Latest PLM software allows F/A-18E/F and EA-18G to land even with flight control failures

Test pilots from VX-31 have been busy testing the Version 40 of the Precision Landing Mode (PLM) for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler since last year.

FA-18E of VFA-195 landing on USS George Washington in June 2015
By U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bryan Mai [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons


The new code will allow pilots to recover back onboard the aircraft carrier with a variety of failed flight control surfaces. The new software also adds a backup automatic throttle control (ATC) that allows the flight control computer (FCC) to communicate with the full authority digital electronic control in the engines via the mission computers, as opposed to analog wires in the event that normal ATC is not available.

V40 also adds the capability for pilots to fly PLM with a single angle of attack (AOA) probe failure.

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