The Referred Weight Flight Test Technique Applied to First of Class Flight Trials.

Abstract

The referred weight flight test technique has been used by the RAN to establish Ship Helicopter Operating Limits for a number of years. This technique involves keeping the referred weight, defined as aircraft weight divided by density ratio, constant for a given flight test. The validity of using this technique has been questioned within the RAN, specifically with respect to its relevance and application to power and flight control margins. This report illustrates the relationships between power requirements, flight control positions, and referred weight by first using simplified equations to derive the mathematical relationships. To verify these relationships, the simulation code GenHel, which allows for many of the complex factors ignored in deriving the simplified equations, has been applied over a wide range of conditions. Results suggest that the referred weight technique is valid for conditions typically encountered during First of Class Flight Trials. The referred weight flight test technique has been used by the RAN to establish Ship Helicopter Operating Limits for a number of years. This technique involves keeping the referred weight, defined as aircraft weight divided by density ratio, constant for a given flight test. The validity of using this technique has been questioned within the RAN, specifically with respect to its relevance and application to power and flight control margins. This report illustrates the relationships between power requirements, flight control positions, and referred weight by first using simplified equations to derive the mathematical relationships. To verify these relationships, the simulation code GenHel, which allows for many of the complex factors ignored in deriving the simplified equations, has been applied over a wide range of conditions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA327430

Entities

People

  • A. M. Arney

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Equations
  • Helicopters
  • Radar Target Position Simulators
  • Simulations
  • Simulators

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Theoretical Analysis.