PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY OF HYPERVELOCITY AIRCRAFT FLYING ON A MINOR CIRCLE,
Abstract
The equations of motion pertinent to the study of steady and perturbed motion of a rigid vehicle flying on a minor circle at constant altitude above a spherical non-rotating Earth are derived. Solutions to the steady-state equations (performance) and perturbation equations (stability) are presented in the form of altitude-speed regions where flight is possible, and root loci, respectively. The linearization of the perturbation equations is examined and performance boundaries are discussed. The principal conclusions are that steady flight is limited mainly by available thrust, and that characteristic oscillations about steady flight condition are poorly damped. Minor instabilities were found in all cases examined. New characteristics not present in conventional flight, are discussed-they involve the movement of the vehicle mass-centre relative to the flight trajectory. A representative vehicle was chosen for which numerical values were obtained. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0687444
Entities
People
- A. M. Drummond
Organizations
- University of Toronto