Methods and apparatus to control thrust ramping of an aircraft engine
Methods and apparatus to control thrust ramping of an aircraft engine are disclosed. An example thrust control system includes a sensor to measure a crosswind speed and a thrust manager to compare the measured crosswind speed to a crosswind threshold range. The thrust manager activates a partial thrust ramping schedule during takeoff when the measured crosswind speed is within the crosswind threshold range. The partial thrust ramping schedule is selected from a plurality of thrust ramping schedules.
1. A thrust control system for use with aircraft comprising:
a sensor to measure a crosswind speed; and
a thrust manager to compare a vector of the measured crosswind speed to a crosswind threshold range, the thrust manager to activate a partial thrust ramping schedule during takeoff when the measured crosswind speed is within the crosswind threshold range, the partial thrust ramping schedule being selected from a plurality of thrust ramping schedules.
2. The system of claim 1 , further including a data input device to receive a reference crosswind speed.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the thrust manager compares the reference crosswind speed and the measured crosswind speed.
4. The system of claim 3 , further including an alarm controller to initiate an alarm when the reference crosswind speed is less than the measured crosswind speed.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the thrust manager is to activate a full thrust ramping schedule during takeoff when the measured crosswind speed is greater than an upper limit of the crosswind threshold range.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the thrust controller is to deactivate thrust ramping when the measured crosswind speed is less than a lower limit of the crosswind threshold range.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the vector is an orthogonal vector component of a measured airflow velocity.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the orthogonal vector of the measured airflow velocity is measured when the aircraft is stationary.
9. A method for controlling thrust of an aircraft, the method comprising:
measuring a crosswind vector when the aircraft is taxiing;
comparing the measured crosswind vector to an crosswind threshold range; and
activating a partial thrust ramping schedule during takeoff based on the measured crosswind vector when the measured crosswind vector is within the crosswind threshold range.
10. The method of claim 9 , further including applying a full thrust ramping schedule during takeoff when the measured crosswind vector is greater than an upper limit of the crosswind threshold range.
11. The method of claim 10 , further including deactivating thrust ramping during takeoff when the measured crosswind vector is less than a lower limit of the crosswind threshold range.
12. The method of claim 9 , further including comparing a reference crosswind vector and the measured crosswind vector, and initiating an alarm when the reference crosswind vector is less than the measured crosswind vector.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein providing the partial thrust ramping schedule includes retrieving the partial thrust ramping schedule from a look-up table.
14. The method of claim 9 , further including measuring an airspeed of the aircraft during takeoff, and varying a thrust output limit as a function of the measured airspeed.
15. The method of claim 14 , further including decreasing the thrust output limit as the measured airspeed increases.
16. A tangible computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to:
measure a crosswind vector;
compare the measured crosswind vector to a crosswind threshold range; and
activate a partial thrust ramping schedule during takeoff based on the measured crosswind vector when the measured crosswind vector is within the crosswind threshold range.
17. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 16 further including instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to apply a full thrust ramping schedule during takeoff when the measured crosswind vector is greater than an upper limit of the crosswind threshold range.
18. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 17 further including instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to deactivate thrust ramping during takeoff when the measured crosswind vector is less than a lower limit of the crosswind threshold range.
19. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 16 further including instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to compare a reference crosswind vector and the measured crosswind vector, and initiate an alarm when the reference crosswind vector is less than the measured crosswind vector.
20. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 16 further including instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to retrieve the partial thrust ramping schedule corresponding to the measured crosswind vector from a predetermined look-up table.
21. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 16 further including instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to measure an airspeed of an aircraft during takeoff, and vary a thrust output limit as a function of the measured airspeed.
22. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 21 further including instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to decrease the thrust output limit as the measured airspeed increases.