Stability and Control of Conventional and Unconventional Aircraft Configurations: A Generic Approach - Taschenbuch

Comparing early flight vehicle performance with that of the most advanced aerospace vehicles in operation today reveals that technological advances have multiplied the initial performance expectations. Common to all flight vehicles is the stringent demand to be stable and controllable, both characteristics being primary requirements for flight safety. The breed of forthcoming blended or integrated advanced flight vehicles does promise exciting performance improvements while resulting in additional stability and control design challenges. Since the provision of satisfactory stability and control characteristics invariably compromises flight performance to some extent, it is essential in today's unforgiving environment, to integrate performance-optimal stability and control design solutions into the initial flight vehicle concept. This material was first presented as a Ph.D. thesis with the title Development of a Stability and Control Methodology for the Conceptual Design of Conventional and Unconventional Aircraft Configurations at Cranfield University, England. The conception of a stability and control method is presented, capable of sizing the primary control effectors of fixed wing subsonic to hypersonic designs of conventional and unconventional configuration layout. Control power demands are harmonised with static, dynamic, and manoeuvre stability requirements, while taking the six-degree-of-freedom trim state into account. The stability and control analysis solves the static and dynamic equations of motion using aerodynamics models generated internally by a non-linear vortex lattice method. The true complexity of the research undertaking is hidden in the objective, which is to develop a configuration-independent (generic) vehicle design methodology concept. The inclusion of asymmetric vehicle designs in addition to symmetric vehicle types contributed significantly to the overall technical complexity and level of abstraction. In conclusion, the researcher is c