The automatic flight capabilities of a CS-23 aircraft are enhanced by automating maneuvers, based on Visual-Flight-Rules (VFR), currently adhered to by manned flight. The system presented in this paper is capable of guiding the aircraft to a predefined landing trajectory, by using existing modules of an automatic flight control system with safety monitoring. The finite state machine developed in this paper enables the user to provide high-level commands that enable the automated system to guide the aircraft to the selected pre-planned trajectory based on VFR. The approaches and the go-around maneuvers were planned offline with waypoints, which are used for the guidance and control. The system was integrated into the automatic flight software of the Institute of Flight system Dynamics in the course of the C2LAND project. Software-in-the-Loop (SiL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) tests were conducted with an incremental test plan, to ensure the safety and robustness of the code. The system was then successfully demonstrated on the institute's optionally piloted Diamond DA42 aircraft during an extensive flight test campaign.     «

The automatic flight capabilities of a CS-23 aircraft are enhanced by automating maneuvers, based on Visual-Flight-Rules (VFR), currently adhered to by manned flight. The system presented in this paper is capable of guiding the aircraft to a predefined landing trajectory, by using existing modules of an automatic flight control system with safety monitoring. The finite state machine developed in this paper enables the user to provide high-level commands that enable the automated system to guide...     »