Patent ID: 7874523

Claim:
A method of controlling an aircraft in flight, comprising the steps: a) flying said aircraft along a flight path while said aircraft generates a wake vortex that trails behind said aircraft; b) extending an aerodynamic control element of said aircraft whereby said aerodynamic control element is producing an aerodynamic control effect by which said aircraft follows a desired trajectory or flight path, and said aerodynamic control element is also reducing a vortex strength of said wake vortex relative to a condition without said aerodynamic control element extended; c) continuing said extending of said aerodynamic control element to increasing extension settings of said aerodynamic control element while said reducing of said vortex strength thereby continues; and d) stopping said extending of said aerodynamic control element and maintaining said aerodynamic control element at a particular extension setting of said aerodynamic control element when a rate of reduction of said vortex strength relative to an increase of said increasing extension settings diminishes or no later than when said rate of reduction reaches zero.