Flight Vehicle Integration Panel Workshop on Pilot Induced Oscillations

Instability of the pilot/airframe combination has been a problem of manned flight. Rapid advances made in aviation following World War 2 greatly increased the incidence of PIO problems and the amount of research and development work aimed at understanding and mitigating these difficulties. Criteria and requirements were developed to be used in design to obtain satisfactory PIO qualities, but, in spite of all this work and the great flexibility in available modern control design technologies, PIO problems still often occur with new aircraft. It is clear that a universal solution of the PIO problem still evades the engineering community. The cost of these problems financially and in program delay is significant. This AGARD Flight Mechanics Workshop summary report contains presentations and discussions that aim toward the elimination and avoidance of PIO's by increasing the knowledge of PIO's and the problems associated with them.