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Formation flying benefits based on vortex lattice calculations
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Maskew, B. |
| Copyright Year | 1977 |
| Description | A quadrilateral vortex-lattice method was applied to a formation of three wings to calculate force and moment data for use in estimating potential benefits of flying aircraft in formation on extended range missions, and of anticipating the control problems which may exist. The investigation led to two types of formation having virtually the same overall benefits for the formation as a whole, i.e., a V or echelon formation and a double row formation (with two staggered rows of aircraft). These formations have unequal savings on aircraft within the formation, but this allows large longitudinal spacings between aircraft which is preferable to the small spacing required in formations having equal benefits for all aircraft. A reasonable trade-off between a practical formation size and range benefit seems to lie at about three to five aircraft with corresponding maximum potential range increases of about 46 percent to 67 percent. At this time it is not known what fraction of this potential range increase is achievable in practice. |
| File Size | 1178792 |
| Page Count | 58 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19770013076 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t3fz22q7p |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1977-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Aerodynamics Flight Tests Aerodynamic Drag Vortices Vortex Lattice Method Flight Paths Aircraft Maneuvers Flight Control Mach Number Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
