New US Navy flight control enables smoother carrier landings

The US Navy has received the new Precision Landing Mode (PLM) flight-control technology, enabling smoother, safer aircraft carrier landings for Super Hornet pilots.

Landing an aircraft on a bobbing carrier requires precise positioning and timing for the tailhook to catch the arresting wire and bring the plane to a halt on a 300-ft (91.4-m) runway.

In a boon for fighter pilots, the latest iteration of the PLM “reduces the number of inputs a pilot must make on the final approach to a carrier.”

‘Drastically’ Reduces Manual Adjustments

Commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 106 Capt. Dan Catlin explained in a USNI News interview that the software update cuts down the number of adjustments a pilot needs to make from “about 300” to “single digits.”

Once the ship’s speed has been manually fed, the PLM, “a software tool added to the jet’s flight control and mission computers,” computes “the proper 3.5-degree glide slope for a safe landing” and “locks in and maintains” the required aircraft trajectory by “managing the throttle,” the outlet wrote.

Benefits

Moreover, the PLM also helps the pilot land with one engine not working, which was not possible earlier. “During a single-engine approach, PLM helps to provide the pilot with a platform that feels very similar to a dual-engine approach, maximizing climb performance and helping the jet stay in balanced flight,” said FA-18E/F and EA-18G Military Class Desk Cmdr. Luke Davis.

“PLM provides the pilot with a reliable, stable platform to safely recover at the ship or airfield.”

Apart from making the landing simpler and safer, the system will reduce “tanker requirements and streamlines training requirements.” Delivered in October, the technology reduces pilot training requirements by half, according to the navy.

Source: The Defense Post