A Concluding Study of the Altitude Determination Deficiencies of the Service Aircraft Instrumentation Package (SAIP)

Abstract

Previous research at the Naval Postgraduate School addressed the aerodynamic effects that caused the altitude determination errors in the Service Aircraft Instrumentation package (SAIP). This thesis builds on the previous work and focused on establishing a correction for the SAIP using both aerodynamic and atmospheric corrections to the Extended Area Test System (EATS) system evaluator program. By using a quadratic function of Mach number to estimate the Cp, the aerodynamic errors can be reduced to enable the SAIP to measure altitude correctly to within 100 ft for velocities up to Mach 0.8. This correction is used to modify the static pressure read by the SAIP. Further flight tests will have to be accomplished to determine the correction for a range of altitudes and aircrafts. The atmospheric errors can be corrected by analyzing the sounding data generated by the Geophysics Department at Pt. Mugu and substituting actual lapse rate information into the standard altitude equation. This model is shown to predict altitudes to within 200 feet up through 60,000 feet. Pitot-static system calibration, Static pressure measurements.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 25, 1993
Accession Number
ADA263515

Entities

People

  • Daniel G. Sergent

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Aeronautics
  • Altitude
  • Dynamic Pressure
  • Instrumentation
  • Inversion
  • Lapse Rate
  • Mach Number
  • Measurement
  • Pressure Measurement
  • Sea Level
  • Standards
  • Static Pressure
  • Temperature Inversion
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional
  • Uss Nimitz

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.