Patent ID: 8584990

Claim:
A method for yaw controlling of an aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a jointed rudder that is rotatable in two opposite rotating directions between an aerodynamically neutral position and a maximum rotation breakpoint; and a commanding system located proximate to a pilot of the aircraft and operative to control rotation of the rudder, the commanding system being movable by rotation in two opposite directions corresponding respectively to the two opposite rotating directions of the jointed rudder, wherein a rotation amplitude of the rudder is controlled by actuating devices so as to depend on an amplitude of the rotation of the commanding system, and the commanding system being rotatable in each of the two opposite directions to first positions corresponding to movement of the rudder to the respective maximum rotation breakpoints and then further to at least one second position overshooting the amplitude of rotation of the commanding system at the first positions, the method comprising: monitoring the amplitude of rotation of the commanding system with a transducer operatively connected to each of the commanding system, the actuating devices for the rudder, and an alert system; detecting with the transducer that the pilot commanding system in one of the two opposite directions beyond the first position to the at least one second position to cause rotation of the rudder to the maximum rotation breakpoint in one of the rotating directions of the rudder; detecting with the transducer that the pilot has rotated the commanding system in the other of the two opposite directions beyond the first position to the at least one second position to cause rotation of the rudder to the maximum rotation breakpoint in the other of the rotating directions of the rudder; determining with the alert system if a rudder inversion condition has been invoked by detected rotations of the commanding system by the pilot between (i) the at least one second position in one of the two opposite directions to (ii) the at least one second position in the other of the two opposite directions within a first time interval of a predetermined duration; and emitting an alert with the alert system when the rudder inversion condition has been invoked by the pilot to notify the pilot of the potentially unsafe rudder inversion condition.