Operating Techniques and Maintenance Considerations for Air Inlet Controls in Airline Service

The supersonic transport will introduce into commercial service for the first time variable geometry air inlets and their related control systems. This paper discusses air inlet control system function and the effect of control performance on aircraft operation. The impact of these additional control functions on cockpit procedures is discussed along with possible in-flight troubleshooting techniques. Ground support equipment provisions must be integrated into the system design to assure dispatch reliability of the aircraft. The effect of component reliability on dispatch reliability and maintainability is presented.