Aircraft sidestick priority and dual input control logic

1. A flight control system for an aircraft, comprising:

a processor that processes a plurality of inputs from the aircraft, that contains a plurality of control laws that control operation of the aircraft, and that provides a plurality of outputs that control a plurality of devices located on the aircraft;

a pair of first input devices, a first one of the first input devices controlled by a pilot of the aircraft, a second one of the first input devices controlled by a co-pilot of the aircraft, each one of the first input devices being operable to input a first control signal to the processor to cause the aircraft to be in a momentary first priority control condition; and

a pair of second input devices located apart from the pair of first input devices, a first one of the second input devices controlled by a pilot of the aircraft, a second one of the second input devices controlled by a co-pilot of the aircraft, each one of the second input devices being operable to input a second control signal to the processor to cause the aircraft to be in a momentary second priority control condition.

2. The flight control system of claim 1 , wherein each one of the pair of first input devices comprises a sidestick controller.

3. The flight control system of claim 2 , wherein each sidestick controller includes a momentary priority switch that, when activated by the pilot or co-pilot, is operable to input the first control signal to the processor.

4. The flight control system of claim 3 , wherein the first control signal indicates which one of the pilot or co-pilot has current momentary control of the aircraft.

5. The flight control system of claim 4 , wherein when the pilot or co-pilot has current momentary control of the aircraft, the other one of the pilot or co-pilot can take over current momentary control of the aircraft by activating the momentary priority switch on the corresponding sidestick controller.

6. The flight control system of claim 4 , wherein visual and/or aural awareness cues are provided to announce to the pilot and co-pilot which one of the pilot or co-pilot has current momentary control of the aircraft.

7. The flight control system of claim 1 , wherein each one of the pair of second input devices comprises a push button annunciator.

8. The flight control system of claim 7 , wherein each push button annunciator includes a permanent priority switch that, when activated by the pilot or co-pilot, is operable to input the second control signal to the processor.

9. The flight control system of claim 8 , wherein the second control signal indicates which one of the pilot or co-pilot has current permanent control of the aircraft.

10. The flight control system of claim 8 , wherein when the pilot or co-pilot has current permanent control of the aircraft, the other one of the pilot or co-pilot can take over current permanent control of the aircraft by activating the corresponding push button annunciator.

11. The flight control system of claim 7 , wherein each one of the push button annunciators is located on a glareshield within a cockpit of the aircraft.

12. The flight control system of claim 7 , wherein a glareshield within a cockpit of the aircraft includes a visual cue that announces to the pilot and co-pilot which one of the pilot or co-pilot has current permanent control of the aircraft.

13. The flight control system of claim 8 , wherein visual and/or aural awareness cues are provided to announce to the pilot and co-pilot which one of the pilot or co-pilot has current permanent control of the aircraft.

14. The flight control system of claim 1 , wherein each one of the pair of first input devices comprises a sidestick controller, each sidestick controller being movable by the corresponding pilot and co-pilot to issue a plurality of control commands to the processor.

15. The flight control system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of control commands include aircraft pitch and roll commands.

16. The flight control system of claim 14 , wherein when the pilot and co-pilot simultaneously issue the plurality of commands to the processor, a dual input condition occurs.

17. The flight control system of claim 16 , wherein when the dual input condition occurs, both visual and aural awareness cues relating to the existence of the dual input condition are provided to the pilot and co-pilot.

18. The flight control system of claim 1 , wherein the flight control system comprises a fly-by-wire type of aircraft control system.

19. The flight control system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of first input devices comprises at least one yoke.

20. A method for controlling a priority of input to an aircraft flight control system between a pilot and a co-pilot each using two input devices associated with the pilot and the co-pilot, respectively, the method comprising the steps of:

checking first if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system using a first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot;

if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system, checking if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot;

if neither the pilot nor the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system, checking if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system using a second one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, the second one of the two input devices being located apart from the first one of the two input devices;

if neither the pilot nor the co-pilot has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system, checking second if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot;

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input; and

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system using the second one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, assigning permanent priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested permanent priority of input.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system, assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system, assigning permanent priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested permanent priority of input.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system, assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

24. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system, assigning permanent priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested permanent priority of input.

25. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

if, as a result of the checking first or checking second if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system, the pilot and the co-pilot have not both simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system, checking if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested either temporary or permanent priority of input to the flight control system and, if so, assigning either temporary or permanent priority to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested the temporary or the permanent priority.

26. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, checking if an autopilot function on the aircraft is on and if so turning the autopilot function off before assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

27. The method of claim 25 , wherein:

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, checking if an autopilot function on the aircraft is on and if so turning the autopilot function off before assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

28. The method of claim 20 , wherein a first one of the two input devices associated with the pilot comprises one of a sidestick or a yoke; and wherein a first one of the two input devices associated with the co-pilot comprises one of sidestick or a yoke.

29. The method of claim 20 , wherein a second one of the two input devices associated with the pilot comprises a pilot actuation device located on a glareshield in a cockpit of the aircraft; and wherein a second one of the two input devices associated with the co-pilot comprises a co-pilot actuation device located on the glareshield.

30. The method of claim 20 , further comprising providing a visual annunciation cue to both the pilot and the co-pilot that visually indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, or that visually indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system.

31. The method of claim 20 , further comprising providing an aural annunciation cue to both the pilot and the co-pilot that aurally indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, or that indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system.

32. A computer program product for controlling a priority of input to an aircraft flight control system between a pilot and a co-pilot each using two input devices associated with the pilot and the co-pilot, respectively, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code readable/executable by a computer, processor or logic circuit to perform a method comprising the steps of:

checking first if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system using a first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot;

if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system, checking if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot;

if neither the pilot nor the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system, checking if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system using a second one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, the second one of the two input devices being located apart from the first one of the two input devices;

if neither the pilot nor the co-pilot has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system, checking second if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot;

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input; and

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system using the second one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, assigning permanent priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested permanent priority of input.

33. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system, assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

34. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system, assigning permanent priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested permanent priority of input.

35. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system, assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

36. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein:

if one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system, checking if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system; and

if the other one of the pilot and co-pilot not assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system has requested permanent priority of input to the flight control system, assigning permanent priority of input to the flight control system to the other one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested permanent priority of input.

37. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein:

if, as a result of the checking first or checking second if both the pilot and the co-pilot have simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system, the pilot and the co-pilot have not both simultaneously issued an input command to the flight control system, checking if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested either temporary or permanent priority of input to the flight control system and, if so, assigning either temporary or permanent priority to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested the temporary or the permanent priority.

38. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein:

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, checking if an autopilot function on the aircraft is on and if so turning the autopilot function off before assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

39. The computer program product of claim 37 , wherein:

if either the pilot or the co-pilot has requested temporary priority of input to the flight control system using the first one of the two input devices associated with either the pilot or the co-pilot, checking if an autopilot function on the aircraft is on and if so turning the autopilot function off before assigning temporary priority of input to the flight control system to the one of the pilot or the co-pilot that requested temporary priority of input.

40. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein a first one of the two input devices associated with the pilot comprises one of a sidestick or a yoke; and wherein a first one of the two input devices associated with the co-pilot comprises one of sidestick or a yoke.

41. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein a second one of the two input devices associated with the pilot comprises a pilot actuation device located on a glareshield in a cockpit of the aircraft; and wherein a second one of the two input devices associated with the co-pilot comprises a co-pilot actuation device located on the glareshield.

42. The computer program product of claim 32 , further comprising providing a visual annunciation cue to both the pilot and the co-pilot that visually indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, or that visually indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned permanent priority of input to the flight control system.

43. The computer program product of claim 32 , further comprising providing an aural annunciation cue to both the pilot and the co-pilot that aurally indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system, or that indicates which one of the pilot or the co-pilot has been assigned temporary priority of input to the flight control system.