US 11,897,596 B2
Methods and apparatus for automatically extending aircraft wing flaps in response to detecting an excess energy steep descent condition
Sherwin C. Li, Edmonds, WA (US)
Assigned to THE BOEING COMPANY, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Jun. 24, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/357,377.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/054,528, filed on Jul. 21, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0024562 A1, Jan. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. B64C 13/16 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); B64C 9/32 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 13/16 (2013.01) [B64C 9/323 (2013.01); G05D 1/0066 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A control system of an aircraft, the control system comprising:
non-transitory machine-readable instructions; and
one or more processors to execute the machine-readable instructions to:
determine whether the aircraft is experiencing an excess energy steep descent (EESD) condition, the EESD condition corresponding to a flight path angle that meets or exceeds an angular threshold when engines of the aircraft are operating at idle thrust, wherein the angular threshold varies based on a speed of the aircraft; and
in response to determining that the aircraft is experiencing the EESD condition, command an actuator of the aircraft coupled to a flap of the aircraft to extend the flap from a current flap position to a subsequent flap position defined by a flap extension sequence.