Boeing has completed tests of a reconfigurable flight control system on the F/A-18E/F, which it says will allow the pilot to recover control, and even make a carrier landing, with a combat-damaged aircraft.

The tests at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, were part of degraded modes evaluation, during which integrated test team (ITT) pilots assessed the flying qualities of the aircraft with specific systems failures.

"We flew two test flights and the results were better than we expected," according to ITT test pilot Jim Sandberg.

During the flights, Sandberg used the F-18E/F's dial-a-function flight control computer to simulate the failure of the left horizontal stabilator actuator. The aircraft was in clean configuration for the tests, with no external stores, and handled "-extremely well with great control. From a pilot's standpoint, the flying qualities were all Level One," he adds.

Once the system sensed the failure of the actuator, it automatically directed the horizontal tail to a fixed, known, position and locked it there. The flight control software then compensated for the failed actuator using the remaining flight control surfaces, including the flaps, and "-significantly reduced the pilot's workload", says Boeing.

The reconfiguration capability has been developed for the F/A-18E/F's fly-by-wire flight control system to replace the mechanical backup system used in earlier F/A-18 models.

Boeing says the system enhances safety, reduces weight and cost and increases reliability. Future tests of the reconfigurable flight control system are planned with a variety of weapon configurations and during an aerial refuelling.

The F/A-18E/F full-scale fatigue test airframe (FT50) has completed a full lifetime of tests, which is equivalent to 6,000 flight hours, or roughly 20 years of operational use, at Boeing's St Louis site in Missouri.

Data from the tests are now being analysed and will be presented as part of the US Navy's Program Review III, which is scheduled for November.

The assessment is expected to be pivotal to the fatigue test programme, as full funding for low-rate initial production aircraft is contingent on the successful completion of the review.

Source: Flight International