Aerodynamics and Hovering Control of LTA Vehicles
Abstract
Recent U.S. Navy interest in air vehicles for application to advanced naval missions has pointed out a need for technology development in certain areas to support parametric and point design studies in the Advanced Naval Vehicle Concepts Evaluation (ANVCE) program. Among those technologies requiring study were the aerodynamics and precision hover control characteristics of Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) vehicles. LTA, or buoyant assisted lift, vehicles offer potentially significant increases in on-station endurance over conventional aircraft. To evaluate fully this potential, however, it is important to have a sound aerodynamic description of these aircraft that can be relied upon to give accurate representations of their performance, stability and control requirements. The present study is intended to provide a basis for the aerodynamic characterization of LTA vehicles suited to parametric studies, point design and even preliminary design efforts. The study employs combinations of applicable theory, experiment and empiricisms to represent the aerodynamic characteristics of conventional airship (body-of-revolution) and delta shapes, the latter shape having applicability to hybrid aircraft utilizing both aerodynamic and aerostatic lift. Additionally, the potential of boundary layer control for drag reduction in conventional airships is reviewed and the basic aspects of hovering control of LTA vehicles are developed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA045315
Entities
People
- H. C. Curtiss Jr.
- J. J. Traybar
- M. Maughmer
- W. F. Putman
Organizations
- Princeton University