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The longitudinal dynamic stability and control of a large receiver aircraft during air-to-air refuelling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

A. W. Bloy ,
K. A. M. Ali  and
V. Trochalidis
A. W. Bloy
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Manchester
K. A. M. Ali
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Manchester
V. Trochalidis
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Manchester
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Summary

The longitudinal stability and control of a large receiver aircraft was considered during air-to-air refuelling. A simple horseshoe vortex was used to model the tanker wake and approximate expressions were derived for the additional aerodynamic derivatives due to the position and attitude of the receiver aircraft within the downwash field. These derivatives were shown to depend on the mean variation of downwash with vertical displacement at the receiver wing and tailplane. The mean downwash gradients, in turn, depend mainly on the vertical separation between the tanker and receiver aircraft and the ratio of the tanker-to-receiver aircraft wing spans. Solutions of the linearised equations of motion were obtained for a range of values of the downwash gradients. The large receiver aircraft, considered in the paper, typically exhibits two divergent modes which appear to be controlled in flight by frequent alternate movement of the elevators and engine throttle.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 91 , Issue 902 , February 1987 , pp. 64 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1987 

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References

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