Abstract: An aircraft includes an airframe having an extending tail, a counter rotating, coaxial main rotor assembly disposed at the airframe including an upper rotor assembly and a lower rotor assembly, and a translational thrust system positioned at the extending tail and providing translational thrust to the airframe. A fly by wire control system for the aircraft includes a flight control system configured to receive a plurality of inputs and a flight control computer to translate the inputs into commands and issue the commands to one or more controlled elements of the aircraft. A fly by wire control system for a dual coaxial rotor rotorcraft with auxiliary propulsor includes a flight control system configured to receive a plurality of inputs and a flight control computer to translate the inputs into commands and issue the commands to one or more controlled elements of the rotorcraft.

Abstract: Cheese compositions and methods of making cheese compositions, including methods of formulating cheese compositions are provided. Cheese compositions of the invention include casein protein, non-casein protein, non-pregelatinized, modified starch, and a fat component having a low amount of trans-fat (e.g., about 5% or less of trans-fat by weight of the fat component) while at the same time substantially maintaining and/or improving properties (e.g., processing properties, organoleptic properties, combinations of these, and the like) of the cheese composition.

Abstract: An aircraft autopilot system provides a wind correction angle which is added to the desired course to provide commanded heading, the wind correction angle being generated as a proportional and integral function of ground track error. When the aircraft is off its desired course, it can be returned to the desired course by means of a course intercept angle, added to the desired course, to provide a corrected commanded course, the course intercept angle being a proportional function of the perpendicular error (the lateral distance of the aircraft from the original course) suitably limited to some angle within 90.degree. of the desired course. The course correction angle may be generated as a proportion of the perpendicular course error determined by the degree of importance of accuracy, and may be switched over to a course directly toward a waypoint in dependence upon the importance of efficiency.

Abstract: The airspeed limiting performance envelope of a helicopter is converted to a groundspeed envelope by factoring-in the wind speed and direction. A groundspeed command for an unmanned helicopter is provided as a function of the range to the helicopter's destination. The function may be calculated so as to provide a nominal groundspeed command equal to a nominal groundspeed command limit, or the function may be a fixed function to cause the aircraft to creep toward final approach. The cosine and sine of the desired relative flight direction of the aircraft, which is equal to the true bearing to the destination minus the true heading of the aircraft, are utilized to scale the groundspeed command into a longitudinal groundspeed command and a lateral groundspeed command. If one of the groundspeed commands is over a corresponding limit, the other groundspeed command is scaled back so that the vector addition of the two commands will cause flight in the desired direction.

Abstract: The reference speed for a helicopter engine is incremented or decremented (237, 239) in dependence upon whether a specific range (miles per unit of fuel) has increased or decreased (236a) in a current period of time compared to the next preceding period of time, separated therefrom by at least 20 seconds (243, 244) to thereby set engine speed for minimizing use of fuel over distance traveled. Fuel is sampled only during steady flight (250-255).

Abstract: The speed 54,56 of the free turbine 40 of a helicopter engine 22 is compared 134,138 with the speed 142,140 of the helicopter rotor 10 to indicate 106,108 a specific magnitude of autorotation and the deceleration 150 of the rotor above either one of two threshold magnitudes 220,222 (dependent on the magnitude of autorotation) is utilized 81,68,69 to increase fuel flow 72 to the engine according to a specific schedule 160,162 determined by the type of autorotation, in anticipation of rotor speed droop which would otherwise occur during recovery from the autorotation maneuver.

Abstract: A helicopter engine speed reference (66) is increased (113, 103-105) in response to heavy rotor loading (108). The reference speed is faded up (113, 104) at a rather rapid rate to 107% of rated speed (114). After a fixed time interval (118), reduced rotor loading (119) will cause the reference speed to be faded down slowly (120, 103-105) to rated speed (121). If torque exceeds 111% of rated torque (117), the reference speed is similarly faded down (120, 103-105).