INTRODUCTION TO [yeTrtel MMA AelKe) Thomas W. StrganacINTRODUCTION TO FLIGHT TEST ENGINEERING Second Edition Revised Printing Donald T. Ward and Thomas W. Strganac Texas A&MCopyright © 1996 by Donald T. Ward ‘Copyright © 1998, 2001 by Donald T. Ward and Thomas W. Strganae. Revised Printing ISBN 0-7872-7500-X ‘Kendall Hunt Publishing Company has the exclusive rights to reproduce this work, to prepare derivative works from this work, to publicly distribute this work, to publicly perform this work and to publily display this work. ‘All sights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any ‘means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, ‘without the prior written permission of Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Printed inthe United States of America 098765432PREFACE i ‘The purpose of this book is to consolidate the fundamental principles used in classical performance and flying qualities flight testing of manned aircraft. intended for use as ‘an introductory text for undergraduate students or as a self-teaching reference for an en- gineer newly engaged in flight tests. Worked examples are included in each chapter. The first half of the book covers performance measurements. Chapter 1 is devoted to an overview of why flight tests are conducted and what the most important constraints are. Chapter 2 reviews the standard atmosphere and applies basic aerodynamic equations to the basic measurement system found in virtually every airplane, the pitot-static system. ‘erated tum, and the level acceleration fight test methods. Chapter 4 briefly introduces propulsion systems, both for propelier-driven and jet-powered airplanes and summarizes Useful relationships for determining range and endurance for such airplanes. Speed power flight tests commonly used to collect cruise performance data are introduced to close out this chapter. Chapter 5 rounds out the performance section of the book by out- lining the equations used to estimate takeoff and landing performance and then describing measurements that must be taken to document appropriate measures of merit during these critical phases of fight. ‘The second half of the book deals with aircraft stability and control, concentrating on measurements that must be made to ascertain flying qualities. Chapter 6 covers the foun- dations of longitudinal static stability, concluding with a discussion of the fight test tech- niques often used to obtain such data. Chapter 7 does the same thing for maneuvering stability. Chapter 8 summarizes both the theoretical differences in the equations of mation ‘and the fight test methods used to measure static lateral-directional stability. Chapter 9 is ‘a concise summary of dynamic stability and control for both symmetric (longitudinal) mo- tions and asymmetric (lateral-directional) ones. The importance of qualitative pilot ratings in describing aircraft flying qualities and their usefulness as @ communications too! be- tween the test pilot and the test engineer are stressed. The chapter concludes with a dis- cussion of typical fight test techniques, including several practical ways of interpreting dy- namic response data. Chapter 10 introduces post-stall fight tests, intending to interest the beginning flight test student in more advanced topics. Gratitude is due to many people. First and foremost, for their unflagging support, | thank my family, especially my wife, Joyce. It is due to her patience with my early and late hours that the manuscript is finally finished. She also encouraged me throughout my twenty-seven years in the flight test profession, even though she undoubtedly often won- dered why | was so obsessed. | thank her and dedicate this effort to her. All the students who have been exposed to my attempts fo teach this subject at the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, at Texas A&M, at the University of Kansas, and at the United States Air Force Academy have contributed in no small way to this effort. Finally, thanks are due to all of the colleagues who reviewed these pages. Dr. Richard Howard of the Naval Postgraduate School deserves special mention for his contributions both as a PhD ‘student who understood the practicality of the subject and as a peer who made insightful suggestions. The faculty of the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M Unt versity were wholly supportive, especially Dr. Walter Haisler, Dr. John Junkins, and Dr. ‘Tom Pollock. | hope this subject will provide as much pleasure and challenge to the reader as the writing of this book has brought to me. Donald T. Ward March 1993,v PREFACE (Continued) Preface to the Second Edition The second edition of Introduction to Flight Test Engineering has been expanded to include a new chapter (Chapter 10) outlining the background and techniques used to Prepare for aeroelastic flight tests, a subject usually ignored in such an introductory vol- ume. This addition is the major change in this edition. Of course, the other material has been slightly rearranged to accommodate this insertion and known errors in these other chapters have been corrected. Dr. Thomas W. Strganac, joins me in providing this new material. This new addition to the text is based largely on the teaching experience of both authors, notably on their short course, taught since 1991, titled "Hazardous Flight Tests". This course, sponsored by the Continuing Education Division of the University of Kansas, has provided much of the new material. We are very appreciative of the assistance pro- vided by Mrs. Jan Roskam and her staff in this endeavor. Donald T. Ward July 1998 Of course, both of us are indebted to even more individuals than were mentioned in the original preface for their help in producing this text. | am indebted to those individuals who provided the many invaluable experiences afforded me during my 15 years as an engineer with NASA and 9 years on the faculty at Texas A&M University. The development and presentation of the "Hazardous Flight Test” short course with my co-author has been an extremely rewarding experience and collaboration. | dedicate my efforts as an engineer, researcher, and professor to my family. Sincere appreciation is given to my wife, Kathy, who has selflessly supported my pursuit of my professional interests. To my son, Christo- her, who has begun to build his educational foundation in his desired profession (Pale- ontology) at the University of Texas, and to my daughter, Kasey, who continues to follow her love of life and horses, | hope the two of you will pursue your dreams with devotion. Thomas W. Strganac July 1998TABLE OF CONTENTS v Chapter. Section CHAPTER 1 Planning, Discipline, and Safety 4.1. Why Flight Test?. 1.2 Types of Flight Test. 1.24 ‘Stage of Development 1.22 Developmental Versus Operational Testing. 1.3 Factors to be Considered in Test Planning 1.3.1 Safety. 1.3.2 Cost 1.3.3 Schedule 1.4 Summary CHAPTER 2 Pitot-Static System Calibration... 24 i i 22 2.2.1 Freestream Static Methods .... 2.2.1.1 ‘Tower Flyby Method. 2.2.1.2 Pacer Aircraft Technique 22.2 True Airspeed Methods... 22.3 Factors Affecting Position Error Measurements 23° Summary... BSRNBVRSaART AVA ooaanonaas CHAPTER 3 Ciimb, Descent, and Tum Performance Test 3.1 Theoretical Foundations 3.1.1 Goveming Equations. 3.1.1.1 Steady State Approximation .. 3.1.1.2 Accelerated Climb Equation 3.1.2 The Energy Approximation... 3.1.3 Forces in a Level, Unaccelerated Tum.. 3.1.3.1 Types of Tuming Performance .. 3.1.3.2. Limitations on Tuming Perfomance 3.1.3.2.1 Thrust-Limited (or Power-Limited) ‘Tuming Performance. 3.1.3.2.2 Lift-Limited Tuming PerformanceTABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Chapter. Section Poge Number 3.2 3.3 CHAPTER 4 Cruise Performance Tests 44 42 43 3.4, 3 Load-Limited (Structural) Turing Per- formance 3.1.4 Experimental Versus Analytical Pe 3.1.4.1 Experimental Methods... 3.1.4.2 Analytical Methods... Climb Performance Test Methods... 3.2.1 Climb Schedule Determination 3.2.1.1 Sawtooth Climb Method. 3.2.1.2 Level Acceleration Method 3.2.2 Performance Climbs... 3.2.2.1 Performance Climb Procedures. 3.2.2.2 Performance Climb Data Reduction.. 3.2.2.3 Summary of Rate of Climb Corrections. 3.2.3 Tum Performance Flight Test Techniques... 3.2.3.1 Level, Unaccelerated Tum Technique. 3.2.3.2 Level Acceleration Technique. ‘Summary...... Theoretical Foundations Att Propelier-Driven Aircraft 4.1.1.1 Propeller Efficiency. 4.1.1.2 Power Available... 4.1.1.3 Corrections to BHP Available 4.1.2 Jet-Powered Aircraft. 4.1.2.1 Buckingham's Pi Theorem. 4.1.2.2. Combining Engine and Airframe Parameters. 413 Endurance... 4.1.3.1 Propeller-Driven Aircraft... 4.1.3.2 Jet-Powered Aircraft. 414 Range J 4.1.4.1 Propeller-Driven Aircraft. 4.1.4.2 Jet-Powered Aircraft. Cruise Performance Test Methods... 4.24 ‘Speed-Power Test Method for Propelier-Driven Airplanes. 422 ‘Speed-Power Test Method for Jet-Powered Airplanes Summary .... 73 75 75 80 81 81 83 83 Rees