Library

U. S. Naval Postgraduate

A&aapolis, Mk

(Inter- Departmental

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 5ETTS Cambridge 39, Mass,

'

OFFICE OF

Co So Draper

Memorandum to?
From: Dates

Captain W, H
Dr c C
S

Buracker

Draper
19A-6

September k y

Subjects

Thesis Work of Lt,Comdr

Coiiidr

F.M, Ralst:
o

Condr

Ho Go

Ac,

Eauck Whiteside

The Officers listed above have recently submitted a Masters Thesis done und^r my supervision entitled;

"Control Characteristics of An Automatic Pilo~, For Aircrafto"

Good techcique and a sound approach produced a good experimental determination of the operating characteristics to be expected froir. the automatic pilot studied in the thesis worko The officers concerned should receive particular credit for intelligent application of the principles taught during their year of graduate v/ork Their workmanlike attack in designing building and using a complicated laboratory test installation in the short t .me available represents an excellent job
,

/s/ CSD^pm

> So Draper Chairman of Graduate Committee Department of AeroEii tioal Engineer: ng

(In'ter-Departmental

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Cambridge 39, Mass

OFFICE OF
C
So Draper

Memorandum to?
From:
Dates

Captain W, H Dr
C

Buracker

Draper
4>,

September

1946

Subjects

Thesis Work of Lt,Comdr c F.M= Ralston Coadr H Eauck o Cotadr G, A Whiteside

The Officers listod above have recently sub= mitted a Master* s Thesis done undsr my supervision entitled;

"Control Characteristics of An Automatic Pilot For Aircraft "

Good technique and a sound approach produced a good experimental determination of the operating character* istics to be expected fror. the automatic pilot studied in the thesis worko The officers concerned should receive particular credit for intelligent application of the principles taught during their year of graduate worko T ^ ir workmanlike attack in designing building and using a complicated laboratory test installation in the short t me
9

available represents an excellent job

/s/

So Draper

CSDcpm

chairman of Graduate Committee )epartmert of Aeronautical Engineering

CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS OP AN AUTOMATIC

PILOT FOR AIRCRAFT

by
Lt. Coxndr* Frank M. Ralston, U S* Navy B.S., U S* Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland 1939

Comdr. Hamilton 0* Hauck, U. S. Navy 3S, U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland

1938
Comdr* George A* Whiteside, U. S. Navy B.S., U* S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland 1938

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of

Master of Science (Aeronautical Engineering)

from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1946

Signatures of Authors

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, August 24, 1946.

Signature of Professor in Charge of Research

Signature of Chairman of Department Committee on Graduate Students

'RIS

August 24, 1946.

Professor Joseph S. Newell, secretary of the Faculty, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dear Sir:
We hereby submit the enclosed thesis entitled,

"Control Characteristics of an Automatic Pilot for Aircraft", in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of Science (Aeronautical Engineering)

from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Respectfully yours,

Frank M. Ralston

Hamilton 0. Hauck
George A. Whiteside

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors wish to take this opportunity to ex-

press their appreciation for the valuable suggestions and

assistance rendered by Professor R. C Seamans, JT and Mr.

Howard Carson.
To Mr. Prank Wllklns we feel Indebted for his as-

sistance In setting up and operating the recording equipment.

Grateful acknowledgment Is given to the Aero

Division of the Minneapolis-Honeywell Company for providing

supplementary data about the automatic pilot.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pag

Title Page

Letter of Transmittal
Ac know le dgme nt s

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Definition of Symbols
Summary

Introduction
Equipment and Procedure
Results and Discussion

1-3 4-8
9-16
17 - 19

Conclusions

Recommendations
Illustrations and Figures
Tables

20 - 21
22 - 45

46 - 55
56 - 57 58

Sample Calculations

Bibliography

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1 - Photograph of Equipment,
Figure 2 - Photograph of Equipment.
Figure 3 - Viscous Damping Coefficient vs. True Airspeed.

Figure 4 - Spring Stiffness Coefficient vs. Indioated Airspeed. Figure 5 - Elevator Torsional Elasticity vs Indicated

Airspeed.
Figure 6 - Diagram of Discriminator Circuit.

Figure 7 - Torque Calibration for Recording Oscillograph.

Figure 8 - The clA Automatic Pilot as a Servome onanism.

Figure 9 - D.C. Circuit Diagram of ClA Automatic Pilot. Figure 10- Amplitude Response of Servomotor and Elevator
at 200 MPH (Ind).

Figure 11- Phase Response of Servomotor and Elevator at

200 MPH (Ind).

Figure 12- Amplitude Response of Servomotor and Elevator
at 250 MPH (Ind).

Figure 13- Phase Response of Servomotor and Elevator at

250 MPH (Ind).

Figure 14- Amplitude Response of Servomotor and Elevator
at 350 MPH (Ind).

Figure 15- Phase Response of Servomotor and Elevator at

350 MPH (Ind).

Figure 16- Polar Plot of Servomotor and Elevator Response
at 200 MPH (Ind).

Figure 17 - Polar Plot of Servomotor and Elevator Response

at 250 MPH (Ind).

Figure 18 - Polar Plot of Servomotor and Elevator Response

at 350 MPH (Ind).

Figure 19 - Transfer Loci of ClA Automatic Pilot at 200,

250 and 350 MPH (Ind).

Figure 20 - Elevator Torque Characteristic Curves at 200

MPH (Ind).
Figure 21 - Elevator Torque Characteristic Curves at 250

MPH (Ind).
Figure 22 - Elevator Torque Characteristic Curves at 350

MPH (Ind).
Figure 23 - Effect of Cable Stretching (Transfer Function
of Cable).

Figure 24 - Sample Oscillographic Record.

TABLES

Table Table

Data for 200 MPH Airspeed.

Original Data Referred to Input Wiper
(200 MPH).

II

Table III

Results for 200 MPH Airspeed.

Data for 250 MPH Airspeed.

Table
Table

IV

Original Data Referred to Input Wiper

(250 MPH).

Table

VI

Results for 250 MPH Airspeed.

Table VII
Table VIII

Data for 350 MPH Airspeed.

Original Data Referred to Input Wiper
(350 MPH).

Table

IX
X

Results for 350 MPH Airspeed.

Table

Calibration Data for Recording Oscillograph.

SYMBOLS

A - Aeronautical Engineering.
O

q~ Standard acceleration of gravity * 32.174 ft/see

or 586 in/seo
.

P- Standard density
lb ft"

of dry air at sea level

.002378

sec 2 .

P- Density of air at altitude.

S ~ Area.

Sw - Area

of wing.

S^-Area of tail.

V#"-

True airspeed.

Dynamic pressure * 1/2^ v

CG~Angle of attack.

Qr Hinge
<-

moment coefficient due to elevator angle

setting.

Elevator angle.
moment,

A?m>H- Hinge

^tf- Torsional

elasticity of elevator.

^..Elastic coefficient of spring (pounds per inch).

X- Moment of inertia.
w- Natural frequency of oscillation of second order system.

C- Viscous damping coefficient.

c~ Chord length - Appropriate subscripts added to specify

surface

S- Distance travelled by airplane, measured in 1/2 wing

chords

SYMBOLS (Cont'd)
B

Servomechanisms.

/- Angular motion of flight gyro wiper - measured in

degrees.

6m -

Angular motion of servomotor cable drum - measured

in degrees*

Qc - Angular motion
Qm
.

of elevator m measured in degrees*

Angular motion of servomotor cable drum referred to

the flight gyro wiper.

Under conditions of perfect

Hence

motor response, & m =

28j_.

e^

= dm

-Angular motion of elevator referred to the flight gyro

wiper.

Under conditions of perfect motor response

and no cable stre toning. 8

*o

s 468 . i

Hence e

0l

2.135 e

^-Angular error
E m e i -

of cable drum from flight gyro wiper,

6^

where quantities are vectors.

Output of unit (vector) Input to unit (vector;

Transfer function,

"Y

Damping ratio m system damping coefficient system critical damping coefficient

SUMMARY
Hie purpose of this Investigation was to determine
the control characteristics of an automatic pilot for aircraft.
The automatic pilot used was the Minneapolis -Honeywell type

C-lA autopilot*

The load applied to the autopilot consisted

of inertia, elastic restraint, and coulomb friction, all em-

bodied in a test apparatus.

For the purpose of this investi-

gation, the test apparatus was made to simulate the elevators

of a Douglas A-26 attack bomber.

Three different values of

indicated airspeed were simulated, 200, 250, and 550 miles

per hour.
The conditions assumed were that the airplane was

in normal flight and was not allowed to respond to the elevator

action.
As a result of this Investigation tte characteristics

of this autopilot were determined.

Increasing the indicated

airspeed increases the torque output of the servomotor and decreases the elevator shaft rotation for a given Input signal.
The resonant frequency of the system Increases slightly with

an increase of Indicated airspeed.

The effective damping of

the system decreases with an increase of airspeed.

The effect

of the control cable is to decrease the magnitude of the elevator

shaft rotation, this effect increasing as indicated airspeed

increases.

The automatic pilot is stable throughout the range

of airspeeds investigated and is a satisfactory servomechanism.

This investigation was conducted at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory

from June to August, 1946,

III

UTTRODUCTIOH H
I
I

'

Although automatic pilots for aircraft have been

In use far many years, comparatively little data is available coijcerning their actual performance as servoxaeehanisms

under the aerodynamic load conditions encountered in .Cli^ht #

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the per-

formance of a typical autozaatic pilot, and its components,

under artificial loads calculated to duplicate those imposed

upon the mechanism under various flight conditions*

It Is

emphasized that this investigation includes only the automaticpilot, the control oables, and the control surface - considered
as a servomechaniSBW
The response of the airplr.no to the re-

sultant control surface moveiaent has not been Included and the

assumption has been mads that the airplane continues essentially

unchanged alone Its flight path at the proscribed airspeed.
The automatic pilot employed in this study was the

Miniieapolis-Honeywsll, Type ClA#

This pilot was selected be-

cause it appears typical of the designs to be encountered in

the future and because several concurrent investigations, using

this autopilot In actual aircraft, are being conducted,

The test assembly for the investigation was con-

structed to duplicate the elevator control system of a medium

bomber type aircraft.

Since the necessary structural and aero-

dynamic data for the A-26 Attaok Bomber were available, ths

<?.

artificial loads were computed to simulate closely

'diose

which are encountered by automatic pilot installations in

that aircraft.

Aerodynamic visoous damping forces resulting

from elevator motion were computed but, due to time limitations, no viscous damper was installed on the test assembly*

Computations showed the relative magnitudes of these foroes

to be small.

However, provision was made for incorporating

this feature in future investigations by machining threads at

the end of the elevator shaft for the viscous damper fitting,

and by including a chart of the viscous damping coefficients

versus true airspeed.

It was anticipated that the cable from the servo

motor to the elevator horn would have considerable effect upon

the performance of the system.

Therefore, the length of cabls

and the size of the elevator horn were made to duplicate ths

corresponding dijnonsions of the A-26,

The more important data required for this investiga-

tion were the magnitude and phase relations of the elevator

angular position, the angular position of the servomotor cable
drum, and the torque delivered at the load, to the input signal

generated by sinusoidal movement of the flight gyro potentiometer wiper.

The amplitude of this sinusoidal wiper motion was

fixed at 7 l/2 degrees either side of mi6>posibion and the fre-

quency of motion varied from #05 to 4 cycles

Tpev

second (approx*).

The transfer locus system of analysis is employed

herein to evaluate the performance of the system as a whole,

and to evaluate the contributions of the system components*

In submitting thi3 report, the authors pre -suppose a familiarity on the part of the reader with transfer loci studies, the
Hyquiot diagram and stability criteria, and transfer functions

employing the LaPlaoe transform*

To augsent the transfer loci

plotted herein, plots of the amplitude and phase response of

various system components have been made on Cartesian coordinates.
This investigation was conducted in the Instrumentation

Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by the

authors of this report.

BqUIPMSffT A HP PROCgPUHE

Photographs of the equipment employed In the tests

are provided In Figs. 1 and 2*
The equipment may b grouped

In three major components*

Referring to the photographs,

group A includes the units of the recording oscillograph

which provided timed records of the various perf ormance data*

This unit possessed twelve separate data channels, of which

six channels were used*

Group B includes the necessary units

of the Minneapolis-Honeywell CIA automatic pilot for conduct-

ing the tests.

Only the elevator channel of the automatic

pilot was employed.

Group C is the test assembly which simu-

lates the levator control arrangement of an A-26 airplane,

agd further provides for imposing artificial aerodynamie loads

en the system*
In group E, (1) is the sine drive mechanism which
moves
fcba

wiper (2) of the elevator flight gyro potentiometer

(removed from the flight gyro unit for these testa) sinusoid-

ally through an amplitude of 7 l/S degrees each side of the

center of the potentiometer - or a total swing of 15 degrees*
5Jie

position of this input wiper was recorded by the synchro

(3)

mounted on the wiper shaft*

Its output voltage was applied The synchro was adjusted to

to the recording oscillograph*

provide zero voltage on the reoord when the input wiper was in

mid-poaibion.

The frequency of the input motion was adjusted

by Variae control of the sins drive eleotrio motor, providing a frequency range from .05 to 4 oyoles per second.
02he

servo motor (15) which drives the control cable

drum is provided with a potentiometer, the wiper of which is

directly connected to the cable drum shaft.
The input poten-

tiometer and the motor potentiometer are connected electric-

ally so that with the motor drum position matched to the input
wiper oonition, no error voltage is developed between the
wiper*.

When the cable drum position is not matched with the

Shis

input, an error voltage is developed between the wipers*

voltage is applied to the amplifier (4) which amplifies the

eraser voltage,

discriminates between errors on either side of

the matched condition, and energizes the correct relay (5) to

drive the servo motor in a direction to erase the error.

sketch of the disoriadnator circuit is shown in Fig, 6.

She

electrical system is so arranged that one degree of motion at

the input wiper results in two degrees of motion of the cable

drum.

Under perfectly matched conditions, therefore, the

cable drum moves through a total swing of 30 degrees, or a

sine amplitude of 15 degrees*
'

She construction of this automatic pilot is such

that the following action of the servo motor is not continuous.

ie action is better described as a "peoking" action whereby
the,

motor is driven in pulses until the error is erased.

During

those pulses, the motor brake is off and voltage is applied to

the motor terminals.

Between pulses, no voltage is applied to

the motor terminal*, and the solenoid-operated brake pre-

vents rotation of the cable drum.

If the error exceed* a

et amount, pecking action ceases and the proper relay is

held down until the error ha decreased to the pecking action range. !The frequanoy of pecking ie determined by a
time-delay network incorporated in the discriminator circuit.
A synchro, like that installed on the input potentiometer, was attached to the cable drum shaft to provide a

means of recording the servo motor response.

In group c, the units were made to duplicate as

closely as possible the more important dimensions of the A-26 elevator assembly. The cable (6) distance from servo motor
to elevator hinge (8) and the dimensions of the elevator horn
(7) are the same as those

in the A-26.

Inertia wei^its (9)

were added to increase the inertia of the system to that of

the A-26 elevator about its hinge axis,

(see "Sample Calcula-

tions"),

coulomb friction of the A-26 elevator control system

was duplicated by adjustment of the prony brake (10) bearing

against the friction disc (11).

a viscous damper fitting (12)

During the

was provided at the end of the elevator shaft.

tests, no viscous damper was installed because of shortage of

time, and because the magnitudes, as developed in "Sample Cal-

culations" and shown in Pig.

3,

were deeded negligible.

It

was found that coulomb friction alone was sufficiently large to damp out oscillations rapidly. However, the data of pig. 3 has

7.

been included bo that further testa with this equipment may

provide the viscous damping feature.
2he elevator torsional elasticity was simulated by

springs (15) installed at the ends of torque arms (14) mounted

on the elevator shaft*

Use springs were fixed to the test

table at their lover ends*

The required elastic coefficients

of the springs were determined as shown in "Sample Calculations".

A plot of these coefficients is given in Pig. 4, which

was derived from the torsional elasticity computations in

"Sample Calculations" - a plot of which is shown in Fig. 5.

A synchro (16) was fitted to the elevator shaft to

provide a record of the elevator position versus time.

Strain

gauges (17) were installed on the elevator horn to provide a

record of the torque on the elevator versus time. In order to obtain sufficient data to plot the fre-

quency response of the system and, subsequently, to analyze the

performance of system components, the following data items,

arranged in their order of appearance (vertically downward) on

the record (Fig* 8), were obtained!
(a) (b) (c)

Angular position of flight gyro potentiometer.

Angular position of serve motor cable drum.

Motor relay closure, or times of application

of voltage to the motor - and direction of

applied voltage.
(d)

Angular position of elevator.

(e)

Error vol tag, measured at the grid of the amplifier (7P7) tube.

(f

Torque, Measured at the elevator shaft - calibrated

in lb. ft. aa ahown in Fig. 7.

Teats were made with aerodynamic loads corresponding
to 200, 250 and 360 miles per hour, indicated.

During each of

these tests, the input sinusoidal frequenoy was varied from

appro xi me. tely .05 to 4 cycles per seoond and simultaneous values

f the data listed above were recorded by the oscillograph.

Upon completion of the tests, the oscillograph records were

developed, printed, and data was taken from them for entry on
the enclosed data sheets.

9.

RESULTS A ND DISCUSSION II
I
I I

II

The results obtained in this investigation are very

satisfactory.

The virtual absence of "wild" readings is

directly attributable to the excellent performance of the recording oscillograph.

For the conduct of experiments or

tests where many quantities must be simultaneously recorded,

the advantages of this instrument In accuracy, and in saving

time and labor, are great.

Results are graphically presented in Figs. 10 through

23 and are tabulated in Tables I through IX*

Figs. 10 and 11

are plots of the amplitude and phase response, respectively, of

the servomotor (measured at the cable drum) and the elevator,

with an airspeed of 200 mph (ind).

It is seen that at frequen-

cies below 0.5 ops the amplitude response of the servomotor is

practically constant at a value of 0.88.

In this same frequency

range, the elevator amplitude response Is similarly constant

but with a value of approximately 0.6.
It will be noted from

Fig. 11 that the phase lags of the servomotor and the elevator
are Identical and that this lag increases almost linearly with

frequency In the low frequencies.

As the frequency is in-

creased, the amplitude response rises gradually to a peak value

of 0.965 for the servomotor and 0.708 for ths elevator, at a

resonant frequency of approximately 1.04 cps.

The phase angle

continues its gradual rise until the resonant frequency is approached, when it rises sharply, swings rapidly throu$i the

to.

90 degree valua, and thereafter increases more rapidly with

frequency than it did in the low frequency range.

Past

resonance, the amplitude responses of both servomotor and

elevator drop off sharply and then

asymptotically approach

zero - with values at the highest recorded frequency (2.9 cps)

of .200 and .175 respectively.

Figs. 12 and 13 are the amplitude and phase response

curves, for an airspeed of 250 mph (ind).

Pigs. 14 and 15 are

These curves

similar curves for an airspeed of 350 mph (ind).

have the same general configuration as the curves of Figs. 10

and 11 described above, although the constant amplitude response at low frequencies is no longer present.

Th* 250 mph

curves show that the amplitude responses are smaller, throughout the total frequency range, than that for 200 mph, with peak

amplitude response for the motor at .950 and for the elevator
at .622.
A further decrease in the general amplitude response

is apparent when the airspeed is increased to 350 mph.

Peak

amplitude responses become .893 for the motor and .433 for the

elevator.

The phase lag decreases slightly with increased air-

speed, while the resonant frequencies increase to 1.25 cps at

250 mph and 1.28 cps at 350 mph.

Figs. 16, 17, and 18 combine the information pre-

sented in Figs. 10 through 15 and present it in polar form.

Fig. 19 shows the transfer loci of the automatic pilot at 200,

250 and 350 mph.

These are plots of the transfer functions of

//.

the autopilot, obtained by vectorially dividing the servo-

motor output by the error between the input wiper and the
cable drum.
Figs. 20, 21, and 22 show the magnitudes of torque

developed at the elevator hinge at the three airspeeds employed, plotted against frequency.
The phase lag of the

torques is presented in the same figures.

Fig* 23 is a plot, on Cartesian coordinates, of the

effect of cable stretching at each airspeed.

The values

plotted are the values of the transfer function of the cable

at various frequencies.

Fig. 24 is a reproduction of a typical data record

obtained by the oscilloscope.

is .01 seconds.

The smallest timed line spacing

Calibration data for the oscilloscope is given

in Table X.

A comparison of Figs. 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, and 18

shows that as the load, i.e., the simulated airspeed, is increased, the output angle at the elevator shaft becomes smaller

for a given input signal.

For a given load the output ampli-

tude is not a constant but varies with the frequency of the

input.

There is a greater difference in response between any

This

two loads at low frequencies than at high frequencies.

is attributed to the fact that the load consisted of inertia,

elastic restraint, and coulomb friction.

Changes of load were

accomplished by changes of elastic restraint, the inertia and

coulomb friction remaining unchanged.
At low frequencies the

IZ

governing factor of the load is the elastic restraint and at

hi$i frequencies the governing factor is the inertia.
There-

fore, larger changes in the response at low frequencies are to

be expected while only minor changes in the response are to be

expected at the hi$ier frequencies.

The motor output to signal input ratio is always

less than unity at low frequencies.

When operating near the

minimum error voltage level the peck duration is a function

of the amount of error.
The amount of torque delivered by the

motor is a linear function of the peck duration.

Therefore,

the torque output is a function of the amount of error.

For

stiff loads with consequent high torques to be overcome, a

greater minimum error is required at low frequencies.

The fact that the motor output to signal input ratio
is always less than unity at very low frequencies can be ex-

plained by the fact that the autopilot does not have a zero

position error.

This fact is illustrated in Fig. 19.

For a

zero position error, the loci would approach the - Jw axis

asymptotically.

A minimum voltage error must exist before the

This voltage level exists independently

relays can operate.

of load and can be considered dead space. The elevator shaft output to signal input ratio curve
is similar in shape to the motor output to signal input ratio

curve.

The curves would be identical if the motor and elevator The difference between the two

shafts were rigidly connected.

13.

curves is then caused by the cable connecting the two shafts.

Fig. 23 shows a plot of the transfer locus of the cable.

If

the motor output to signal input ratio is multiplied by the

amplitude ratio from Fig. 23, the elevator shaft output to

signal input ratio is obtained.

The amplitude ratio curves, Figs. 10, 12, and 14,

show definite resonance effects and a falling off of response

at higher frequencies.
Ike resonant frequency increases Ihe average resonant frequency

slightly with increase of load.

obtained was about 1.2 cycles per second.

becomes more marked as the load increases.

The resonant effect

This indicates that

the effective damping is less for larger loads.

Figs. 11, 13, and 15 show the phase response of the

motor shaft and elevator shaft outputs.

Since there is a zero

phase shift occurring in the cable, the motor and elevator shaft

output phase angles are the same.

These curves show that the

resonant frequency increases for an increased load and that the

average resonant frequency obtained for the loads used was

about 1.2 cycles per second.

Other than changing the resonant

point slightly, the load appears to have little effect upon the
phase response.

Increasing the load decreases the phase angle

slightly.
Ihe torque applied to the elevator shaft is shown in

Fig. 20, 21, and 22.

A comparison of these three curves shows

that as the load increases the torque applied to the load in-

/*.

creases.

All curves have a definite resonance effect with

The

the resonant frequency increasing slightly with load.

average resonant frequency was about 1.2 cycles per second.

The phase angle of the torque at the load is essentially un-

changed by changes of load.

In all cases the phase of the

torque leads the phase of the elevator shaft angle.

Fig. 23 shows a plot of the transfer function of the

cable for the three different loads used.

The cable used for

this investigation was a 3/32 inch flexible wire cable with

an initial tension of about sixty pounds.

This corresponded

to an ambient temperature of about seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

Previous to the investigation for this report, a series of runs

were made with a 1/8 inch extra flexible wire cable.

From the

results of these two series of runs it appears that decreasing

the size of the cable, increasing the elasticity of the coupling,

also decreases the torque and the output angle at the elevator
shaft for a given input.
The curves of Fig. 23 were obtained

by dividing the output of the cable, elevator shaft rotation,

by the input to the cable, motor shaft rotation.

The cable

effect seems to be a scalar effect since the phase angle re-

mained zero throughout.

However, the cable exerted an effect

This effect was in

which does not appear as a phase angle.

causing the elevator output angle to appear distorted from a

sinusoidal variation.
The oscillation began at the same time

that the motor shaft oscillation began, but the maximum amplitude occurred at a later time than the motor shaft maximum am-

plitude.

/5.

The viscous damping coefficients that are applicable

to the various airspeeds used are shown in Fig. 3.

No viscous

damping was intentionally Introduced in this test apparatus

since the effect was considered almost negligible and because
of a shortage of time available for the investigation. Coulomb

friction was Introduced into the apparatus, however, and was

set to give a force of ten pounds in the control cable.

This

friction caused an effective damping ratio,

to appear.

The natural frequency of the system is 1.6 cycles

per second as found from Fig. 19.

Figs. 10, 12, and 14 show

that the resonant frequencies for the various loads are 1.04,
1.25, and 1.28 cycles per second respectively for the 200, 250,

and 350 miles per hour conditions.

With this Information and

Plate 12, Chapter VII, Instrument Analysis (Draper and McKay),

the damping ratios can be computed.

Using this technique, the

damping ratios are 0.54, 0.36, and 0.34 for airspeeds of 200,
250, and 350 miles per hour respectively.

This was expected

since the same amount of coulomb friction would have less effect

on large loads than on small loads.

The natural frequency as

calculated by this method is again 1.6 cycles per second.

Fig. 19 shows that the system Is stable throughout
the entire range of airspeeds investigated.

Instability would

be denoted by enclosure of the

- 1

point within the trans-

fer locus.

Referring to this figure, the system shows suffiThe sensitivity of the system could be increased
j

cient stability.

by a factor of 3.86

1 before instability would occur for the

lb.

range of airspeeds investigated.

This increased sensitivity

would result in an increasing ratio of elevator shaft rotation to signal Input at resonance.

17.

CONCLUSIONS

An analysis of the results of this investigation

substantiates the below-stated conclusions of the general

control characteristics of the Minneapolis -Honeywell type C-lA

automatic pilot
(1)

Hie "autopilot" is a satisfactory servomechanism

with ample stability.

The resonant frequencies

are sufficiently high that no resonance effect

will be encountered during normal flight operations.

The use of a series wound D.C. motor

controlled by relays with "pecking" action closely

approximates a proportional servo and appears to
be an excellent design practice in view of the

weight saving accomplished.

(2)

At low frequencies the response of the servo motor

is appreciably affected by the load stiffness.

An

increase in load stiffness, i.e., indicated airspeed, decreases the amplitude of the response*
(3) At very higji frequencies the response is governed

principally by the load inertia and is only very

slightly affected by the load stiffness.
The

frequencies of normal application are well below

this range.

IS.

(4)

The torque output of the motor is proportional

to the motor matching error for small angles of

matching error after "pecking" action starts. When outside this small linear range the torque
output is governed by the torque -speed characteristics of the servomotor.
is increased

Motor torque output

by an Increase of load stiffness

or a decrease of input frequency.

(5)

The servo has a "zero dead space" and is not a

zero positional error servome onanism.

The mag-

nitude of this dead space is a function of the

voltage sensitivity of the potentiometer and of
the current sensitivity of the relays.
The dead

space could be reduced by increasing either of

these sensitivities.
The elastance of the coupling between the motor

(6)

and the elevator shaft has a detrimental effect

on the overall servomeohanism performance,
'[his

effect becomes greater as torques become greater

or as the load to motor coupling becomes less
rigid.
(7)

Coulomb friction caused the system to have an effective damping ratio,

The effective damping

ratio decreased as the indicated airspeed was increased.

The resonant frequency also shifted.

/?.

increasing as the indicated airspeed was increased.

ihe system natural frequency was so governed

(8)

by the amplifier and motor characteristics that

it remained constant at 1#6 cycles per second

Independently of load stiffness.

to.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The below recommendations are divided into two

main groups.

Group A is recommendations for improving the

control characteristics of the "autopilot", while Group B

is recommendations for further investigations.
A

Recommendations for improving the control characteristics.

(1)

Increase the sensitivity of the a.C. bridge

potentiome ters
(2)

Redesign the relays to be more sensitive and

to provide larger contact areas.

(3)

Incorporate an integral effect for the relays

by making the "peck" duration a function of

the magnitude of the error and the length

of time that the error has existed.

(4)

Minimize the elastic effect of the cable by

using gears, multiple cables, or putting

an A.C. bridge potentiometer on the output
shaft,

B - Recommendations for further investigations.

(1)

The input signal amplitude should be kept to

a maximum value of about 2.0 degrees.

(2)

Investigate the no load frequency response

of the servo motor.

(3)

Determine the torque-speed characteristics

of the servo motor.

Zl.

(4)

Make a series of tests using a series of

values of elastic coupling between motor

and load,
(5)

Investigate the control characteristics with

the motor potentiometer installed on the

elevator shaft.
(6)

Incorporate a viscous damper on the elevator

shaft,

(7)

Investigate the response at frequencies bracketing the natural frequency of the output load.

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DEGREES 6N POTENTIOMETER

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1 INCH

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3H3/b ih*
- 0.7 lb

Cnezxea bu transient response (no vtscovs da.-vjoinq) cu -80 cps Tf ra ui /s e c A/a to ra / freaoe n ca
,

16'

stQf

>1$3

used l&Om/>h)

- ltb.7 Jb. /t/ateg.

20,300 16 /n/rad

*^e
/ *<
J

<*&*

t.t*

racL

Sec 1

ra( a

^
Z
f 0,3

00

38b = lZ,300

<*

'*

SI'

i.

SAHPL E CA L CULATIONS ~

DERIVATION OF VISCOUS DAMPING COEFFIC'ENT -C

From
A-2le data.
:

Hinge Position s . 75 ft aft of elevator Elevator Chord * I.SSft

Elevator Su rfac e Area. lM/ng Chord - il + ft
*

3*

leadmo edae 73.il Chord 5AS ft nmae Position s q. h>5 nord

Half Wing Chord * +-Q7'ft

4* Tli c
1

::

OL>lS

4^ do.
f

5JLoer

rXKd

From

NACA.

Technical

Report No 709

=
L/c

Ol iQ.Ctg s >.Z3g -Iff") o-'** o-*'*o df 8 y

x

-QW

I.Z3Z +

5.11.

.0741

* 1-593 per

d* e

<r*a>**)

C^Oj

AS found above applies to elevator angle changes per distance alone the fhght path ,6, to employ the value found., it must be modified to appju to elevator anqle changes with respect to time, Sis measured J
in

"\

hiinq c

hovds.

'tin

=
!2&
'/fi

rad sec

chord

AQJ x ft sec '/ chord z

'/&

chord

ft

^.V
-

airspeed

^
s

l4 ^

*D< (per tad /sec)

"o

<

<

F Sr rod /tit wing chord)

1.595

H
Sef/jV'c?

hi

.AHV

(3zu)(-ooun)(/rs)

C.-

hi

p*r rad/sec

O.i.13 Vimph) true

Jbft */sec
,

C * Kper de*/ SC f

**** *<*/**&** ^'f*

dee/sec

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1* 2.

Draper, C* S. and McKay, W.

Hall, A, C.

Instrument Analysis

The Analysis and Synthesis of Linear

Servo-mechanisms .
3.

A-26 Erection and Maintenance Manual .

Overhaul Instructions for Automatic Pilot , Type Cl .

4.

5.

Den Hartog, J. P.
Hill, 1934,

Mechanical Vibrations

McGraw-

Lin, S. N

Mathematical Study of the Controlled

3c. D Thesis, A.E., M.I.T.
^v

Motion of Airplanes .
1939.
7

Callendar, A, Hartree, D. R, and Porter, A

Time Lag in a Control System .

Philosophical

Trans ao ti ons .
1936.
8

Royal Society of London, Vol. 235,

Theodorsen, T

General Theory of Aerodynamic

N.A.C.A.

Instability and the Mechanism of Flutter .

Technical Report 496, 1940,
9.

Jones, R. T and Cohen, De

An Analysis of the

Stability of an Airplane with Free Controls .

N.A.C.A. Technical Report 709, 1941.
10.

Mason, C. E. and Philbrick, G. A.

Automatic Control

in Presence of Process Lag .

Philadelphia, December 1939.

Paper A.S.M.E. Meeting,

Thesis R18 Ralston Control characteristics of an automatic pilot for aircraft.

Thesis
R18

8097
Ralston Control characteristics of an automatic pilot for aircraft.

ACCOPRESS
BP
HADE BY

2507

Acrcu Product
LONG ISLAND
CITY.
N.

thesR18

Control characteristics of an automatic

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