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A flight test to demonstrate flutter and evaluate the flutterometer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

R. Lind
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Florida, USA
D. F. Voracek
Affiliation:
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, USA
R. Truax
Affiliation:
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, USA
T. Doyle
Affiliation:
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, USA
S. Potter
Affiliation:
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, USA
M. Brenner
Affiliation:
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, USA

Abstract

A project was recently completed that investigated the ability to predict the onset of flutter using tools like the flutterometer. This project used an experiment called the aerostructures test wing that was flown while mounted to the flight test fixture on an F-15. Several flight tests were conducted to expand the envelope and determine the aeroelastic dynamics of the experiment. The final flight ended with destruction of the experiment due to the onset of flutter. The flutterometer attempted to predict this onset by analysing the flight data. The results indicate the flutterometer is able to generate a conservative estimate of the flight conditions associated with flutter. This paper details the flight tests of the experiment and the resulting predictions from the flutterometer.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2003 

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