Pilot-induced oscillation is a frightening aspect of pitch control of an aircraft. Numerous planes have been set into pilot-induced oscillation due to the phase lag of the human in the loop control.

On a warm summer morning at Princeton University, aerospace engineer Aimy Wissa was at the university helipad, preparing to fly a remote-controlled plane. But this wasn’t just any model aircraft.

Mantra: Pitch, Power, Roll, Recover. In the case of this nose-high attitude, left-wing down attitude — pitch to unload, power to max, roll to near 90 deg. to allow nose to drop below horizon and then ...