Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Though the subject of pilot induced oscillations (PIO) is not new, it has garnered significant attention in the past several years. Since the mid-1990s, Boeing Commercial Airplanes has been conducting specific flight tests of its products in order to evaluate PIO tendencies. Beginning with the 777-200, a generic suite of test manoeuvres has been used to evaluate PIO tendencies on each product. The testing has been conducted on a ‘window of opportunity’ basis with the intent to gather data and evaluate each model. To date, specific evaluations have been carried out on six different aircraft models spanning a wide range of aircraft sizes, inertial characteristics, and control system implementations. Each manoeuvre in the generic suite is discussed in detail. In addition, along the way, a large number of other manoeuvres have been used at various times to evaluate PIO tendencies. These are briefly described. No single test manoeuvre or technique has been identified which provides effective discrimination of PIO tendencies. Finally, the subject of the pilot in the loop is discussed with regard to achieving consistency in conducting PIO evaluations.