General Handling-Qualities Results Obtained During Acceptance Flight Tests of the Bell XS-1 Airplane
Abstract
During the acceptance tests conducten by the Bell Aircraft Corporation on the :Bell XS-1 transonic research airplane, NACA instruments were installen to measure the stability and control ~haracteristice and the aerodynamic loads. Teste were made in gliding flight. and. in povered .flight. Two Bell XS-1 airplanes were used. during the progra.m.j one airplane had wing and. tail thicknesses of' 10 percent and 8 percent of' the chord, respectively, and the other airplane had wing and tail thicknesses of' 8 percent. ani 6 percent of' the chord, respect! vely. The results f'or the stability and control measurements are presented in .-this paper. In general, the handling qual! ties of' the :Bell XS-1 airplane are satisf'actory in the f'light range from mtniillUlll. speen to a Mach number o.r about 0.8, and the airplsne should be eatief'actory f'or use as a research vehicle. The longitudinal stability was positive but low :for all condi tiona tested. The. directional stabtli ty was exceptionally high, and. the lateral stability was positive throughout the speed range tested. Aileron control vas adequate. Tha stalling characteristics were considered satisf'actory with stall warning in the form of' buff'eting. The large amount of f'riction tn the control system, coupled with low control-operating f'orces, made exact control of' the airplane diff'icult. There was no appreciable d.if'ference in the handling qualities of' the Bell XS-1 with the 10-percent-thick wing and with the 8-percentthi ck wing in the speed. range tested.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 19, 1948
- Accession Number
- ADA801479
Entities
People
- Beverly P. Brown
- Charles M. Forsyth
- Walter C. Williams
Organizations
- National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics