections are far fewer and far easier.

So it was mentioned earlier that ship's speed is inputted. Where does that number come from? We always had problems where the ships speed passed could be through the water or over the ground, which obviously isn't the same thing and could affect the level of precision. Or does your system have enough slop that it's able to deal with a knot or three of difference?
 

Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
So it was mentioned earlier that ship's speed is inputted. Where does that number come from? We always had problems where the ships speed passed could be through the water or over the ground, which obviously isn't the same thing and could affect the level of precision. Or does your system have enough slop that it's able to deal with a knot or three of difference?

I won't get into the math. But the ship's referenced velocity vector is derived from some basic trig. Pilots should expect from the "tower paddles radio check" radio call a "99, mothers making XX" to input that ship's speed into the jet.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I won't get into the math. But the ship's referenced velocity vector is derived from some basic trig. Pilots should expect from the "tower paddles radio check" radio call a "99, mothers making XX" to input that ship's speed into the jet.

Given that, I guess the 15* (-ish) off-set of the LA, it probably nulls any variance. Or maybe the carrier can give a more consistent velocity compared to the group of hillbillies on a small-boy watch team. A shocking revelation, no doubt.
 
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