Misplaced wings no sweat for DARPA's new aircraft control system
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/w.sDw4OFiwaeR3SfDDrZSw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTM2MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/Rlsx3gKhp_7V0HmUiX_dww--~B/aD0yMjU7dz02MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/06/rockwell_f18.jpg)
One of the problems -- outside of the obvious -- with a significantly damaged aircraft is that pilots often overreact and add to the situation. In other words, when a plane gets nailed by something like a missile, the person at the wheel panics. DARPA and Athena's Damage Tolerance and Autonomous Landing Solution adds a full flight automation and backup system that uses a plane's internal inertial navigation system and GPS systems to land safely by automatically adjusting to the new configuration -- a physics computation that a human is in no condition to deal with during such a crisis. In a recent unmanned flight test, Rockwell Collins showed off the tech with a scaled-model F-18 in which nearly half a wing is blown off and then landing the plane safely. Hit the read link to watch the strangely calming video.
[Thanks, jr]