Patent ID: 8725321

Claim:
A process for positioning the powered control surfaces of an aircraft having both powered and unpowered control surfaces comprising the steps of: measuring a force signal received from the pilot of the aircraft in response to the aerodynamic forces on the unpowered control surfaces; converting the force signal into a torque signal; applying a filter to the torque signal to calculate a control signal; providing the control signal to the aircraft for positioning the powered control surfaces of the aircraft; wherein the step of applying a filter to the torque signal further comprises the steps of: converting the torque signal into an angular acceleration value; converting the angular acceleration value into an angular velocity value; calculating a frictional torque value for the angular velocity; calculating a damping torque value for the angular velocity; converting the angular velocity value into an angular position value; calculating a stiffness torque for the angular position value; calculating a control signal for the powered control surfaces from the angular position value; subtracting the frictional torque value, the damping torque value, and the stiffness torque value from the torque signal.