Author Profile: Syed Aseem Ul Islam is PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, specializing in adaptive and model-predictive flight control systems. He received his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, and his master’s degree in flight dynamics and control from the University of Michigan.
In a previous article we examined the importance of a lynch-pin technology that is flight dynamics and control (FDC). We analyzed all the ways in which expertise in this area manifests itself in aircraft and munitions programs. We ended the previous article with the assertion that the establishment of a Flight Dynamics and Control Institute (FDCI) is the need of the hour.
In this article, we will attempt to outline broad goals of this FDCI, and the ingredients needed to establish such an institute keeping in mind various practical aspects.
We will examine the objectives of the FDCI and discuss how to achieve those objectives.
Note: this is not an exhaustive list, but a list of key tasks for which FDCI is needed.
Developing, Instrumenting, and Operating Wind Tunnels
Wind tunnels are often large, building-sized devices used to model aerodynamic flows that a flight vehicle may experience without having to build and fly an actual prototype.
Scale models are tested in wind tunnels to verify predictions made using aerodynamic models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. This is needed as airflow around flight vehicles is a complex phenomenon that can only ever be approximated, and never exactly modeled.
Therefore, physical experiments are always needed to investigate and verify predictions made by theory. Furthermore, data from wind tunnels is used to construct accurate mathematical flight models for flight vehicles. This is done by measuring constants called “stability derivatives” that quantify how the aircraft behaves in flight.
Not surprisingly, wind tunnels are heavily instrumented and are equipped with sensitive force and moment balances, high-speed cameras, accurate mounting systems, and power systems that supply the large amounts of power needed for the wind tunnel’s operation.
Wind tunnels are usually classified by size of their test sections and the speed at which they can move air through them. The size of the test section determines the size of the model to be tested. As a rule of thumb, larger models are better at replicating full scale effects, and thus, wind tunnels with larger test sections are preferred. However, the larger a wind tunnel gets, the more expensive it is to build and operate.
Don't Stop Here. Unlock the Rest of this Analysis Immediately
To read the rest of this deep dive -- including the honest assessments and comparative analyses that Quwa Plus members rely on -- you need access.
