Patent ID: 8332081

Claim:
A method for controlling a boom for in-flight refueling, of a receiving aircraft from a tanker aircraft that is provided with a telescopic extension and aero-dynamic control surfaces by means of which a function of increase in damping of its displacement is performed by means of a movement of said aerodynamic control surfaces of a magnitude related to the angular velocity of the boom to effect movement of said boom in a direction opposite to that of its displacement, wherein movement of said aerodynamic control surfaces is effected in response to data obtained from at least two sensors of position and/or movement arranged at two positions on the boom located on opposite sides of the locus of maximum displacement of the boom's dominant flexible mode whatever the length L of the telescopic extension and calculation of angular velocity Q unaffected by the resonance of the dominant flexible mode which calculation comprises the following steps: a) determining moduli (D 1 , D 2 ) of the angular deformations of the dominant flexible mode in the sections of the boom in which said at least two sensors are located; b) obtaining the angular velocities (Q 1 , Q 2 ) in the sections of the boom where said at least two sensors are positioned from data supplied by the latter; wherein c) said angular velocity Q is obtained as a function of said angular velocities (Q 1 , Q 2 ) and said moduli (D 1 , D 2 ), which eliminates the component of the elastic movement of the dominant flexible and wherein said moduli (D 1 , D 2 ) are determined from measurements performed on the boom proper or from calculations performed with simulation tools.