Archives For test pilot

3 Factors in Airplane Design – Airplanes by Design

Every engineer has their own opinion about aircraft design, but there are three important characteristics of an airplane that the end user cares about: 1) Performance, 2) Flying Qualities, and 3) Systems. What makes airplane design difficult is that you cannot change one without changing the others. I’ll illustrate with pictures of the F-35 JSF.

 

Performance
Performance answers questions like: How high, and how fast? For example, how fast can the F-35 accelerate from 0.8M to 1.2M, the critical transonic region? A glance at it’s underside reveals a large cross-section, a weakness that mother nature exploits with wave drag. Initial design called for longer and more slender, but it was too tail heavy.

 

Systems
Systems allow the pilot to use the airplane to get it’s job done. In the case of the F-35, that’s to fly and fight. You can see part of the DAS (distributed aperture system), a collection of sensors, that appears as a bump under the nose of the aircraft below. Systems are needed to get the job done but add drag and take up valuable real estate inside the airplane.

 

Flying Qualities
Understanding how the airplane responds to mother nature’s laws will reveal how it responds when pilots ask it to turn tighter while looking over the shoulder in a dogfight. That’s the objective of flying qualities testing like high alpha and spin testing, as shown here. Pilots want the airplane to be responsive and maneuverable, but that can make it unexpectedly hard to fly in places like high angles of attack.

__________________________________________________

Airplanes by Design features photographs of aircraft from a test pilot perspective, highlighting aeronautical engineering characteristics and flight test facts. To see all of the these pictures (and many more of this aircraft and it’s unique design characteristics), click here. You will always be able to access any of these pictures by selecting the Flickr icon in the top menu bar.

Click here to read more about this airplane. 

WANTED: Your pictures and videos.

Send a message to @FlightTestFact on Twitter to share your Airplanes by Design stories and photos. See more Flight Test photos on Pinterest too.

In Airplane, Flight Test , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

More Systems Flight Test Techniques — ABCs of FTTs #12

This new column will feature a brief description, photo or video, and/or reference that talks about a Flight Test Technique that students at USAF Test Pilot School are currently learning. It’s an alphabetical list of FTTs together with a chronological account of what future test pilots and flight test engineers are doing right now. It will complement the previous Friday’s FTT tweets as well.

taws_2What is an FTT? It is the fundamental maneuver building block used by flight test engineers and experimental test pilots.

If you are wondering “what is a systems FTT?” then start here.

Examples of systems flight test on civil aircraft include TAWS–terrain avoidance and warning system.

Terrain awareness and avoidance are one of the hottest areas of system flight test, research and development.

TAWS (terrain avoidance warning system)–a terrain database integrated with an aircraft navigation system and multi-function displays.

@NASADryden and @LockheedMartin have been been flight testing Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology integrated with the aircraft flight control system/autopilot on an F-16 flying test bed at Edwards AFB. Click here for the NASA website, photos, and videos about the project.

3 Videos
NASA’s Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System from @AvWeekGuy:
1. Overview: Training and Flying NASA’s ACAT Flying Test Bed

2. F-16 low level from Lake Owens to Sierra Nevada Mountains

3. Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) are also designed to increase terrain awareness:  @GulfstreamAero /Honeywell SVS Flight Test

Previous: Doublets and Singlets

 

__________________________________________________

This post summarizes references and #FTT tweets from the previous Friday. What is #FTT Friday?

#FTT Friday
Each Friday, @FlightTestFact will deliver examples, definitions, and explanations of flight test techniques for the entire day. You can view these tweets by searching for #FTT and #flighttest as depicted below. You can also click on the picture below to be taken to the twitter search results. What FTT would you like to know more about?


For more information, you can read the post What is an FTT? or check out the alphabetical index or the FTT blog category for several examples, test cards, and videos of FTTs.

In ABCs of FTTs, Flight Test, FTT, Video , , ,
permalink

ETPS Flying Test Beds – Airplanes by Design

Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS) is the UK’s test pilot school located at Boscombe Downs, UK.  On final approach to their primary runway, one passes the ancient wonder Stonehenge, which is quite a treat.

I was able to visit ETPS as a student at the USAF TPS.  While there, I flew their ASTRA Hawk, an Alpha Jet, and a Tornado, one of the few remaining variable sweep wing aircraft.  Unfortunately, two of these aircraft are no longer presented on the ETPS website.

The ASTRA Hawk

 

The Hawk aircraft at ETPS is a variable stability simulator, with an onboard computer that allows it to emulate the flying qualities of almost anything, including many other aircraft. This picture reveals the aircraft’s tail anhedral and some aerodynamic bandaids like a wing fence.

The Saab Gripen

Another primary curriculum aircraft is the Saab Gripen.

QinetiQ also operates a high fidelity simulator as part of the curriculum for R&D.

 

__________________________________________________

Airplanes by Design features photographs of aircraft from a test pilot perspective, highlighting aeronautical engineering characteristics and flight test facts. You will always be able to access any of these pictures by selecting the Flickr or Pinterest icon in the top menu bar.

WANTED: Your pictures and videos.

Send a message to @FlightTestFact on Twitter to share your Airplanes by Design stories and photos.

In Airplane , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink