Someone breaking into your cockpit...

[TwinTails]

Will a flying hard drive like an A-320 even "let you" roll? I guess it should. It's a perfectly coordinated manuever if you know what your doing.

 

[EagleRJ]

Will a flying hard drive like an A-320 even "let you" roll? I guess it should. It's a perfectly coordinated manuever if you know what your doing.

The A320 can't be rolled. Once you get to 60 degrees of bank, the controls stop responding and the HAL-9000 reminds you that you're doing something wrong.

Cause, you know, the computer knows better than the pilot.

 

[TwinTails]

Wait one second here. Are you saying that once you've past 60 deg. you have no controle? That can't be right. There has been many a pilot who've been knocked upside down by turbulence weather it be wake, t-bangers, or CAT where the safest and best recovery option was to continue the roll all the way around. I guess no matter how you do it, you gotta get things dirty side down one way or another.

 

[Eagleflip]

Although this reply doesn't have any resemblance to the origin of the thread... nope, the A320 won't do an classic 360 degree roll unless you are no longer in what's called "normal law."

A320 normal law is the flight control software in charge when all of the flight control computers and some other critical pieces of equipment are working. It will give you (in part) up to 67.5 degrees in bank, 30 to 20 positive pitch (depending on configuration and about half that negative, and will provide a bunch of over and under speed protections, including the ability to automatically roll out of a bank and level off (if overspeeding downhill originally). Roll control is normally limited to 15 degrees per second. There are a bunch more protections in the system as well, but there are safeguards too in case of system/aircraft faults. Don't worry though--you can be rough with it if you are careless or if you want to.

If you were to find yourself upside down through no fault of your own (guess it would have to be, since you can't get there under normal circumstances), e.g. turbulence or wake, alternate laws for recovery would take effect and give you the control to recover the aircraft.

Its a pretty cool jet, let me tell ya'. At first, I was aghast that those Frenchys would design something that took control out of my hands, but after I flew it a bit, I realized that safety is the name of the game, and this is one amazingly safe airliner.

 

[TwinTails]

Thanks Eagleflip, yeah off the subject a little but I got a curious.

 

[ShawnC]

Can't you disable the control law computer and give the pilot direct access to the controls?

 

[dispatchguy]

Does the phrase "Open the pod bay door HAL" mean anything?

Fifi doesnt like being messed with, even in direct flight control law (if my rudimentary understanding is correct), youre still talking to the flight control computers thru the side-stick controller, there is no direct mechanical connection from the side stick controller with the control surfaces.