As 2003 draws to a close, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
researchers have completed a milestone series of evaluation flights
for a revolutionary flight control system that could enable future
aircraft suffering major system failures or combat damage to be
flown to a safe, controlled landing. The Intelligent Flight Control
System, aboard a highly-modified NASA F-15B, focuses on development
of "self-learning" neural network software for aircraft control
computers. In its final form, the software would compare data from
how the aircraft and its systems are operating with a database of
how it would normally operate, and automatically adjust the flight
controls to compensate for any damage or inoperative control
surfaces or systems.