Flight Test of the F/a-18 Active Aeroelastic Wing Airplane

Download or read book Flight Test of the F/a-18 Active Aeroelastic Wing Airplane written by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Successful flight-testing of the Active Aeroelastic Wing airplane was completed in March 2005. This program, which started in 1996, was a joint activity sponsored by NASA, Air Force Research Laboratory, and industry contractors. The test program contained two flight test phases conducted in early 2003 and early 2005. During the first phase of flight test, aerodynamic models and load models of the wing control surfaces and wing structure were developed. Design teams built new research control laws for the Active Aeroelastic Wing airplane using these flight-validated models; and throughout the final phase of flight test, these new control laws were demonstrated. The control laws were designed to optimize strategies for moving the wing control surfaces to maximize roll rates in the transonic and supersonic flight regimes. Control surface hinge moments and wing loads were constrained to remain within hydraulic and load limits. This paper describes briefly the flight control system architecture as well as the design approach used by Active Aeroelastic Wing project engineers to develop flight control system gains. Additionally, this paper presents flight test techniques and comparison between flight test results and predictions.Clarke, Robert and Allen, Michael J. and Dibley, Ryan P. and Gera, Joseph and Hodgkinson, JohnArmstrong Flight Research CenterAEROELASTICITY; FLIGHT CONTROL; FLIGHT TESTS; AEROELASTIC RESEARCH WINGS; AIRCRAFT CONTROL; FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS; AIRCRAFT DESIGN; AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS; WING OSCILLATIONS