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Autonomous airborne refueling demonstration: phase i flight-test results
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Nabaa, Nassib Dibley, Ryan P. Allen, Michael J. |
| Copyright Year | 2007 |
| Description | The first phase of the Autonomous Airborne Refueling Demonstration (AARD) project was completed on August 30, 2006. The goal of this 15-month effort was to develop and flight-test a system to demonstrate an autonomous refueling engagement using the Navy style hose-and-drogue air-to-air refueling method. The prime contractor for this Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored program was Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), Sparks, Nevada. The responsible flight-test organization was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), Edwards, California, which also provided the F/A-18 receiver airplane (McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois). The B-707-300 tanker airplane (The Boeing Company) was contracted through Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, and the optical tracking system was contracted through OCTEC Ltd., Bracknell, Berkshire, United Kingdom. Nine research flights were flown, testing the functionality and performance of the system in a stepwise manner, culminating in the plug attempts on the final flight. Relative position keeping was found to be very stable and accurate. The receiver aircraft was capable of following the tanker aircraft through turns while maintaining its relative position. During the last flight, six capture attempts were made, two of which were successful. The four misses demonstrated excellent characteristics, the receiver retreating from the drogue in a controlled, safe, and predictable manner that precluded contact between the drogue and the receiver aircraft. The position of the receiver aircraft when engaged and in position for refueling was found to be 5.5 to 8.5 ft low of the ideal position. The controller inputs to the F/A-18 were found to be extremely small. |
| File Size | 12432335 |
| Page Count | 19 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20070028418 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t3tt9kt8d |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2007-08-20 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance Controllers Flight Tests Pilotless Aircraft Head-up Displays Inertial Navigation Global Positioning System Aircraft Pilots Air To Air Refueling F-18 Aircraft Autonomy Tanker Aircraft Towed Bodies Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
