Flight Test Techniques for Aircraft Parameter Estimation in Ground Effect
Abstract
The effect of ground proximity on the performance and handling of an aircraft has received extensive study, particularly in the wind tunnel. Previous research, however, provides few consistent quantitative conclusions regarding ground effect, and flight test methods for directly measuring ground effect are needed. This effort identifies flight test maneuvers suitable for measuring aircraft stability and control parameters in ground effect, using simulated response data and pEst, a parameter estimation program developed at NASA-Dryden. This study also considers the effects of instrument precision, system sampling rate, instrument bias, and response noise. Five simple longitudinal and eleven lateral-directional maneuvers that allow accurate parameter estimation, keep the aircraft in ground effect, and do not result in responses that are unsafe in ground proximity are identified. The longitudinal maneuvers provide accurate lift and moment parameters, and the lateral-directional analysis estimates all fifteen lateral-directional derivatives of interest within ten percent of their simulated values.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA270058
Entities
People
- James M. Clark
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology