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Flight test techniques used to evaluate performance benefits during formation flight
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Vachon, M. Jake SaintJohn, Clinton Ray, Ronald J. Cobleigh, Brent R. |
| Copyright Year | 2002 |
| Description | The Autonomous Formation Flight research project has been implemented at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center to demonstrate the benefits of formation flight and develop advanced technologies to facilitate exploiting these benefits. Two F/A-18 aircraft have been modified to precisely control and monitor relative position, and to determine performance of the trailing airplane. Flight test maneuvers and analysis techniques have been developed to determine the performance advantages, including drag and fuel flow reductions and improvements in range factor. By flying the trailing airplane through a matrix of lateral, longitudinal, and vertical offset positions, a detailed map of the performance benefits has been obtained at two flight conditions. Significant performance benefits have been obtained during this flight test phase. Drag reductions of more than 20 percent and fuel flow reductions of more than 18 percent have been measured at flight conditions of Mach 0.56 and an altitude of 25,000 ft. The results show favorable agreement with published theory and generic predictions. An F/A-18 long-range cruise mission at Mach 0.8 and an altitude of 40,000 ft has been simulated in the optimum formation position and has demonstrated a 14-percent fuel reduction when compared with a controlled chase airplane of similar configuration. |
| File Size | 1643413 |
| Page Count | 25 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20030005804 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t6159jc89 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2002-08-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance Flight Tests Drag Transonic Speed Fuel Flow Autonomy Formation Flying Mach Number Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
