KSC-06pd2649

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky is ready to begin practice flights on the shuttle training aircraft (STA) three days before launch. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Analysis of the staging maneuver and booster glideback guidance for a two-stage, winged, fully reusable launch vehicle. M.S. Thesis - George Washington Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naftel, J. Christopher; Powell, Richard W.

1993-01-01

One of the promising launch concepts that could replace the current space shuttle launch system is a two-stage, winged, vertical-takeoff, fully reusable launch vehicle. During the boost phase of ascent, the booster provides propellant for the orbiter engines through a cross-feed system. When the vehicle reaches a Mach number of 3, the booster propellants are depleted and the booster is staged and glides unpowered to a horizontal landing at a launch site runway. Two major design issues for this class of vehicle are the staging maneuver and the booster glideback. For the staging maneuver analysis, a technique was developed that provides for a successful separation of the booster from the orbiter over a wide range of staging angles of attack. A longitudinal flight control system was developed for control of the booster during the staging maneuver. For the booster glide back analysis, a guidance algorithm was developed that successfully guides the booster from the completion of the staging maneuver to a launch site runway while encountering many off-nominal atmospheric, aerodynamic, and staging conditions.

Ground crewmen help guide the alignment of the X-40A as the experimental craft is gently lowered to the ground by a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter following a captive-carry test flight

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-12-08

Ground crewmen help guide the alignment of the X-40 technology demonstrator as the experimental craft is gently lowered to the ground by a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter following a captive-carry test flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-40 is an unpowered 82 percent scale version of the X-37, a Boeing-developed spaceplane designed to demonstrate various advanced technologies for development of future lower-cost access to space vehicles. The X-37 will be carried into space aboard a space shuttle and then released to perform various maneuvers and a controlled re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere to an airplane-style landing on a runway, controlled entirely by pre-programmed computer software. Following a series of captive-carry flights, the X-40 made several free flights from a launch altitude of about 15,000 feet above ground, gliding to a fully autonomous landing. The captive carry flights helped verify the X-40's navigation and control systems, rigging angles for its sling, and stability and control of the helicopter while carrying the X-40 on a tether.

X-24A in Powered Flight after Drop from B-52 Mothership

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1970-01-01

The X-24A lights its XLR-11 rocket engine and begins its powered flight after being drop launched from its B-52 mothership, seen here with high-altitude contrails streaming from its wings against a piercingly dark blue sky. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph-Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a 'flying flatiron' shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station.

Study on bird's & insect's wing aerodynamics and comparison of its analytical value with standard airfoil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Md. Nesar; Alam, Mahbubul; Hossain, Md. Abed; Ahmed, Md. Imteaz

2017-06-01

Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird & insect species. This article discusses the mechanics of bird flight, with emphasis on the varied forms of bird's & insect's wings. The fundamentals of bird flight are similar to those of aircraft. Flying animals flap their wings to generate lift and thrust as well as to perform remarkable maneuvers with rapid accelerations and decelerations. Insects and birds provide illuminating examples of unsteady aerodynamics. Lift force is produced by the action of air flow on the wing, which is an airfoil. The airfoil is shaped such that the air provides a net upward force on the wing, while the movement of air is directed downward. Additional net lift may come from airflow around the bird's & insect's body in some species, especially during intermittent flight while the wings are folded or semi-folded. Bird's & insect's flight in nature are sub-divided into two stages. They are Unpowered Flight: Gliding and Soaring & Powered Flight: Flapping. When gliding, birds and insects obtain both a vertical and a forward force from their wings. When a bird & insect flaps, as opposed to gliding, its wings continue to develop lift as before, but the lift is rotated forward to provide thrust, which counteracts drag and increases its speed, which has the effect of also increasing lift to counteract its weight, allowing it to maintain height or to climb. Flapping flight is more complicated than flight with fixed wings because of the structural movement and the resulting unsteady fluid dynamics. Flapping involves two stages: the down-stroke, which provides the majority of the thrust, and the up-stroke, which can also (depending on the bird's & insect's wings) provide some thrust. Most kinds of bird & insect wing can be grouped into four types, with some falling between two of these types. These types of wings are elliptical wings, high speed wings, high aspect ratio wings and soaring wings with slots. Hovering is used by several species of birds. Hovering, which is generating only lift through flapping alone rather than as a product of thrust, demands a lot of energy. On the other hand, for practical knowledge we also fabricate the various bird's, insect's & fighter jet wing by using random value of parameter & test those airfoil in wind tunnel. Finally for comparison & achieving analytical knowledge we also test those airfoil model in various simulation software.

X-24B on Lakebed Showing Upper Body Shape

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The sleek, futuristic shape of the X-24B lifting body research vehicle can be clearly seen in this look-down view of the aircraft on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph-Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a 'flying flatiron' shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

KSC-06pd2657

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein is suited and ready to begin practice flights on the shuttle training aircraft (STA) two days before launch. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2656

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein (right) is suited and ready to begin practice flights on the shuttle training aircraft (STA) two days before launch. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

New model of flap-gliding flight.

PubMed

Sachs, Gottfried

2015-07-21

A new modelling approach is presented for describing flap-gliding flight in birds and the associated mechanical energy cost of travelling. The new approach is based on the difference in the drag characteristics between flapping and non-flapping due to the drag increase caused by flapping. Thus, the possibility of a gliding flight phase, as it exists in flap-gliding flight, yields a performance advantage resulting from the decrease in the drag when compared with continuous flapping flight. Introducing an appropriate non-dimensionalization for the mathematical relations describing flap-gliding flight, results and findings of generally valid nature are derived. It is shown that there is an energy saving of flap-gliding flight in the entire speed range compared to continuous flapping flight. The energy saving reaches the highest level in the lower speed region. The travelling speed of flap-gliding flight is composed of the weighted average of the differing speeds in the flapping and gliding phases. Furthermore, the maximum range performance achievable with flap-gliding flight and the associated optimal travelling speed are determined. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extended Range Aerial Delivery Using an Unpowered Autonomous Tailless UAV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraft, Tyler E.

An alternative approach for precision aerial delivery utilizing a flying wing for controllable forward glide is presented. Although effective, current delivery methods either display a lack of control, or require close standoff distances, potentially endangering aircraft personnel as well as bystanders. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations provide an efficient method for evaluating various wing designs and actuation configurations. Four control surface configurations are presented and evaluated, encompassing traditional aircraft and ram-air parafoil control approaches. Fixed-wing and multirotor unmanned aircraft-based flight tests were conducted to evaluate the controllability and handling performance of the various configurations of both a fixed wing model and a model with collapsing wings. A manufacturing process was developed to allow repeatable results in the field using cheap, mostly disposable materials. A powered flying wing model was used to maximize data collection in later stages of software development. Data collected during flight tests was used to create a model of the system and develop a Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion controller for autonomous flight. The NDI controller was able to provide stable flight in pitch, but will need more development to control yaw, instead an intentional bias was built in to show proof of concept for direct yaw control. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the flying wing-based aerial delivery; however, significant challenges remain regarding the stability and scalability of the system.

KSC-08pd1162

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-05-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Back at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-124 Commander Mark Kelly happily crosses the parking area after the successful space shuttle landing practice aboard NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. The crew for space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission is at Kennedy for a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT. Providing astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, TCDT includes equipment familiarization and emergency training. Discovery's launch is targeted for May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-08pd1161

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-05-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Back at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-124 Pilot Ken Ham is happy with the successful space shuttle landing practice aboard NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA. Building. Kelly and Ham will be practicing space shuttle landings. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. The crew for space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission is at Kennedy for a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT. Providing astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, TCDT includes equipment familiarization and emergency training. Discovery's launch is targeted for May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2659

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein settles in the cockpit of the shuttle training aircraft (STA) before taking off for orbiter landing practice. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2658

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein climbs toward the cockpit of the shuttle training aircraft (STA) to practice landing the orbiter. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2652

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky gets ready to take off in the shuttle training aircraft (STA) to practice landing the orbiter. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2650

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky climbs toward the cockpit of the shuttle training aircraft (STA) to practice landing the orbiter. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2660

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein settles in the cockpit of the shuttle training aircraft (STA) before taking off for orbiter landing practice. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Efficiency of lift production in flapping and gliding flight of swifts.

PubMed

Henningsson, Per; Hedenström, Anders; Bomphrey, Richard J

2014-01-01

Many flying animals use both flapping and gliding flight as part of their routine behaviour. These two kinematic patterns impose conflicting requirements on wing design for aerodynamic efficiency and, in the absence of extreme morphing, wings cannot be optimised for both flight modes. In gliding flight, the wing experiences uniform incident flow and the optimal shape is a high aspect ratio wing with an elliptical planform. In flapping flight, on the other hand, the wing tip travels faster than the root, creating a spanwise velocity gradient. To compensate, the optimal wing shape should taper towards the tip (reducing the local chord) and/or twist from root to tip (reducing local angle of attack). We hypothesised that, if a bird is limited in its ability to morph its wings and adapt its wing shape to suit both flight modes, then a preference towards flapping flight optimization will be expected since this is the most energetically demanding flight mode. We tested this by studying a well-known flap-gliding species, the common swift, by measuring the wakes generated by two birds, one in gliding and one in flapping flight in a wind tunnel. We calculated span efficiency, the efficiency of lift production, and found that the flapping swift had consistently higher span efficiency than the gliding swift. This supports our hypothesis and suggests that even though swifts have been shown previously to increase their lift-to-drag ratio substantially when gliding, the wing morphology is tuned to be more aerodynamically efficient in generating lift during flapping. Since body drag can be assumed to be similar for both flapping and gliding, it follows that the higher total drag in flapping flight compared with gliding flight is primarily a consequence of an increase in wing profile drag due to the flapping motion, exceeding the reduction in induced drag.

Efficiency of Lift Production in Flapping and Gliding Flight of Swifts

PubMed Central

Henningsson, Per; Hedenström, Anders; Bomphrey, Richard J.

2014-01-01

Many flying animals use both flapping and gliding flight as part of their routine behaviour. These two kinematic patterns impose conflicting requirements on wing design for aerodynamic efficiency and, in the absence of extreme morphing, wings cannot be optimised for both flight modes. In gliding flight, the wing experiences uniform incident flow and the optimal shape is a high aspect ratio wing with an elliptical planform. In flapping flight, on the other hand, the wing tip travels faster than the root, creating a spanwise velocity gradient. To compensate, the optimal wing shape should taper towards the tip (reducing the local chord) and/or twist from root to tip (reducing local angle of attack). We hypothesised that, if a bird is limited in its ability to morph its wings and adapt its wing shape to suit both flight modes, then a preference towards flapping flight optimization will be expected since this is the most energetically demanding flight mode. We tested this by studying a well-known flap-gliding species, the common swift, by measuring the wakes generated by two birds, one in gliding and one in flapping flight in a wind tunnel. We calculated span efficiency, the efficiency of lift production, and found that the flapping swift had consistently higher span efficiency than the gliding swift. This supports our hypothesis and suggests that even though swifts have been shown previously to increase their lift-to-drag ratio substantially when gliding, the wing morphology is tuned to be more aerodynamically efficient in generating lift during flapping. Since body drag can be assumed to be similar for both flapping and gliding, it follows that the higher total drag in flapping flight compared with gliding flight is primarily a consequence of an increase in wing profile drag due to the flapping motion, exceeding the reduction in induced drag. PMID:24587260

Subsonic stability and control derivatives for an unpowered, remotely piloted 3/8-scale F-15 airplane model obtained from flight test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iliff, K. W.; Maine, R. E.; Shafer, M. F.

1976-01-01

In response to the interest in airplane configuration characteristics at high angles of attack, an unpowered remotely piloted 3/8-scale F-15 airplane model was flight tested. The subsonic stability and control characteristics of this airplane model over an angle of attack range of -20 to 53 deg are documented. The remotely piloted technique for obtaining flight test data was found to provide adequate stability and control derivatives. The remotely piloted technique provided an opportunity to test the aircraft mathematical model in an angle of attack regime not previously examined in flight test. The variation of most of the derivative estimates with angle of attack was found to be consistent, particularly when the data were supplemented by uncertainty levels.

Performance analysis of jump-gliding locomotion for miniature robotics.

PubMed

Vidyasagar, A; Zufferey, Jean-Christohphe; Floreano, Dario; Kovač, M

2015-03-26

Recent work suggests that jumping locomotion in combination with a gliding phase can be used as an effective mobility principle in robotics. Compared to pure jumping without a gliding phase, the potential benefits of hybrid jump-gliding locomotion includes the ability to extend the distance travelled and reduce the potentially damaging impact forces upon landing. This publication evaluates the performance of jump-gliding locomotion and provides models for the analysis of the relevant dynamics of flight. It also defines a jump-gliding envelope that encompasses the range that can be achieved with jump-gliding robots and that can be used to evaluate the performance and improvement potential of jump-gliding robots. We present first a planar dynamic model and then a simplified closed form model, which allow for quantification of the distance travelled and the impact energy on landing. In order to validate the prediction of these models, we validate the model with experiments using a novel jump-gliding robot, named the 'EPFL jump-glider'. It has a mass of 16.5 g and is able to perform jumps from elevated positions, perform steered gliding flight, land safely and traverse on the ground by repetitive jumping. The experiments indicate that the developed jump-gliding model fits very well with the measured flight data using the EPFL jump-glider, confirming the benefits of jump-gliding locomotion to mobile robotics. The jump-glide envelope considerations indicate that the EPFL jump-glider, when traversing from a 2 m height, reaches 74.3% of optimal jump-gliding distance compared to pure jumping without a gliding phase which only reaches 33.4% of the optimal jump-gliding distance. Methods of further improving flight performance based on the models and inspiration from biological systems are presented providing mechanical design pathways to future jump-gliding robot designs.

KSC-06pd2662

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Into the night flies the shuttle training aircraft (STA) with STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein in the pilot's seat, ready to start orbiter landing practice. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2655

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky is getting a suit fit-check after practicing landing the orbiter at the controls of the shuttle training aircraft. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2661

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Just at sunset, the shuttle training aircraft (STA), with STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein in the pilot's seat, waits on the Shuttle Landing Facility for the right moment to take off for orbiter landing practice. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2651

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky settles in the cockpit of the shuttle training aircraft (STA) before taking off to practice landing the orbiter. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2654

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky adjusts his helmet during a suit fit-check. Polansky has returned from practicing landing the orbiter at the controls of the shuttle training aircraft. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2663

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-05

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After the first practice orbiter landing, STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein heads the shuttle training aircraft (STA) back into the night sky to do it again. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2653

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The shuttle training aircraft (STA), with STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky in the pilot's seat, taxis to the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Polansky will be practicing landing the orbiter. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. Dec. 7. On the mission, the STS-116 crew will deliver truss segment, P5, to the International Space Station and begin the intricate process of reconfiguring and redistributing the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. The P5 will be mated to the P4 truss that was delivered and attached during the STS-115 mission in September. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

X-2 in flight after drop from B-50 mothership

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1956-01-01

The Bell Aircraft Company X-2 (46-674) drops away from its Boeing B-50 mothership in this photo. Lt. Col. Frank 'Pete' Everest piloted 674 on its first unpowered flight on 5 August 1954. He made the first rocket-powered flight on 18 November 1955. Everest made the first supersonic X-2 flight in 674 on 25 April 1956, achieving a speed of Mach 1.40. In July, he reached Mach 2.87, just short of the Mach 3 goal. The other X-2, 675, was written off prior to making any powered flights. An explosion during a captive flight resulted in the death of Bell test pilot Jean 'Skip' Ziegler. The X-2 was jettisoned over Lake Ontario, and the launch aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The first X-2, 674, continued flying, making a total of 17 launches. On 7 September 1956, Capt. Iven Kincheloe became the first man to exceed 100,000 feet when he reached an altitude of 126,200 feet in 674. The X-2, initially an Air Force program, was scheduled to be transferred to the civilian National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) for scientific research. The Air Force delayed turning the aircraft over to the NACA in the hope of attaining Mach 3 in the airplane. The service requested and received a two-month extension to qualify another Air Force test pilot, Capt. Miburn 'Mel' Apt, in the X-2 and attempt to exceed Mach 3. After several ground briefings in the simulator, Apt (with no previous rocket plane experience) made his flight on 27 September 1956. Apt raced away from the B-50 under full power, quickly outdistancing the F-100 chase planes. At high altitude, he nosed over, accelerating rapidly. The X-2 reached Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph) at 65,000 feet. Apt became the first man to fly more than three times the speed of sound. Still above Mach 3, he began an abrupt turn back to Edwards. This maneuver proved fatal as the X-2 began a series of diverging rolls and tumbled out of control. Apt tried to regain control of the aircraft. Unable to do so, Apt separated the escape capsule. Too late, he attempted to bail out and was killed when the capsule impacted on the Edwards bombing range. The rest of the X-2 crashed five miles away. The X-2 was a swept-wing, rocket-powered aircraft designed to fly faster than Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Bell Aircraft Company, Buffalo, New York. The X-2 was flown to investigate the problems of aerodynamic heating as well as stability and control effectiveness at high altitudes and high speeds (in excess of Mach 3). Bell aircraft built two X-2 aircraft. These were constructed of K-monel (a copper and nickel alloy) for the fuselage and stainless steel for the swept wings and control surfaces. The aircraft had ejectable nose capsules instead of ejection seats because the development of ejection seats had not reached maturity at the time the X-2 was conceived. The X-2 ejection canopy was successfully tested using a German V-2 rocket. The X-2 used a skid-type landing gear to make room for more fuel. The airplane was air launched from a modified Boeing B-50 Superfortress Bomber. X-2 Number 1 made its first unpowered glide flight on Aug. 5, 1954, and made a total of 17 (4 glide and 13 powered) flights before it was lost Sept. 27, 1956. The pilot on Flight 17, Capt. Milburn Apt, had flown the aircraft to a record speed of Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph), thus becoming the first person to exceed Mach 3. During that last flight, inertial coupling occurred and the pilot was killed. The aircraft suffered little damage in the crash, resulting in proposals (never implemented) from the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, to rebuild it for use in a hypersonic (Mach 5+) test program. In 1953, X-2 Number 2 was lost in an in-flight explosion while at the Bell Aircraft Company during captive flight trials and was jettisoned into Lake Ontario. The Air Force had previously flown the aircraft on three glide flights at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1952. Although the NACA's High-Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California, (predecessor of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center) never actually flew the X-2 aircraft, the NACA did support the program primarily through Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory wind-tunnel tests and Wallops Island, Virginia, rocket-model tests. The NACA High-Speed Flight Station also provided stability and control recording instrumentation and simulator support for the Air Force flights. In the latter regard, the NACA worked with the Air Force in using a special computer to extrapolate and predict aircraft behavior from flight data.

X-24B with Test Pilot Michael V. Love

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

This photo shows Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael V. Love in front of the X-24B lifting-body research vehicle at Edwards Air Force Base in 1973. Love was assigned as a project pilot on the joint NASA-USAF X-24B Lifting Body flight test program at the NASA Flight Research Center. He made a total of 12 flights in the plane from October 4, 1973 until July 15, 1975. Love flew it to a speed of Mach 1.76 on October 25, 1974, a record for the X-24B. Love attended the USAF Test Pilot School and remained as an instructor there from 1969 through 1971. He was a test pilot at Edwards when assigned to fly to the X-24B. Love was a combat veteran of Vietnam and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf clusters. Love perished while attempting an emergency landing in an RF-4C on March 1, 1976. The X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in the Dryden Flight Research Center's manned lifting body program. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph--Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a 'flying flatiron' shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

X-24B with Test Pilot Lt. Col. Michael V. Love

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

This photo shows Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael V. Love in front of the X-24B lifting body research vehicle at Edwards Air Force Base in 1976. Love was assigned as a project pilot on the joint NASA-USAF X-24B Lifting Body flight test program at the NASA Flight Research Center. He made a total of 12 flights in the plane from October 4, 1973 until July 15, 1975. Love flew it to a speed of Mach 1.76 on October 25, 1974, a record for the X-24B. Love attended the USAF Test Pilot School and remained as an instructor there from 1969 through 1971. He was a test pilot at Edwards when assigned to fly to the X-24B. Love was a combat veteran of Vietnam and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf clusters. Love perished while attempting an emergency landing in an RF-4C on March 1, 1976 - less than a month after this photo was taken. The X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in the Dryden Flight Research Center's manned lifting body program. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph--Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a 'flying flatiron' shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Onboard Determination of Vehicle Glide Capability for Shuttle Abort Flight Managment (SAFM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straube, Timothy; Jackson, Mark; Fill, Thomas; Nemeth, Scott

2002-01-01

When one or more main engines fail during ascent, the flight crew of the Space Shuttle must make several critical decisions and accurately perform a series of abort procedures. One of the most important decisions for many aborts is the selection ofa landing site. Several factors influence the ability to reach a landing site, including the spacecraft point of atmospheric entry, the energy state at atmospheric entry, the vehicle glide capability from that energy state, and whether one or more suitable landing sites are within the glide capability. Energy assessment is further complicated by the fact that phugoid oscillations in total energy influence glide capability. Once the glide capability is known, the crew must select the "best" site option based upon glide capability and landing site conditions and facilities. Since most of these factors cannot currently be assessed by the crew in flight, extensive planning is required prior to each mission to script a variety of procedures based upon spacecraft velocity at the point of engine failure (or failures). The results of this preflight planning are expressed in tables and diagrams on mission-specific cockpit checklists. Crew checklist procedures involve leafing through several pages of instructions and navigating a decision tree for site selection and flight procedures - all during a time critical abort situation. With the advent of the Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU), the Shuttle will have increased on-board computational power to help alleviate crew workload during aborts and provide valuable situational awareness during nominal operations. One application baselined for the CAU computers is Shuttle Abort Flight Management (SAFM), whose requirements have been designed and prototyped. The SAFM application includes powered and glided flight algorithms. This paper describes the glided flight algorithm which is dispatched by SAFM to determine the vehicle glide capability and make recommendations to the crew for site selection as well as to monitor glide capability while in route to the selected site. Background is provided on Shuttle entry guidance as well as the various types of Shuttle aborts. SAFM entry requirements and cockpit disp lays are discussed briefly to provide background for Glided Flight algorithm design considerations. The central principal of the Glided Flight algorithm is the use of energy-over-weight (EOW) curves to determine range and crossrange boundaries. The major challenges of this technique are exo-atmospheric flight, and phugoid oscillations in energy. During exo-atmospheric flight, energy is constant, so vehicle EOW is not sufficient to determine glide capability. The paper describes how the exo-atmospheric problem is solved by propagating the vehicle state to an "atmospheric pullout" state defined by Shuttle guidance parameters.

Aero Spacelines B377SG Super Guppy on Ramp Loading the X-24B and HL-10 Lifting Bodies.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The Aero Spacelines B377SG Super Guppy was at Dryden in May, 1976, to ferry the X-24 and HL-10 lifting bodies from the Center to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The oversized cargo aircraft is a further modification of the B377PG Pregnant Guppy, which was built to transport outsized cargo for NASA's Apollo program, primarily to carry portions of the Saturn V rockets from the manufacturer to Cape Canaveral. The original Guppy modification incorporated the wings, engines, lower fuselage and tail from a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser with a huge upper fuselage more than 20 feet in diameter. The Super Guppy further expanded the fuselage added a taller vertical tail for better lateral stability. A later version, the Super Guppy Turbine, is still in occasional use by NASA to transport oversize structures. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph--Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a 'flying flatiron' shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The HL-10 was delivered to the FRC by Northrop in January 1966. Its first flight was on Dec. 22 of the same year. The pilot was Bruce Peterson. The HL-10 was flown 37 times and it set several program records. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Maj. Peter Hoag flew it to 1,228 mph (Mach 1.86), fastest speed of any of the lifting bodies. Nine days later, NASA's Bill Dana flew the HL-10 to 90,303 feet, the highest altitude reached by any of the lifting body vehicles. The HL-10 was also the first lifting body to fly supersonically--on May 9, 1969, with Manke at the controls. The HL-10 featured a flat bottom and rounded top -- much like an airfoil -- and it had a delta planform. In its final configuration, three vertical fins, two of them canted outwards from the body and a tall center fin, gave the craft directional control. A flush canopy blended into the smooth rounded nose. It was about 21 feet long, with a span of 13.6 feet. Its glide-flight weight was 6,473 lbs. and its maximum gross weight was over 10,000 lbs. Flights with the HL-10 contributed substantially to the decision to design the space shuttles without air-breathing engines that would have been used for landings. Its final flight was on July 17, 1970. The HL-10 is now on public display at Dryden.

Anatomy and histochemistry of spread-wing posture in birds. 3. Immunohistochemistry of flight muscles and the "shoulder lock" in albatrosses.

PubMed

Meyers, Ron A; Stakebake, Eric F

2005-01-01

As a postural behavior, gliding and soaring flight in birds requires less energy than flapping flight. Slow tonic and slow twitch muscle fibers are specialized for sustained contraction with high fatigue resistance and are typically found in muscles associated with posture. Albatrosses are the elite of avian gliders; as such, we wanted to learn how their musculoskeletal system enables them to maintain spread-wing posture for prolonged gliding bouts. We used dissection and immunohistochemistry to evaluate muscle function for gliding flight in Laysan and Black-footed albatrosses. Albatrosses possess a locking mechanism at the shoulder composed of a tendinous sheet that extends from origin to insertion throughout the length of the deep layer of the pectoralis muscle. This fascial "strut" passively maintains horizontal wing orientation during gliding and soaring flight. A number of muscles, which likely facilitate gliding posture, are composed exclusively of slow fibers. These include Mm. coracobrachialis cranialis, extensor metacarpi radialis dorsalis, and deep pectoralis. In addition, a number of other muscles, including triceps scapularis, triceps humeralis, supracoracoideus, and extensor metacarpi radialis ventralis, were found to have populations of slow fibers. We believe that this extensive suite of uniformly slow muscles is associated with sustained gliding and is unique to birds that glide and soar for extended periods. These findings suggest that albatrosses utilize a combination of slow muscle fibers and a rigid limiting tendon for maintaining a prolonged, gliding posture.

M2-F2 flight preparation and launch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

This movie clip runs about 27 seconds and shows the cockpit canopy close-out by the ground crew, the aircraft hanging from the NB-52B wing pylon, and the M2-F2 being dropped away from the mothership. A fleet of lifting bodies flown at the NASA Flight Research Center (FRC), Edwards, California, from 1963 to l975 demonstrated the ability of pilots to maneuver (in the atmosphere) and safely land a wingless vehicle. These lifting bodies were basically designed so they could fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an aircraft at a pre-determined site. They served as precursors of today's Space Shuttle, the X-33, and the X-38, providing technical and operational engineering data that shaped all three space vehicles. (In 1976 NASA renamed the FRC as the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in honor of Hugh L. Dryden.) In 1962, FRC Director Paul Bikle approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1. Built by Gus Briegleb, a sailplane builder from El Mirage, California, it featured a plywood shell, placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at the FRC. Construction was completed in 1963. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA Ames Research Center and NASA and Langley Research Center -- the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, Los Angeles, California. The 'M' refers to 'manned' and 'F' refers to 'flight' version. 'HL' comes from 'horizontal landing' and '10' is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley. The first flight of the M2-F2 -- which looked much like the M2-F1 -- occurred on July 12, 1966. Thompson was the pilot. By then, the same B-52 used to air launch the famed X-15 rocket research aircraft had been modified to also carry the lifting bodies into the air and Thompson was dropped from the B-52 wing pylon mount at an altitude of 45,000 feet on that maiden glide flight. On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight leading up to powered flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured the NASA pilot, Bruce Peterson. Following the mishap, the M2-F2 was redesigned with a center fin as the M2-F3, which flew from 1970 to 1972. The M2-F2 weighed 4,620 pounds without ballast, was roughly 22 feet long, and had a width of about 10 feet.

Flight test results from the CV990 simulated space shuttle during unpowered automatic approaches and landings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, F. G.; Foster, J. D.

1973-01-01

Unpowered automatic approaches and landings with a CV990 aircraft were conducted to study navigation, guidance, and control problems associated with terminal area approach and landing for the space shuttle. The flight tests were designed to study from 11,300 m to touchdown the performance of a navigation and guidance concept which utilized blended radio/inertial navigation using VOR, DME, and ILS as the ground navigation aids. In excess of fifty automatic approaches and landings were conducted. Preliminary results indicate that this concept may provide sufficient accuracy to accomplish automatic landing of the shuttle orbiter without air-breathing engines on a conventional size runway.

Cruising the rain forest floor: butterfly wing shape evolution and gliding in ground effect.

PubMed

Cespedes, Ann; Penz, Carla M; DeVries, Philip J

2015-05-01

Flight is a key innovation in the evolutionary success of insects and essential to dispersal, territoriality, courtship and oviposition. Wing shape influences flight performance and selection likely acts to maximize performance for conducting essential behaviours that in turn results in the evolution of wing shape. As wing shape also contributes to fitness, optimal shapes for particular flight behaviours can be assessed with aerodynamic predictions and placed in an ecomorphological context. Butterflies in the tribe Haeterini (Nymphalidae) are conspicuous members of understorey faunas in lowland Neotropical forests. Field observations indicate that the five genera in this clade differ in flight height and behaviour: four use gliding flight at the forest floor level, and one utilizes flapping flight above the forest floor. Nonetheless, the association of ground level gliding flight behaviour and wing shape has never been investigated in this or any other butterfly group. We used landmark-based geometric morphometrics to test whether wing shapes in Haeterini and their close relatives reflected observed flight behaviours. Four genera of Haeterini and some distantly related Satyrinae showed significant correspondence between wing shape and theoretical expectations in performance trade-offs that we attribute to selection for gliding in ground effect. Forewing shape differed between sexes for all taxa, and male wing shapes were aerodynamically more efficient for gliding flight than corresponding females. This suggests selection acts differentially on male and female wing shapes, reinforcing the idea that sex-specific flight behaviours contribute to the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Our study indicates that wing shapes in Haeterini butterflies evolved in response to habitat-specific flight behaviours, namely gliding in ground effect along the forest floor, resulting in ecomorphological partitions of taxa in morphospace. The convergent flight behaviour and wing morphology between tribes of Satyrinae suggest that the flight environment may offset phylogenetic constraints. Overall, this study provides a basis for exploring similar patterns of wing shape evolution in other taxa that glide in ground effect. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2014 British Ecological Society.

KSC-06pd1906

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson is helped donning his launch suit before flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1911

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett is seen at the controls of the Shuttle Training Aircraft which he will fly to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1910

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson settles in the cockpit of the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1905

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett is helped donning his launch suit before flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1909

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett settles in the cockpit of the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1908

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett boards the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Bill Dana in front of HL-10 after flight H-24-37

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-09-03

NASA research pilot Bill Dana after his fourth free flight (1 glide and 3 powered) in the HL-10. This particular flight reached a maximum speed of Mach 1.45. Dana made a total of nine HL-10 flights (1 glide and 8 powered), and his lifting body experience as a whole included several car tow and 1 air tow flights in the M2-F1; 4 glide and 15 powered flights in the M2-F3; and 2 powered flights in the X-24B. He is wearing a pressure suit for protection against the cockpit depressurizing at high altitudes. The air conditioner box held by the ground crewman provides cool air to prevent overheating.

A Mesozoic gliding mammal from northeastern China.

PubMed

Meng, Jin; Hu, Yaoming; Wang, Yuanqing; Wang, Xiaolin; Li, Chuankui

2006-12-14

Gliding flight has independently evolved many times in vertebrates. Direct evidence of gliding is rare in fossil records and is unknown in mammals from the Mesozoic era. Here we report a new Mesozoic mammal from Inner Mongolia, China, that represents a previously unknown group characterized by a highly specialized insectivorous dentition and a sizable patagium (flying membrane) for gliding flight. The patagium is covered with dense hair and supported by an elongated tail and limbs; the latter also bear many features adapted for arboreal life. This discovery extends the earliest record of gliding flight for mammals to at least 70 million years earlier in geological history, and demonstrates that early mammals were diverse in their locomotor strategies and lifestyles; they had experimented with an aerial habit at about the same time as, if not earlier than, when birds endeavoured to exploit the sky.

X-2 on ramp with B-50 mothership and support crew

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1956-01-01

Air Force test pilot Capt. Iven Kincheloe stands in front of the Bell X-2 (46-674) on the ramp at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Behind the X-2 are ground support personnel, the B-50 launch aircraft and crew, chase planes, and support vehicles. Kincheloe had flown nearly 100 combat missions in Korea in an F-86 and was credited with shooting down 10 enemy aircraft. He then graduated from the Empire Test Pilot's School in Great Britain in December 1954, whereupon he was assigned to Edwards Air Force Base. He made four powered flights in the X-2. On September 7, 1956, he reached an altitude of 126,200 feet. After the death of Capt. Mel Apt and the loss of the X-2 #1 on September 27, 1956, in the first Mach 3 flight, Kincheloe was assigned as the Air Force project pilot for the X-15. Before he had a chance to fly that rocket-powered aircraft, Kincheloe himself lost his life on July 26, 1958, in an F-104 accident. The X-2 was a swept-wing, rocket-powered aircraft designed to fly faster than Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Bell Aircraft Company, Buffalo, New York. The X-2 was flown to investigate the problems of aerodynamic heating as well as stability and control effectiveness at high altitudes and high speeds (in excess of Mach 3). Bell aircraft built two X-2 aircraft. These were constructed of K-monel (a copper and nickel alloy) for the fuselage and stainless steel for the swept wings and control surfaces. The aircraft had ejectable nose capsules instead of ejection seats because the development of ejection seats had not reached maturity at the time the X-2 was conceived. The X-2 ejection canopy was successfully tested using a German V-2 rocket. The X-2 used a skid-type landing gear to make room for more fuel. The airplane was air launched from a modified Boeing B-50 Superfortress Bomber. X-2 Number 1 made its first unpowered glide flight on Aug. 5, 1954, and made a total of 17 (4 glide and 13 powered) flights before it was lost Sept. 27, 1956. The pilot on Flight 17, Capt. Milburn Apt, had flown the aircraft to a record speed of Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph), thus becoming the first person to exceed Mach 3. During that last flight, inertial coupling occurred and the pilot was killed. The aircraft suffered little damage in the crash, resulting in proposals (never implemented) from the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, to rebuild it for use in a hypersonic (Mach 5+) test program. In 1953, X-2 Number 2 was lost in an in-flight explosion while at the Bell Aircraft Company during captive flight trials and was jettisoned into Lake Ontario. The Air Force had previously flown the aircraft on three glide flights at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1952. Although the NACA's High-Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California, (predecessor of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center) never actually flew the X-2 aircraft, the NACA did support the program primarily through Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory wind-tunnel tests and Wallops Island, Virginia, rocket-model tests. The NACA High-Speed Flight Station also provided stability and control recording instrumentation and simulator support for the Air Force flights. In the latter regard, the NACA worked with the Air Force in using a special computer to extrapolate and predict aircraft behavior from flight data.

X-24B launch - air drop from mothership

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

A fleet of lifting bodies flown at the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from 1963 to l975 demonstrated the ability of pilots to maneuver (in the atmosphere) and safely land a wingless vehicle. These lifting bodies were basically designed so they could fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an aircraft at a pre-determined site. (In 1976 NASA renamed the FRC as the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in honor of Hugh L. Dryden.) In 1962, FRC Director Paul Bikle approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1. It featured a plywood shell, built by Gus Briegleb (a sailplane builder from El Mirage, California) placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at the FRC. Construction was completed in 1963. The success of the Flight Research Center M2-F1 program led to NASA development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at the NASA Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, Hawthorne, California. The Air Force also became interested in lifting body research and had a third design concept built, the X-24A, built by the Martin Company, Denver, Colorado. It was later modified into the X-24B and both configurations were flown in the joint NASA-Air Force lifting body program located at Dryden. The X-24B design evolved from a family of potential reentry shapes, each with higher lift-to-drag ratios, proposed by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory. To reduce the costs of constructing a research vehicle, the Air Force returned the X-24A to Martin for modifications that converted its bulbous shape into one resembling a 'flying flatiron' -- rounded top, flat bottom, and a double-delta planform that ended in a pointed nose. First to fly the X-24B was John A. Manke, a glide flight on August 1, 1973. He was also the pilot on the first powered mission November 15, 1973. Among the final flights with the X-24B were two precise landings on the main concrete runway at Edwards, California, which showed that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. These missions were flown by Manke and Air Force Maj. Mike Love and represented the final milestone in a program that helped write the flight plan for the Space Shuttle program of today. After launch from the B-52 'mothership' at an altitude of about 45,000 feet, the XLR-11 rocket engine was ignited and the vehicle accelerated to speeds of more than 1,100 miles per hour and to altitudes of 60,000 to 70,000 feet. After the rocket engine was shut down, the pilots began steep glides towards the Edwards runway. As the pilots entered the final leg of their approach, they increased their rate of descent to build up speed and used this energy to perform a 'flare out' maneuver, which slowed their landing speed to about 200 miles per hour--the same basic approach pattern and landing speed of the Space Shuttles today. The final powered flight with the X-24B aircraft was on September 23, l975. The pilot was Bill Dana, and it was also the last rocket-powered flight flown at Dryden. It was also Dana who flew the last X-15 mission about seven years earlier. Top speed reached with the X-24B was 1,164 miles per hour (Mach 1.76) by Love on October 25, 1974. The highest altitude reached was 74,100 feet, by Manke on May 22, 1975. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. This roughly 20-second video clip shows the X-24B dropping from the B-52 mothership, after which the rocket engine ignites.

X-2 on Transportation Dolly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1952-01-01

This 1952 photograph shows the X-2 #2 aircraft mounted on a special transportation dolly at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The dolly was steerable and was used for transporting the X-2 around and for towing it off the lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base after a landing. This was the number 2 airplane (46-675), which was lost on May 12, 1953, on a captive flight over Lake Ontario when the airplane exploded during a liquid-oxygen topoff test, killing the pilot, Jean Ziegler, and EB-50A crewman Frank Wolko. Almost no debris was recovered from Lake Ontario, so no cause for the explosion could be determined. Later, however, investigations of similar explosions in the X-1 #3, X-1A, and X-1D traced the problem to Ulmer leather gaskets, which exuded tricresyl phosphate. This substance caused detonations in the supercold atmosphere of the airplanes' liquid oxygen tanks. As the X-2 #2 also had these gaskets, they were probably the cause of the explosion in that aircraft as well. The X-2 was a swept-wing, rocket-powered aircraft designed to fly faster than Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Bell Aircraft Company, Buffalo, New York. The X-2 was flown to investigate the problems of aerodynamic heating as well as stability and control effectiveness at high altitudes and high speeds (in excess of Mach 3). Bell aircraft built two X-2 aircraft. These were constructed of K-monel (a copper and nickel alloy) for the fuselage and stainless steel for the swept wings and control surfaces. The aircraft had ejectable nose capsules instead of ejection seats because the development of ejection seats had not reached maturity at the time the X-2 was conceived. The X-2 ejection canopy was successfully tested using a German V-2 rocket. The X-2 used a skid-type landing gear to make room for more fuel. The airplane was air launched from a modified Boeing B-50 Superfortress Bomber. X-2 Number 1 made its first unpowered glide flight on Aug. 5, 1954, and made a total of 17 (4 glide and 13 powered) flights before it was lost Sept. 27, 1956. The pilot on Flight 17, Capt. Milburn Apt, had flown the aircraft to a record speed of Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph), thus becoming the first person to exceed Mach 3. During that last flight, inertial coupling occurred and the pilot was killed. The aircraft suffered little damage in the crash, resulting in proposals (never implemented) from the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, to rebuild it for use in a hypersonic (Mach 5+) test program. In 1953, X-2 Number 2 was lost in an in-flight explosion while at the Bell Aircraft Company during captive flight trials and was jettisoned into Lake Ontario. The Air Force had previously flown the aircraft on three glide flights at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1952. Although the NACA's High-Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California, (predecessor of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center) never actually flew the X-2 aircraft, the NACA did support the program primarily through Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory wind-tunnel tests and Wallops Island, Virginia, rocket-model tests. The NACA High-Speed Flight Station also provided stability-and-control recording instrumentation and simulator support for the Air Force flights. In the latter regard, the NACA worked with the Air Force in using a special computer to extrapolate and predict aircraft behavior from flight data.

Adaptive glide slope control for parafoil and payload aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Michael

Airdrop systems provide a unique capability of delivering large payloads to undeveloped and inaccessible locations. Traditionally, these systems have been unguided, requiring large landing zones and drops from low altitude. The invention of the steerable, gliding, ram-air parafoil enabled the possibility of precision aerial payload delivery. In practice, the gliding ability of the ram-air parafoil can actually create major problems for airdrop systems by making them more susceptible to winds and allowing them to achieve far greater miss distances than were previously possible. Research and development work on guided airdrop systems has focused primarily on evolutionary improvements to the guidance algorithm, while the navigation and control algorithms have changed little since the initial autnomous systems were developed. Furthermore, the control mechanisms have not changed since the invention of the ram-air canopy in the 1960’s. The primary contributions of this dissertation are: (1) the development of a reliable and robust method to identify a flight dynamic model for a parafoil and payload aircraft using minimal sensor data; (2) the first demonstration in flight test of the ability to achieve large changes in glide slope over ground using coupled incidence angle variation and trailing edge brake deflection; (3) the first development of a control law to implement glide slope control on an autonomous system; (4) the first flight tests of autonomous landing with a glide slope control mechanism demonstrating an improvement in landing accuracy by a factor of 2 or more in especially windy conditions, and (5) the first demonstrations in both simulation and flight test of the ability to perform in-flight system identification to adapt the internal control mappings to flight data and provide dramatic improvements in landing accuracy when there is a significant discrepancy between the assumed and actual flight characteristics.

Aerial manoeuvrability in wingless gliding ants (Cephalotes atratus)

PubMed Central

Yanoviak, Stephen P.; Munk, Yonatan; Kaspari, Mike; Dudley, Robert

2010-01-01

In contrast to the patagial membranes of gliding vertebrates, the aerodynamic surfaces used by falling wingless ants to direct their aerial descent are unknown. We conducted ablation experiments to assess the relative contributions of the hindlegs, midlegs and gaster to gliding success in workers of the Neotropical arboreal ant Cephalotes atratus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Removal of hindlegs significantly reduced the success rate of directed aerial descent as well as the glide index for successful flights. Removal of the gaster alone did not significantly alter performance relative to controls. Equilibrium glide angles during successful targeting to vertical columns were statistically equivalent between control ants and ants with either the gaster or the hindlegs removed. High-speed video recordings suggested possible use of bilaterally asymmetric motions of the hindlegs to effect body rotations about the vertical axis during targeting manoeuvre. Overall, the control of gliding flight was remarkably robust to dramatic anatomical perturbations, suggesting effective control mechanisms in the face of adverse initial conditions (e.g. falling upside down), variable targeting decisions and turbulent wind gusts during flight. PMID:20236974

Global dynamics of non-equilibrium gliding in animals.

PubMed

Yeaton, Isaac J; Socha, John J; Ross, Shane D

2017-03-17

Gliding flight-moving horizontally downward through the air without power-has evolved in a broad diversity of taxa and serves numerous ecologically relevant functions such as predator escape, expanding foraging locations, and finding mates, and has been suggested as an evolutionary pathway to powered flight. Historically, gliding has been conceptualized using the idealized conditions of equilibrium, in which the net aerodynamic force on the glider balances its weight. While this assumption is appealing for its simplicity, recent studies of glide trajectories have shown that equilibrium gliding is not the norm for most species. Furthermore, equilibrium theory neglects the aerodynamic differences between species, as well as how a glider can modify its glide path using control. To investigate non-equilibrium glide behavior, we developed a reduced-order model of gliding that accounts for self-similarity in the equations of motion, such that the lift and drag characteristics alone determine the glide trajectory. From analysis of velocity polar diagrams of horizontal and vertical velocity from several gliding species, we find that pitch angle, the angle between the horizontal and chord line, is a control parameter that can be exploited to modulate glide angle and glide speed. Varying pitch results in changing locations of equilibrium glide configurations in the velocity polar diagram that govern passive glide dynamics. Such analyses provide a new mechanism of interspecies comparison and tools to understand experimentally-measured kinematics data and theory. In addition, this analysis suggests that the lift and drag characteristics of aerial and aquatic autonomous gliders can be engineered to passively alter glide trajectories with minimal control effort.

KSC-06pd1913

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Shuttle Training Aircraft taxis onto the runway. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson will practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1907

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-08-24

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Under cloudy skies at sunset, T-38 jet aircraft are lined up on the NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility where STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson will be climbing aboard the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Gliding flight in a jackdaw: a wind tunnel study.

PubMed

Rosén, M; Hedenström, A

2001-03-01

We examined the gliding flight performance of a jackdaw Corvus monedula in a wind tunnel. The jackdaw was able to glide steadily at speeds between 6 and 11 m s(-1). The bird changed its wingspan and wing area over this speed range, and we measured the so-called glide super-polar, which is the envelope of fixed-wing glide polars over a range of forward speeds and sinking speeds. The glide super-polar was an inverted U-shape with a minimum sinking speed (V(ms)) at 7.4 m s(-1) and a speed for best glide (V(bg)) at 8.3 m s(-)). At the minimum sinking speed, the associated vertical sinking speed was 0.62 m s(-1). The relationship between the ratio of lift to drag (L:D) and airspeed showed an inverted U-shape with a maximum of 12.6 at 8.5 m s(-1). Wingspan decreased linearly with speed over the whole speed range investigated. The tail was spread extensively at low and moderate speeds; at speeds between 6 and 9 m s(-1), the tail area decreased linearly with speed, and at speeds above 9 m s(-1) the tail was fully furled. Reynolds number calculated with the mean chord as the reference length ranged from 38 000 to 76 000 over the speed range 6-11 m s(-1). Comparisons of the jackdaw flight performance were made with existing theory of gliding flight. We also re-analysed data on span ratios with respect to speed in two other bird species previously studied in wind tunnels. These data indicate that an equation for calculating the span ratio, which minimises the sum of induced and profile drag, does not predict the actual span ratios observed in these birds. We derive an alternative equation on the basis of the observed span ratios for calculating wingspan and wing area with respect to forward speed in gliding birds from information about body mass, maximum wingspan, maximum wing area and maximum coefficient of lift. These alternative equations can be used in combination with any model of gliding flight where wing area and wingspan are considered to calculate sinking rate with respect to forward speed.

E-21089

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-11-18

The HL-10 Lifting Body is seen here in flight over Rogers Dry lakebed. Like the other lifting bodies, the HL-10 made a steep descent toward the lakebed, followed by a high-speed landing. This was due to the vehicle's low lift-over-drag ratio. The first 11 flights of the HL-10 were unpowered, flown to check the vehicle's handling and stability before rocket-powered flights began using the XLR-11 rocket engine.

Multi-cored vortices support function of slotted wing tips of birds in gliding and flapping flight

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Slotted wing tips of birds are commonly considered an adaptation to improve soaring performance, despite their presence in species that neither soar nor glide. We used particle image velocimetry to measure the airflow around the slotted wing tip of a jackdaw (Corvus monedula) as well as in its wake during unrestrained flight in a wind tunnel. The separated primary feathers produce individual wakes, confirming a multi-slotted function, in both gliding and flapping flight. The resulting multi-cored wingtip vortex represents a spreading of vorticity, which has previously been suggested as indicative of increased aerodynamic efficiency. Considering benefits of the slotted wing tips that are specific to flapping flight combined with the wide phylogenetic occurrence of this configuration, we propose the hypothesis that slotted wings evolved initially to improve performance in powered flight. PMID:28539482

The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" separates from the NASA 747 carrier aircraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1977-10-12

S77-28931 (12 Oct. 1977) --- The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" separates from the NASA 747 carrier aircraft to begin its first "tailcone-off" unpowered flight over desert and mountains of Southern California. A T-38 chase plane follows in right background. This was the fourth in a series of five piloted free flights. Photo credit: NASA

Aural glide slope cues : their effect on pilot performance during in-flight simulated ILS instrument approaches.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-05-01

Forty instrument rated commercial and ATR pilots with 250 to 12,271 flight hours each flew ten simulated ILS approaches in a single engine, general aviation aircraft. Divided into five groups, each group used a different glide slope cue display in co...

third "free flight" of Shuttle Orbiter 101 Spacecraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1977-09-23

S77-28542 (23 Sept 1977) --- The shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" separates from the NASA 747 carrier aircraft during the third free flight of the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) conducted on September 23, 1977, at the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in Southern California. The vehicle, with astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., commander, and C. Gordon Fullerton, pilot, remained in unpowered flight for five-minutes and 34-seconds before landing on the desert land of Edwards Air Force Base.

Multi-cored vortices support function of slotted wing tips of birds in gliding and flapping flight.

PubMed

KleinHeerenbrink, Marco; Johansson, L Christoffer; Hedenström, Anders

2017-05-01

Slotted wing tips of birds are commonly considered an adaptation to improve soaring performance, despite their presence in species that neither soar nor glide. We used particle image velocimetry to measure the airflow around the slotted wing tip of a jackdaw ( Corvus monedula ) as well as in its wake during unrestrained flight in a wind tunnel. The separated primary feathers produce individual wakes, confirming a multi-slotted function, in both gliding and flapping flight. The resulting multi-cored wingtip vortex represents a spreading of vorticity, which has previously been suggested as indicative of increased aerodynamic efficiency. Considering benefits of the slotted wing tips that are specific to flapping flight combined with the wide phylogenetic occurrence of this configuration, we propose the hypothesis that slotted wings evolved initially to improve performance in powered flight. © 2017 The Author(s).

ARC-1944-A-6538

NASA Image and Video Library

1944-09-28

NACA photographer Northrop P-61A Black Widow towing P-51B to release altitude of 28,000 ft over Muroc Dry Lake, California for in flight validating of wind tunnel measurements of drag. After the pilot released the tow cable, drag measurementrs were obtained at various airspeeds in a 20-minute unpowered flight. Note: Used in publication in Flight Research at Ames; 57 Years of Development and Validation of Aeronautical Technology NASA SP-1998-3300 Fig. 17

Determination of the lift and drag characteristics of an airplane in flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Maurice W

1925-01-01

Flight tests to determine lift and drag characteristics are discussed. A review is given of the fundamental principles on which the tests are based and on the forces acting on an airplane in the various conditions of steady flight. Glide with and without propeller thrust and the relation between angle of attack and the indicated airspeed for different conditions of steady flight are discussed. The glide test procedure and the problem of the propeller are discussed.

14 CFR 23.71 - Glide: Single-engine airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Glide: Single-engine airplanes. 23.71... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Performance § 23.71 Glide: Single-engine airplanes. The maximum horizontal distance traveled in still air, in nautical miles...

14 CFR 23.71 - Glide: Single-engine airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Glide: Single-engine airplanes. 23.71... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Performance § 23.71 Glide: Single-engine airplanes. The maximum horizontal distance traveled in still air, in nautical miles...

14 CFR 23.71 - Glide: Single-engine airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Glide: Single-engine airplanes. 23.71... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Performance § 23.71 Glide: Single-engine airplanes. The maximum horizontal distance traveled in still air, in nautical miles...

Low-lift-to-drag-ratio approach and landing studies using a CV-990 airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kock, B. M.; Fulton, F. L.; Drinkwater, F. J., III

1972-01-01

The results are presented of a flight-test program utilizing a CV-990 airplane, flow in low-lift-to-drag-ratio (L/D) configurations, to simulate terminal area operation, approach, and landing of large unpowered vehicles. The results indicate that unpowered approaches and landings are practical with vehicles of the size and performance characteristics of the proposed shuttle vehicle. Low L/D landings provided touchdown dispersion patterns acceptable for operation on runways of reasonable length. The dispersion pattern was reduced when guidance was used during the final approach. High levels of pilot proficiency were not required for acceptable performance.

14 CFR 29.71 - Helicopter angle of glide: Category B.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. 29... AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Flight Performance § 29.71 Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. For each category B helicopter, except multiengine helicopters meeting the...

14 CFR 29.71 - Helicopter angle of glide: Category B.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. 29... AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Flight Performance § 29.71 Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. For each category B helicopter, except multiengine helicopters meeting the...

14 CFR 29.71 - Helicopter angle of glide: Category B.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. 29... AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Flight Performance § 29.71 Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. For each category B helicopter, except multiengine helicopters meeting the...

14 CFR 29.71 - Helicopter angle of glide: Category B.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. 29... AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Flight Performance § 29.71 Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. For each category B helicopter, except multiengine helicopters meeting the...

14 CFR 29.71 - Helicopter angle of glide: Category B.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. 29... AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Flight Performance § 29.71 Helicopter angle of glide: Category B. For each category B helicopter, except multiengine helicopters meeting the...

Investigation of gliding flight by flying fish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Hyungmin; Jeon, Woo-Pyung; Choi, Haecheon

2006-11-01

The most successful flight capability of fish is observed in the flying fish. Furthermore, despite the difference between two medium (air and water), the flying fish is well evolved to have an excellent gliding performance as well as fast swimming capability. In this study, flying fish's morphological adaptation to gliding flight is experimentally investigated using dry-mounted darkedged-wing flying fish, Cypselurus Hiraii. Specifically, we examine the effects of the pectoral and pelvic fins on the aerodynamic performance considering (i) both pectoral and pelvic fins, (ii) pectoral fins only, and (iii) body only with both fins folded. Varying the attack angle, we measure the lift, drag and pitching moment at the free-stream velocity of 12m/s for each case. Case (i) has higher lift-to-drag ratio (i.e. longer gliding distance) and more enhanced longitudinal static stability than case (ii). However, the lift coefficient is smaller for case (i) than for case (ii), indicating that the pelvic fins are not so beneficial for wing loading. The gliding performance of flying fish is compared with those of other fliers and is found to be similar to those of insects such as the butterfly and fruitfly.

Evaluation of two cockpit display concepts for civil tiltrotor instrument operations on steep approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, William A.; Bray, Richard S.; Simmons, Rickey C.; Tucker, George E.

1993-01-01

A piloted simulation experiment was conducted using the NASA Ames Research Center Vertical Motion Simulator to evaluate two cockpit display formats designed for manual control on steep instrument approaches for a civil transport tiltrotor aircraft. The first display included a four-cue (pitch, roll, power lever position, and nacelle angle movement prompt) flight director. The second display format provided instantaneous flight path angle information together with other symbols for terminal area guidance. Pilots evaluated these display formats for an instrument approach task which required a level flight conversion from airplane-mode flight to helicopter-mode flight while decelerating to the nominal approach airspeed. Pilots tracked glide slopes of 6, 9, 15 and 25 degrees, terminating in a hover for a vertical landing on a 150 feet square vertipad. Approaches were conducted with low visibility and ceilings and with crosswinds and turbulence, with all aircraft systems functioning normally and were carried through to a landing. Desired approach and tracking performance was achieved with generally satisfactory handling qualities using either display format on glide slopes up through 15 degrees. Evaluations with both display formats for a 25 degree glide slope revealed serious problems with glide slope tracking at low airspeeds in crosswinds and the loss of the intended landing spot from the cockpit field of view.

Deformation behavior of dragonfly-inspired nodus structured wing in gliding flight through experimental visualization approach.

PubMed

Zhang, Sheng; Sunami, Yuta; Hashimoto, Hiromu

2018-04-10

Dragonfly has excellent flight performance and maneuverability due to the complex vein structure of wing. In this research, nodus as an important structural element of the dragonfly wing is investigated through an experimental visualization approach. Three vein structures were fabricated as, open-nodus structure, closed-nodus structure (with a flex-limiter) and rigid wing. The samples were conducted in a wind tunnel with a high speed camera to visualize the deformation of wing structure in order to study the function of nodus structured wing in gliding flight. According to the experimental results, nodus has a great influence on the flexibility of the wing structure. Moreover, the closed-nodus wing (with a flex-limiter) enables the vein structure to be flexible without losing the strength and rigidity of the joint. These findings enhance the knowledge of insect-inspired nodus structured wing and facilitate the application of Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) in gliding flight.

Aerodynamic consequences of wing morphing during emulated take-off and gliding in birds.

PubMed

Klaassen van Oorschot, Brett; Mistick, Emily A; Tobalske, Bret W

2016-10-01

Birds morph their wings during a single wingbeat, across flight speeds and among flight modes. Such morphing may allow them to maximize aerodynamic performance, but this assumption remains largely untested. We tested the aerodynamic performance of swept and extended wing postures of 13 raptor species in three families (Accipitridae, Falconidae and Strigidae) using a propeller model to emulate mid-downstroke of flapping during take-off and a wind tunnel to emulate gliding. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that (1) during flapping, wing posture would not affect maximum ratios of vertical and horizontal force coefficients (C V :C H ), and that (2) extended wings would have higher maximum C V :C H when gliding. Contrary to each hypothesis, during flapping, extended wings had, on average, 31% higher maximum C V :C H ratios and 23% higher C V than swept wings across all biologically relevant attack angles (α), and, during gliding, maximum C V :C H ratios were similar for the two postures. Swept wings had 11% higher C V than extended wings in gliding flight, suggesting flow conditions around these flexed raptor wings may be different from those in previous studies of swifts (Apodidae). Phylogenetic affiliation was a poor predictor of wing performance, due in part to high intrafamilial variation. Mass was only significantly correlated with extended wing performance during gliding. We conclude that wing shape has a greater effect on force per unit wing area during flapping at low advance ratio, such as take-off, than during gliding. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Wake analysis of aerodynamic components for the glide envelope of a jackdaw (Corvus monedula).

PubMed

KleinHeerenbrink, Marco; Warfvinge, Kajsa; Hedenström, Anders

2016-05-15

Gliding flight is a relatively inexpensive mode of flight used by many larger bird species, where potential energy is used to cover the cost of aerodynamic drag. Birds have great flexibility in their flight configuration, allowing them to control their flight speed and glide angle. However, relatively little is known about how this flexibility affects aerodynamic drag. We measured the wake of a jackdaw (Corvus monedula) gliding in a wind tunnel, and computed the components of aerodynamic drag from the wake. We found that induced drag was mainly affected by wingspan, but also that the use of the tail has a negative influence on span efficiency. Contrary to previous work, we found no support for the separated primaries being used in controlling the induced drag. Profile drag was of similar magnitude to that reported in other studies, and our results suggest that profile drag is affected by variation in wing shape. For a folded tail, the body drag coefficient had a value of 0.2, rising to above 0.4 with the tail fully spread, which we conclude is due to tail profile drag. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

KSC-06pd2036

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett leaves the Shuttle Training Aircraft after a practice session of landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2027

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett settles in the cockpit of the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2028

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett studies the controls in the cockpit of the Shuttle Training Aircraft before a practice session of landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2026

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson boards the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2023

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett is dressed in his launch suit before flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2021

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson dons his launch suit before flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2035

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson disembarks from the Shuttle Training Aircraft after a practice session of landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2022

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Commander Brent Jett dons his launch suit before flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2029

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson settles in the cockpit of the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2024

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson is dressed in his launch suit before flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2025

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett boards the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Effect of Lift-Drag Ratio and Speed on the Ability to Position a Gliding Aircraft for a Landing on a 5,000-Foot Runway

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reeder, John P.

1959-01-01

Flight tests were made to determine the capability of positioning a gliding airplane for a landing on a 5,000-foot runway with special reference to the gliding flight of a satellite vehicle of fixed configuration upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere. The lift-drag ratio and speed of the airplane in the glides were varied through as large a range as possible. The results showed a marked tendency to undershoot the runway when the lift-drag ratios were below certain values, depending upon the speed in the glide. A straight line dividing the successful approaches from the undershoots could be drawn through a lift-drag ratio of about 3 at 100 knots and through a lift-drag ratio of about 7 at 185 knots. Provision of a drag device would be very beneficial, particularly in reducing the tendency toward undershooting at the higher speeds.

How Cheap Is Soaring Flight in Raptors? A Preliminary Investigation in Freely-Flying Vultures

PubMed Central

Duriez, Olivier; Kato, Akiko; Tromp, Clara; Dell'Omo, Giacomo; Vyssotski, Alexei L.; Sarrazin, François; Ropert-Coudert, Yan

2014-01-01

Measuring the costs of soaring, gliding and flapping flight in raptors is challenging, but essential for understanding their ecology. Among raptors, vultures are scavengers that have evolved highly efficient soaring-gliding flight techniques to minimize energy costs to find unpredictable food resources. Using electrocardiogram, GPS and accelerometer bio-loggers, we report the heart rate (HR) of captive griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus and G. himalayensis) trained for freely-flying. HR increased three-fold at take-off (characterized by prolonged flapping flight) and landing (>300 beats-per-minute, (bpm)) compared to baseline levels (80–100 bpm). However, within 10 minutes after the initial flapping phase, HR in soaring/gliding flight dropped to values similar to baseline levels, i.e. slightly lower than theoretically expected. However, the extremely rapid decrease in HR was unexpected, when compared with other marine gliders, such as albatrosses. Weather conditions influenced flight performance and HR was noticeably higher during cloudy compared to sunny conditions when prolonged soaring flight is made easier by thermal ascending air currents. Soaring as a cheap locomotory mode is a crucial adaptation for vultures who spend so long on the wing for wide-ranging movements to find food. PMID:24454760

How cheap is soaring flight in raptors? A preliminary investigation in freely-flying vultures.

PubMed

Duriez, Olivier; Kato, Akiko; Tromp, Clara; Dell'Omo, Giacomo; Vyssotski, Alexei L; Sarrazin, François; Ropert-Coudert, Yan

2014-01-01

Measuring the costs of soaring, gliding and flapping flight in raptors is challenging, but essential for understanding their ecology. Among raptors, vultures are scavengers that have evolved highly efficient soaring-gliding flight techniques to minimize energy costs to find unpredictable food resources. Using electrocardiogram, GPS and accelerometer bio-loggers, we report the heart rate (HR) of captive griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus and G. himalayensis) trained for freely-flying. HR increased three-fold at take-off (characterized by prolonged flapping flight) and landing (>300 beats-per-minute, (bpm)) compared to baseline levels (80-100 bpm). However, within 10 minutes after the initial flapping phase, HR in soaring/gliding flight dropped to values similar to baseline levels, i.e. slightly lower than theoretically expected. However, the extremely rapid decrease in HR was unexpected, when compared with other marine gliders, such as albatrosses. Weather conditions influenced flight performance and HR was noticeably higher during cloudy compared to sunny conditions when prolonged soaring flight is made easier by thermal ascending air currents. Soaring as a cheap locomotory mode is a crucial adaptation for vultures who spend so long on the wing for wide-ranging movements to find food.

Flight-test of the glide-slope track and flare-control laws for an automatic landing system for a powered-lift STOL airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, D. M.; Hardy, G. H.; Warner, D. N., Jr.

1983-01-01

An automatic landing system was developed for the Augmentor Wing Jet STOL Research Airplane to establish the feasibility and examine the operating characteristics of a powered-lift STOL transport flying a steep, microwave landing system (MLS) glide slope to automatically land on a STOL port. The flight test results address the longitudinal aspects of automatic powered lift STOL airplane operation including glide slope tracking on the backside of the power curve, flare, and touchdown. Three different autoland control laws were evaluated to demonstrate the tradeoff between control complexity and the resulting performance. The flight test and simulation methodology used in developing conventional jet transport systems was applied to the powered-lift STOL airplane. The results obtained suggest that an automatic landing system for a powered-lift STOL airplane operating into an MLS-equipped STOL port is feasible. However, the airplane must be provided with a means of rapidly regulation lift to satisfactorily provide the glide slope tracking and control of touchdown sink rate needed for automatic landings.

14 CFR 91.309 - Towing: Gliders and unpowered ultralight vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... vehicle have agreed upon a general course of action, including takeoff and release signals, airspeeds, and... vehicles. 91.309 Section 91.309 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Special...

Model tests of gliding with different hindwing configurations in the four-winged dromaeosaurid Microraptor gui

PubMed Central

Alexander, David E.; Gong, Enpu; Martin, Larry D.; Burnham, David A.; Falk, Amanda R.

2010-01-01

Fossils of the remarkable dromaeosaurid Microraptor gui and relatives clearly show well-developed flight feathers on the hind limbs as well as the front limbs. No modern vertebrate has hind limbs functioning as independent, fully developed wings; so, lacking a living example, little agreement exists on the functional morphology or likely flight configuration of the hindwing. Using a detailed reconstruction based on the actual skeleton of one individual, cast in the round, we developed light-weight, three-dimensional physical models and performed glide tests with anatomically reasonable hindwing configurations. Models were tested with hindwings abducted and extended laterally, as well as with a previously described biplane configuration. Although the hip joint requires the hindwing to have at least 20° of negative dihedral (anhedral), all configurations were quite stable gliders. Glide angles ranged from 3° to 21° with a mean estimated equilibrium angle of 13.7°, giving a lift to drag ratio of 4.1:1 and a lift coefficient of 0.64. The abducted hindwing model’s equilibrium glide speed corresponds to a glide speed in the living animal of 10.6 m·s−1. Although the biplane model glided almost as well as the other models, it was structurally deficient and required an unlikely weight distribution (very heavy head) for stable gliding. Our model with laterally abducted hindwings represents a biologically and aerodynamically reasonable configuration for this four-winged gliding animal. M. gui’s feathered hindwings, although effective for gliding, would have seriously hampered terrestrial locomotion. PMID:20133792

HL-10 in flight over lakebed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

The HL-10 Lifting Body is seen here in flight over Rogers Dry lakebed. Like the other lifting bodies, the HL-10 made a steep descent toward the lakebed, followed by a high-speed landing. This was due to the vehicle's low lift-over-drag ratio. The first 11 flights of the HL-10 were unpowered, flown to check the vehicle's handling and stability before rocket-powered flights began using the XLR-11 rocket engine. The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of 'heavy' lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. 'HL' stands for horizontal landing, and '10' refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.

VENUS Atmospheric Exploration by Solar Aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landis, G. A.; Lamarre, C.; Colozza, A.

2002-01-01

much easier than on planets such as Mars. Above the clouds, solar energy is available in abundance on Venus. Venus has a solar flux of 2600 W/m2, compared to Earth's 1370 W/m2. The solar intensity is 20 to 50% of the exoatmospheric intensity (depending on wavelength) at the bottom of the cloud layer at 50 km, and increases to nearly 95% of the exoatmospheric intensity at 65 km, the top of the main cloud layer, and the slow rotation of Venus allows an airplane to be designed for flight within continuous sunlight, eliminating the need for energy storage for nighttime flight. challenge for a Venus aircraft will be the fierce winds and caustic atmosphere. The wind reaches a speed of about 95m/s at the cloud top level, and in order to remain on the sunlit side of Venus, an exploration aircraft will have to be capable of sustained flight at or above the wind speed. desirable that the number of moving parts be minimized. Figure 1 shows a concept for a Venus airplane design that requires only two folds to fold the wing into an aeroshell, and no folds to deploy the tail. Because of the design constraint that the two- fold wing is to fit into a small aeroshell, the wing area is maximum at extremely low aspect ratio, and higher aspect ratios can be achieved only by reducing the wing area. To fit the circular aeroshell, the resulting design trade-off increases wing area by accepting the design compromise of an extremely short tail moment and small tail area (stabilizer area 9% of wing area). In terms of flight behavior, the aircraft is essentially a flying wing design with the addition of a small control surface. A more conventional aircraft design can be made by folding or telescoping the tail boom as well as the wing. Typical flight altitudes for analysis were 65 to 75 km above the surface. For exploration of lower altitudes, it is feasible to glide down to low altitudes for periods of several hours, accepting the fact that the airplane ground track will blow downwind, and then climb back to higher altitudes and fly upwind to the original point, allowing both high and low altitudes to be probed. Analysis of flight using battery storage shows that it is not feasible to keep the aircraft aloft on battery power alone during the passage across the night side of the planet. Likewise, the unpowered glide range of the aircraft is not high enough for it to glide around the night side of the planet and re-emerge into sunlight. Therefore, if the mission duration is to be unlimited, the mission is restricted to the daylight side of the planet, and to altitudes high enough that the aircraft can equal or exceed the wind speed. would be a powerful tool for exploration. By learning how Venus can be so similar to Earth, and yet so different, we will learn to better understand the climate and geological history of the Earth. The success of a prototype solar airplane could lead to the development of a fleet of solar-powered airplanes flying across the Venus cloud tops, taking simultaneous measurements to develop a "snapshot" of the climate across the face of the planet. Fleets of solar-powered aircraft could provide an architecture for efficient and low-cost comprehensive coverage for a variety of scientific missions, both atmospheric and geological science via surface imaging and radar. Exploratory planetary mapping and atmospheric sampling can lead to a greater understanding of the greenhouse effect not only on Venus but on Earth as well.

Anatomy and histochemistry of spread-wing posture in birds. 2. Gliding flight in the California gull, Larus californicus: a paradox of fast fibers and posture.

PubMed

Meyers, R A; Mathias, E

1997-09-01

Gliding flight is a postural activity which requires the wings to be held in a horizontal position to support the weight of the body. Postural behaviors typically utilize isometric contractions in which no change in length takes place. Due to longer actin-myosin interactions, slow contracting muscle fibers represent an economical means for this type of contraction. In specialized soaring birds, such as vultures and pelicans, a deep layer of the pectoralis muscle, composed entirely of slow fibers, is believed to perform this function. Muscles involved in gliding posture were examined in California gulls (Larus californicus) and tested for the presence of slow fibers using myosin ATPase histochemistry and antibodies. Surprisingly small numbers of slow fibers were found in the M. extensor metacarpi radialis, M. coracobrachialis cranialis, and M. coracobrachialis caudalis, which function in wrist extension, wing protraction, and body support, respectively. The low number of slow fibers in these muscles and the absence of slow fibers in muscles associated with wing extension and primary body support suggest that gulls do not require slow fibers for their postural behaviors. Gulls also lack the deep belly to the pectoralis found in other gliding birds. Since bird muscle is highly oxidative, we hypothesize that fast muscle fibers may function to maintain wing position during gliding flight in California gulls.

Testing an Emerging Paradigm in Migration Ecology Shows Surprising Differences in Efficiency between Flight Modes

PubMed Central

Duerr, Adam E.; Miller, Tricia A.; Lanzone, Michael; Brandes, Dave; Cooper, Jeff; O'Malley, Kieran; Maisonneuve, Charles; Tremblay, Junior; Katzner, Todd

2012-01-01

To maximize fitness, flying animals should maximize flight speed while minimizing energetic expenditure. Soaring speeds of large-bodied birds are determined by flight routes and tradeoffs between minimizing time and energetic costs. Large raptors migrating in eastern North America predominantly glide between thermals that provide lift or soar along slopes or ridgelines using orographic lift (slope soaring). It is usually assumed that slope soaring is faster than thermal gliding because forward progress is constant compared to interrupted progress when birds pause to regain altitude in thermals. We tested this slope-soaring hypothesis using high-frequency GPS-GSM telemetry devices to track golden eagles during northbound migration. In contrast to expectations, flight speed was slower when slope soaring and eagles also were diverted from their migratory path, incurring possible energetic costs and reducing speed of progress towards a migratory endpoint. When gliding between thermals, eagles stayed on track and fast gliding speeds compensated for lack of progress during thermal soaring. When thermals were not available, eagles minimized migration time, not energy, by choosing energetically expensive slope soaring instead of waiting for thermals to develop. Sites suited to slope soaring include ridges preferred for wind-energy generation, thus avian risk of collision with wind turbines is associated with evolutionary trade-offs required to maximize fitness of time-minimizing migratory raptors. PMID:22558166

Testing an emerging paradigm in migration ecology shows surprising differences in efficiency between flight modes.

PubMed

Duerr, Adam E; Miller, Tricia A; Lanzone, Michael; Brandes, Dave; Cooper, Jeff; O'Malley, Kieran; Maisonneuve, Charles; Tremblay, Junior; Katzner, Todd

2012-01-01

To maximize fitness, flying animals should maximize flight speed while minimizing energetic expenditure. Soaring speeds of large-bodied birds are determined by flight routes and tradeoffs between minimizing time and energetic costs. Large raptors migrating in eastern North America predominantly glide between thermals that provide lift or soar along slopes or ridgelines using orographic lift (slope soaring). It is usually assumed that slope soaring is faster than thermal gliding because forward progress is constant compared to interrupted progress when birds pause to regain altitude in thermals. We tested this slope-soaring hypothesis using high-frequency GPS-GSM telemetry devices to track golden eagles during northbound migration. In contrast to expectations, flight speed was slower when slope soaring and eagles also were diverted from their migratory path, incurring possible energetic costs and reducing speed of progress towards a migratory endpoint. When gliding between thermals, eagles stayed on track and fast gliding speeds compensated for lack of progress during thermal soaring. When thermals were not available, eagles minimized migration time, not energy, by choosing energetically expensive slope soaring instead of waiting for thermals to develop. Sites suited to slope soaring include ridges preferred for wind-energy generation, thus avian risk of collision with wind turbines is associated with evolutionary trade-offs required to maximize fitness of time-minimizing migratory raptors.

Glide performance and aerodynamics of non-equilibrium glides in northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus)

PubMed Central

Bahlman, Joseph W.; Swartz, Sharon M.; Riskin, Daniel K.; Breuer, Kenneth S.

2013-01-01

Gliding is an efficient form of travel found in every major group of terrestrial vertebrates. Gliding is often modelled in equilibrium, where aerodynamic forces exactly balance body weight resulting in constant velocity. Although the equilibrium model is relevant for long-distance gliding, such as soaring by birds, it may not be realistic for shorter distances between trees. To understand the aerodynamics of inter-tree gliding, we used direct observation and mathematical modelling. We used videography (60–125 fps) to track and reconstruct the three-dimensional trajectories of northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) in nature. From their trajectories, we calculated velocities, aerodynamic forces and force coefficients. We determined that flying squirrels do not glide at equilibrium, and instead demonstrate continuously changing velocities, forces and force coefficients, and generate more lift than needed to balance body weight. We compared observed glide performance with mathematical simulations that use constant force coefficients, a characteristic of equilibrium glides. Simulations with varying force coefficients, such as those of live squirrels, demonstrated better whole-glide performance compared with the theoretical equilibrium state. Using results from both the observed glides and the simulation, we describe the mechanics and execution of inter-tree glides, and then discuss how gliding behaviour may relate to the evolution of flapping flight. PMID:23256188

Glide performance and aerodynamics of non-equilibrium glides in northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus).

PubMed

Bahlman, Joseph W; Swartz, Sharon M; Riskin, Daniel K; Breuer, Kenneth S

2013-03-06

Gliding is an efficient form of travel found in every major group of terrestrial vertebrates. Gliding is often modelled in equilibrium, where aerodynamic forces exactly balance body weight resulting in constant velocity. Although the equilibrium model is relevant for long-distance gliding, such as soaring by birds, it may not be realistic for shorter distances between trees. To understand the aerodynamics of inter-tree gliding, we used direct observation and mathematical modelling. We used videography (60-125 fps) to track and reconstruct the three-dimensional trajectories of northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) in nature. From their trajectories, we calculated velocities, aerodynamic forces and force coefficients. We determined that flying squirrels do not glide at equilibrium, and instead demonstrate continuously changing velocities, forces and force coefficients, and generate more lift than needed to balance body weight. We compared observed glide performance with mathematical simulations that use constant force coefficients, a characteristic of equilibrium glides. Simulations with varying force coefficients, such as those of live squirrels, demonstrated better whole-glide performance compared with the theoretical equilibrium state. Using results from both the observed glides and the simulation, we describe the mechanics and execution of inter-tree glides, and then discuss how gliding behaviour may relate to the evolution of flapping flight.

M2-F1 in flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1965-01-01

The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here under tow, high above Rogers Dry Lake near the Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. R. Dale Reed effectively advocated the project with the support of NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Together, they gained the support of Flight Research Center Director Paul Bikle. After a six-month feasibility study, Bikle gave approval in the fall of 1962 for the M2-F1 to be built. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Flight Research Center management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind a NASA C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight research vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

KSC-06pd2033

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) taxis into the parking area of KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson practiced landing the shuttle this morning. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2030

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the early morning hours on NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Shuttle Training Aircraft taxis onto the runway. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson are practicing landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2031

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the early morning hours on NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Shuttle Training Aircraft taxis onto the runway. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson are practicing landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd2032

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Shuttle Training Aircraft takes to the skies. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson are practicing landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Heart rate and estimated energy expenditure of flapping and gliding in black-browed albatrosses.

PubMed

Sakamoto, Kentaro Q; Takahashi, Akinori; Iwata, Takashi; Yamamoto, Takashi; Yamamoto, Maki; Trathan, Philip N

2013-08-15

Albatrosses are known to expend only a small amount of energy during flight. The low energy cost of albatross flight has been attributed to energy-efficient gliding (soaring) with sporadic flapping, although little is known about how much time and energy albatrosses expend in flapping versus gliding during cruising flight. Here, we examined the heart rates (used as an instantaneous index of energy expenditure) and flapping activities of free-ranging black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) to estimate the energy cost of flapping as well as time spent in flapping activities. The heart rate of albatrosses during flight (144 beats min(-1)) was similar to that while sitting on the water (150 beats min(-1)). In contrast, heart rate was much higher during takeoff and landing (ca. 200 beats min(-1)). Heart rate during cruising flight was linearly correlated with the number of wing flaps per minute, suggesting an extra energy burden of flapping. Albatrosses spend only 4.6±1.4% of their time flapping during cruising flight, which was significantly lower than during and shortly after takeoff (9.8±3.5%). Flapping activity, which amounted to just 4.6% of the time in flight, accounted for 13.3% of the total energy expenditure during cruising flight. These results support the idea that albatrosses achieve energy-efficient flight by reducing the time spent in flapping activity, which is associated with high energy expenditure.

Fuzzy Logic Trajectory Design and Guidance for Terminal Area Energy Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burchett, Bradley

2003-01-01

The second generation reusable launch vehicle will leverage many new technologies to make flight to low earth orbit safer and more cost effective. One important capability will be completely autonomous flight during reentry and landing, thus making it unnecessary to man the vehicle for cargo missions with stringent weight constraints. Implementation of sophisticated new guidance and control methods will enable the vehicle to return to earth under less than favorable conditions. The return to earth consists of three phases--Entry, Terminal Area Energy Management (TAEM), and Approach and Landing. The Space Shuttle is programmed to fly all three phases of flight automatically, and under normal circumstances the astronaut-pilot takes manual control only during the Approach and Landing phase. The automatic control algorithms used in the Shuttle for TAEM and Approach and Landing have been developed over the past 30 years. They are computationally efficient, and based on careful study of the spacecraft's flight dynamics, and heuristic reasoning. The gliding return trajectory is planned prior to the mission, and only minor adjustments are made during flight for perturbations in the vehicle energy state. With the advent of the X-33 and X-34 technology demonstration vehicles, several authors investigated implementing advanced control methods to provide autonomous real-time design of gliding return trajectories thus enhancing the ability of the vehicle to adjust to unusual energy states. The bulk of work published to date deals primarily with the approach and landing phase of flight where changes in heading angle are small, and range to the runway is monotonically decreasing. These benign flight conditions allow for model simplification and fairly straightforward optimization. This project focuses on the TAEM phase of flight where mathematically precise methods have produced limited results. Fuzzy Logic methods are used to make onboard autonomous gliding return trajectory design robust to a wider energy envelope, and the possibility of control surface failures, thus increasing the flexibility of unmanned gliding recovery and landing.

Investigations of Lateral Stability of a Glide Bomb Using Automatic Control Having No Time Lag

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sponder, E. W.

1950-01-01

The investigation of the lateral stability of an automatically controlled glide bomb led also to the attempt of clarifying the influence of a phugoid oscillation or of any general longitudinal oscillation on the lateral stability of a glide bomb. Under the assumption that its period of oscillation considerably exceeds the rolling and yawing oscillation and that c(sub a) is, at least in sections, practically constant, the result of this test is quite simple. It becomes clear that the influence of the phugoid oscillation may be replaced by suitable variation of the rolling-yawing moment on a rectilinear flight path instead of the phugoid oscillation. If the flying weight of the glide bomb of unchanged dimensions is increased, an increase of the flight velocity will be more favorable than an increase of the lift coefficient. The arrangement of the control permits lateral stability to be achieved in every case; a minimum rolling moment due to sideslip proves of great help.

M2-F1 in flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1964-01-01

The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here under tow by an unseen C-47 at the NASA Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. The low-cost vehicle was the first piloted lifting body to be test flown. The lifting-body concept originated in the mid-1950s at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Mountain View California. By February 1962, a series of possible shapes had been developed, and R. Dale Reed was working to gain support for a research vehicle. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind a NASA C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting-body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight research vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Practical Tests with the "auto Control Slot." Part II : Discussion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lachmann, G

1930-01-01

For some time the D.V.L. has been investigating the question of applicability of Handley Page slotted wings to German airplanes. Comparitive gliding tests were made with open and closed slots on an Albatros L 75 airplane equipped with the Handley Page "auto control slots." This investigation served to determine the effect of the auto control slot on the properties and performances of airplanes at large angles of attack. The most important problems were whether the angle of glide at small angles of attack can be increased by the adoption of the auto control slot and, in particular, as to whether the flight characteristics at large angles of attack are improved thereby and equilibrium in gliding flight is guaranteed even at larger than ordinary angles of attack.

Practical Tests with the "auto Control Slot." Part I : Lecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lachmann, G

1930-01-01

For some time the D.V.L. has been investigating the question of applicability of Handley Page slotted wings to German airplanes. Comparitive gliding tests were made with open and closed slots on an Albatros L 75 airplane equipped with the Handley Page "auto control slots." This investigation served to determine the effect of the auto control slot on the properties and performances of airplanes at large angles of attack. The most important problems were whether the angle of glide at small angles of attack can be increased by the adoption of the auto control slot and, in particular, as to whether the flight characteristics at large angles of attack are improved thereby and equilibrium in gliding flight is guaranteed even at larger than ordinary angles of attack.

Emulating avian orographic soaring with a small autonomous glider.

PubMed

Fisher, Alex; Marino, Matthew; Clothier, Reece; Watkins, Simon; Peters, Liam; Palmer, Jennifer L

2015-12-17

This paper explores a method by which an unpowered, fixed-wing micro air vehicle (MAV) may autonomously gain height by utilising orographic updrafts in urban environments. These updrafts are created when wind impinges on both man-made and natural obstacles, and are often highly turbulent and very localised. Thus in contrast to most previous autonomous soaring research, which have focused on large thermals and ridges, we use a technique inspired by kestrels known as 'wind-hovering', in order to maintain unpowered flight within small updrafts. A six-degree-of-freedom model of a MAV was developed based on wind-tunnel tests and vortex-lattice calculations, and the model was used to develop and test a simple cascaded control system designed to hold the aircraft on a predefined trajectory within an updraft. The wind fields around two typical updraft locations (a building and a hill) were analysed, and a simplified trajectory calculation method was developed by which trajectories for height gain can be calculated on-board the aircraft based on a priori knowledge of the wind field. The results of simulations are presented, demonstrating the behaviour of the system in both smooth and turbulent flows. Finally, the results from a series of flight tests are presented. Flight tests at the hill were consistently successful, while flights around the building could not be sustained for periods of more than approximately 20 s. The difficulty of operating near a building is attributable to significant levels of low-frequency unsteadiness (gustiness) in the oncoming wind during the flight tests, effectively resulting in a loss of updraft for sustained periods.

Kinetographic determination of airplane flight characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raethjen, P; Knott, H

1927-01-01

The author's first experiments with a glider on flight characteristics demonstrated that an accurate flight-path measurement would enable determination of the polar diagram from a gliding flight. Since then he has endeavored to obtain accurate flight measurements by means of kinetograph (motion-picture camera). Different methods of accomplishing this are presented.

Design and development of flapping wing micro air vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hynes, N. Rajesh Jesudoss; Solomon, A. Jeffey Markus; Kathiresh, E.; Brighton, D.; Velu, P. Shenbaga

2018-05-01

Birds and insects have different methods of producing lift and thrust for hovering and forward flight. Most birds, however, cannot hover. Wing tips of birds follow simple paths in flight, whereas insects have very complicated wing tip paths, for hovering and forward flight, which vary with each species. FMAV based on avian flight. Development of Flapping Wing Air Vehicle (FWAV) is an on-going quest to master the natural flyers by mechanical means. It is characterized by unsteady aerodynamics, whose knowledge is still developing. The present work aims at include being capable of manoeuvring around and over obstacles by adjusting pitch, yaw, and roll, able to glide for five seconds under its own power, skilful at alternating between flapping and gliding with minimal disruption of flight pattern and being durable enough to withstand impacts with minimal to no damage.

Analytical study of the cruise performance of a class of remotely piloted, microwave-powered, high-altitude airplane platforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, C. E. K., Jr.

1981-01-01

Each cycle of the flight profile consists of climb while the vehicle is tracked and powered by a microwave beam, followed by gliding flight back to a minimum altitude. Parameter variations were used to define the effects of changes in the characteristics of the airplane aerodynamics, the power transmission systems, the propulsion system, and winds. Results show that wind effects limit the reduction of wing loading and increase the lift coefficient, two effective ways to obtain longer range and endurance for each flight cycle. Calculated climb performance showed strong sensitivity to some power and propulsion parameters. A simplified method of computing gliding endurance was developed.

Flight Reynolds Number Testing of the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle in the NASA Langley National Transonic Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, David T.; Brauckmann, Gregory J.

2011-01-01

A 6%-scale unpowered model of the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV) ALAS-11-rev3c configuration was tested in the NASA Langley National Transonic Facility to obtain static aerodynamic data at flight Reynolds numbers. Subsonic and transonic data were obtained for Mach numbers between 0.3 and 0.95 for angles of attack from -4 to +22 degrees and angles of sideslip from -10 to +10 degrees. Data were also obtained at various intermediate Reynolds numbers between 2.5 million and 45 million depending on Mach number in order to examine the effects of Reynolds number on the vehicle. Force and moment data were obtained using a 6-component strain gauge balance that operated both at warm temperatures (+120 . F) and cryogenic temperatures (-250 . F). Surface pressure data were obtained with electronically scanned pressure units housed in heated enclosures designed to survive cryogenic temperatures. Data obtained during the 3-week test entry were used to support development of the LAV aerodynamic database and to support computational fluid dynamics code validation. Furthermore, one of the outcomes of the test was the reduction of database uncertainty on axial force coefficient for the static unpowered LAV. This was accomplished as a result of good data repeatability throughout the test and because of decreased uncertainty on scaling wind tunnel data to flight.

A Concept of a Manned Satellite Reentry Which is Completed with a Glide Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheatham, Donald C. (Compiler)

1959-01-01

A concept for a manned satellite reentry from a near space orbit and a glide landing on a normal size airfield is presented. The reentry vehicle configuration suitable for this concept would employ a variable geometry feature in order that the reentry could be made at 90 deg. angle of attack and the landing could be made with a conventional glide approach. Calculated results for reentry at a flight-path angle of -1 deg. show that with an accuracy of 1 percent in the impulse of a retrorocket, the desired flight-path angle at reentry can be controlled within 0.02 deg. and the distance traveled to the reentry point, within 100 miles. The reentry point is arbitrarily defined as the point at which the satellite passes through an altitude of about 70 miles. Misalignment of the retrorocket by 10 deg. increased these errors by as much as 0.02 deg. and 500 miles. Intra-atmospheric trajectory calculations show that pure drag reentries starting with flight-path angles of -1 deg. or less produce a peak deceleration of 8g. Lift created by varying the angle of attack between 90 and 60 deg. is effective in decreasing the maximum deceleration and allows the range to the "recovery" point (where transition is made from reentry to gliding flight) to be increased by as much as 2,300 miles. A sideslip angle of 30 deg. allows lateral displacement of the flight path by as much as 60 deg. miles. Reaction controls would provide control-attitude alignment during the orbit phase. For the reentry phase this configuration should have low static longitudinal and roll stability in the 90 deg. angle-of-attack attitude. Control could be effected by leading-edge and trailing-edge flaps. Transition into the landing phase would be accomplished at an altitude of about 100,000 feet by unfolding the outer wing panels and pitching over to low angles of attack. Calculations indicate that glides can be made from the recovery point to airfields at ranges of from 150 to 200 miles, depending upon the orientation with respect to the original course.

A wing-assisted running robot and implications for avian flight evolution.

PubMed

Peterson, K; Birkmeyer, P; Dudley, R; Fearing, R S

2011-12-01

DASH+Wings is a small hexapedal winged robot that uses flapping wings to increase its locomotion capabilities. To examine the effects of flapping wings, multiple experimental controls for the same locomotor platform are provided by wing removal, by the use of inertially similar lateral spars, and by passive rather than actively flapping wings. We used accelerometers and high-speed cameras to measure the performance of this hybrid robot in both horizontal running and while ascending inclines. To examine consequences of wing flapping for aerial performance, we measured lift and drag forces on the robot at constant airspeeds and body orientations in a wind tunnel; we also determined equilibrium glide performance in free flight. The addition of flapping wings increased the maximum horizontal running speed from 0.68 to 1.29 m s⁻¹, and also increased the maximum incline angle of ascent from 5.6° to 16.9°. Free flight measurements show a decrease of 10.3° in equilibrium glide slope between the flapping and gliding robot. In air, flapping improved the mean lift:drag ratio of the robot compared to gliding at all measured body orientations and airspeeds. Low-amplitude wing flapping thus provides advantages in both cursorial and aerial locomotion. We note that current support for the diverse theories of avian flight origins derive from limited fossil evidence, the adult behavior of extant flying birds, and developmental stages of already volant taxa. By contrast, addition of wings to a cursorial robot allows direct evaluation of the consequences of wing flapping for locomotor performance in both running and flying.

M2-F1 on lakebed with pilot Milt Thompson

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

NASA Flight Research Pilot Milt Thompson, shown here on the lakebed with the M2-F1 lifting body, was an early backer of R. Dale Reed's lifting-body proposal. He urged Flight Research Center director Paul Bikle to approve the M2-F1's construction. Thompson also made the first glide flights in both the M2-F1 and its successor, the heavyweight M2-F2. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, NASA Flight Research Center (later Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA) management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Parametric study of microwave-powered high-altitude airplane platforms designed for linear flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, C. E. K., Jr.

1981-01-01

The performance of a class of remotely piloted, microwave powered, high altitude airplane platforms is studied. The first part of each cycle of the flight profile consists of climb while the vehicle is tracked and powered by a microwave beam; this is followed by gliding flight back to a minimum altitude above a microwave station and initiation of another cycle. Parametric variations were used to define the effects of changes in the characteristics of the airplane aerodynamics, the energy transmission systems, the propulsion system, and winds. Results show that wind effects limit the reduction of wing loading and the increase of lift coefficient, two effective ways to obtain longer range and endurance for each flight cycle. Calculated climb performance showed strong sensitivity to some power and propulsion parameters. A simplified method of computing gliding endurance was developed.

Investigation of Aerodynamic Capabilities of Flying Fish in Gliding Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, H.; Choi, H.

In the present study, we experimentally investigate the aerodynamic capabilities of flying fish. We consider four different flying fish models, which are darkedged-wing flying fishes stuffed in actual gliding posture. Some morphological parameters of flying fish such as lateral dihedral angle of pectoral fins, incidence angles of pectoral and pelvic fins are considered to examine their effect on the aerodynamic performance. We directly measure the aerodynamic properties (lift, drag, and pitching moment) for different morphological parameters of flying fish models. For the present flying fish models, the maximum lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio are similar to those of medium-sized birds such as the vulture, nighthawk and petrel. The pectoral fins are found to enhance the lift-to-drag ratio and the longitudinal static stability of gliding flight. On the other hand, the lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio decrease with increasing lateral dihedral angle of pectoral fins.

Vertical distribution, flight behaviour and evolution of wing morphology in Morpho butterflies.

PubMed

Devries, P J; Penz, Carla M; Hill, Ryan I

2010-09-01

1. Flight is a key innovation in the evolution of insects that is crucial to their dispersal, migration, territoriality, courtship and predator avoidance. Male butterflies have characteristic territoriality and courtship flight behaviours, and females use a characteristic flight behaviour when searching for host plants. This implies that selection acts on wing morphology to maximize flight performance for conducting important behaviours among sexes. 2. Butterflies in the genus Morpho are obvious components of neotropical forests, and many observations indicate that they show two broad categories of flight behaviour and flight height. Although species can be categorized as using gliding or flapping flight, and flying at either canopy or understorey height, the association of flight behaviour and flight height with wing shape evolution has never been explored. 3. Two clades within Morpho differ in flight behaviour and height. Males and females of one clade inhabit the forest understorey and use flapping flight, whereas in the other clade, males use gliding flight at canopy level and females use flapping flight in both canopy and understorey. 4. We used independent contrasts to answer whether wing shape is associated with flight behaviour and height. Given a single switch to canopy habitation and gliding flight, we compared contrasts for the node at which the switch to canopy flight occurred with the distribution of values in the two focal clades. We found significant changes in wing shape at the transition to canopy flight only in males, and no change in size for either sex. A second node within the canopy clade suggests that other factors may also be involved in wing shape evolution. Our results reinforce the hypothesis that natural selection acts differently on male and female butterfly wing shape and indicate that the transition to canopy flight cannot explain all wing shape diversity in Morpho. 5. This study provides a starting point for characterizing evolution of wing morphology in forest butterflies in the contexts of habitat selection and flight behaviour. Further, these observations suggest that exploring wing shape evolution for canopy and understorey species in other insects may help understand the effects of habitat destruction on biological diversity.

KSC-06pd2034

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) is positioned in the parking area of KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson practiced landing the shuttle this morning. The space shuttle's Mate-Demate Device is seen in the background. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

14 CFR 61.69 - Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle towing: Experience and training requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle... GROUND INSTRUCTORS Aircraft Ratings and Pilot Authorizations § 61.69 Glider and unpowered ultralight... a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle unless that person— (1) Holds a private, commercial or...

14 CFR 61.69 - Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle towing: Experience and training requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle... GROUND INSTRUCTORS Aircraft Ratings and Pilot Authorizations § 61.69 Glider and unpowered ultralight... a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle unless that person— (1) Holds a private, commercial or...

14 CFR 61.69 - Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle towing: Experience and training requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle... GROUND INSTRUCTORS Aircraft Ratings and Pilot Authorizations § 61.69 Glider and unpowered ultralight... a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle unless that person— (1) Holds a private, commercial or...

14 CFR 61.69 - Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle towing: Experience and training requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle... GROUND INSTRUCTORS Aircraft Ratings and Pilot Authorizations § 61.69 Glider and unpowered ultralight... a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle unless that person— (1) Holds a private, commercial or...

14 CFR 61.69 - Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle towing: Experience and training requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Glider and unpowered ultralight vehicle... GROUND INSTRUCTORS Aircraft Ratings and Pilot Authorizations § 61.69 Glider and unpowered ultralight... a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle unless that person— (1) Holds a private, commercial or...

M2-F1 in flight being towed by a C-47

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1964-01-01

The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here being towed behind a C-47 at the Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. In this rear view, the M2-F1 is flying above and to one side of the C-47. This was done to avoid wake turbulence from the towplane. Lacking wings, the M2-F1 used an unusual configuration for its control surfaces. It had two rudders on the fins, two elevons (called 'elephant ears') mounted on the outsides of the fins, and two body flaps on the upper rear fuselage. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Convergent evolution in locomotory patterns of flying and swimming animals.

PubMed

Gleiss, Adrian C; Jorgensen, Salvador J; Liebsch, Nikolai; Sala, Juan E; Norman, Brad; Hays, Graeme C; Quintana, Flavio; Grundy, Edward; Campagna, Claudio; Trites, Andrew W; Block, Barbara A; Wilson, Rory P

2011-06-14

Locomotion is one of the major energetic costs faced by animals and various strategies have evolved to reduce its cost. Birds use interspersed periods of flapping and gliding to reduce the mechanical requirements of level flight while undergoing cyclical changes in flight altitude, known as undulating flight. Here we equipped free-ranging marine vertebrates with accelerometers and demonstrate that gait patterns resembling undulating flight occur in four marine vertebrate species comprising sharks and pinnipeds. Both sharks and pinnipeds display intermittent gliding interspersed with powered locomotion. We suggest, that the convergent use of similar gait patterns by distinct groups of animals points to universal physical and physiological principles that operate beyond taxonomic limits and shape common solutions to increase energetic efficiency. Energetically expensive large-scale migrations performed by many vertebrates provide common selection pressure for efficient locomotion, with potential for the convergence of locomotory strategies by a wide variety of species.

Aerodynamics of gliding flight in common swifts.

PubMed

Henningsson, P; Hedenström, A

2011-02-01

Gliding flight performance and wake topology of a common swift (Apus apus L.) were examined in a wind tunnel at speeds between 7 and 11 m s(-1). The tunnel was tilted to simulate descending flight at different sink speeds. The swift varied its wingspan, wing area and tail span over the speed range. Wingspan decreased linearly with speed, whereas tail span decreased in a nonlinear manner. For each airspeed, the minimum glide angle was found. The corresponding sink speeds showed a curvilinear relationship with airspeed, with a minimum sink speed at 8.1 m s(-1) and a speed of best glide at 9.4 m s(-1). Lift-to-drag ratio was calculated for each airspeed and tilt angle combinations and the maximum for each speed showed a curvilinear relationship with airspeed, with a maximum of 12.5 at an airspeed of 9.5 m s(-1). Wake was sampled in the transverse plane using stereo digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV). The main structures of the wake were a pair of trailing wingtip vortices and a pair of trailing tail vortices. Circulation of these was measured and a model was constructed that showed good weight support. Parasite drag was estimated from the wake defect measured in the wake behind the body. Parasite drag coefficient ranged from 0.30 to 0.22 over the range of airspeeds. Induced drag was calculated and used to estimate profile drag coefficient, which was found to be in the same range as that previously measured on a Harris' hawk.

Dale Reed with model in front of M2-F1

NASA Image and Video Library

1967-03-06

Dale Reed with a model of the M2-F1 in front of the actual lifting body. Reed used the model to show the potential of the lifting bodies. He first flew it into tall grass to test stability and trim, then hand-launched it from buildings for longer flights. Finally, he towed the lifting-body model aloft using a powered model airplane known as the "Mothership." A timer released the model and it glided to a landing. Dale's wife Donna used a 9 mm. camera to film the flights of the model. Its stability as it glided--despite its lack of wings--convinced Milt Thompson and some Flight Research Center engineers including the center director, Paul Bikle, that a piloted lifting body was possible.

Flight-Simulated Launch-Pad-Abort-to-Landing Maneuvers for a Lifting Body

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, E. Bruce; Rivers, Robert A.

1998-01-01

The results of an in-flight investigation of the feasibility of conducting a successful landing following a launch-pad abort of a vertically-launched lifting body are presented. The study attempted to duplicate the abort-to-land-ing trajectory from the point of apogee through final flare and included the steep glide and a required high-speed, low-altitude turn to the runway heading. The steep glide was flown by reference to ground-provided guidance. The low-altitude turn was flown visually with a reduced field- of-view duplicating that of the simulated lifting body. Results from the in-flight experiment are shown to agree with ground-based simulation results; however, these tests should not be regarded as a definitive due to performance and control law dissimilarities between the two vehicles.

Wranglers steadied the X-40A at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, March 14, 2001, as the experimental craft was carried to 15,000 feet for an unpiloted glide flight

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-03-14

Wranglers steadied the X-40A at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, March 14, 2001, as the experimental craft was carried to 15,000 feet for an unpiloted glide flight. The unpiloted X-40 is a risk-reduction vehicle for the X-37, which is intended to be a reusable space vehicle. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A will undergo a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound.

First flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center for the X-40A was a 74 second glide from 15,000 feet on March 14, 2001

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-03-14

First flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center for the X-40A was a 74 second glide from 15,000 feet on March 14, 2001. The unpiloted X-40 is a risk-reduction vehicle for the X-37, which is intended to be a reusable space vehicle. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A will undergo a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound.

Approach & Landing Test (ALT) - Shuttle Free-Flight (FF)-2 - New Release

NASA Image and Video Library

1977-09-13

S77-28141 (13 Sept 1977) --- The shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" makes a slight turn and bank maneuver during the second free flight of the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) conducted on September 13, 1977, at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. The "Enterprise" separated from the NASA 747 carrier aircraft and landed following a five-minute, 28-second unpowered flight. The Orbiter 101 crew was astronauts Joe H. Engle, commander, and Richard H. Truly, pilot. The ALT free flights are designed to verify orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfy prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. The orbiter soars above the dry California desert in this post-separation view. Photographer Bill Blunck of JSC's Photographic Technology Laboratory took this picture while riding in T-38 chase plane number two. He used a 70mm Hasselblad camera with an 80mm lens.

Approach & Landing Test (ALT) - Shuttle Free-Flight (FF)-2, News Release

NASA Image and Video Library

1977-09-13

S77-28138 (13 Sept 1977) --- The shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" makes a slight turn and bank maneuver during the second free flight of the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) conducted on September 13, 1977, at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. The "Enterprise" separated from the NASA 747 carrier aircraft and landed following a five-minute, 28-second unpowered flight. The Orbiter 101 crew was astronauts Joe H. Engle, commander, and Richard H. Truly, pilot. The ALT free flights are designed to verify orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfy prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. The orbiter soars above the dry California desert in this post-separation view. Astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton took this picture while riding in T-38 chase plane number one. He used a 35mm Nikon camera with a 50mm lens.

Gliding Experiments of the Wright Brothers: The Wrights and Flight Research 1899-1908

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowers, Al; Cole, Jennifer Hansen; Martin, Cam

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the experiments that the Wright Brothers conducted prior to their first powered flight in 1903 to developing the first practical aircraft in 1905. Many pictures of the gliders and other devices are used to illustrate the gradual development and experimentation that preceeded the first powered flight.

Motion analysis and trials of the deep sea hybrid underwater glider Petrel-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Fang; Wang, Yan-hui; Wu, Zhi-liang; Wang, Shu-xin

2017-03-01

A hybrid underwater glider Petrel-II has been developed and field tested. It is equipped with an active buoyancy unit and a compact propeller unit. Its working modes have been expanded to buoyancy driven gliding and propeller driven level-flight, which can make the glider work in strong currents, as well as many other complicated ocean environments. Its maximal gliding speed reaches 1 knot and the propelling speed is up to 3 knots. In this paper, a 3D dynamic model of Petrel-II is derived using linear momentum and angular momentum equations. According to the dynamic model, the spiral motion in the underwater space is simulated for the gliding mode. Similarly the cycle motion on water surface and the depth-keeping motion underwater are simulated for the level-flight mode. These simulations are important to the performance analysis and parameter optimization for the Petrel-II underwater glider. The simulation results show a good agreement with field trials.

Feasibility study of a procedure to detect and warn of low level wind shear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turkel, B. S.; Kessel, P. A.; Frost, W.

1981-01-01

A Doppler radar system which provides an aircraft with advanced warning of longitudinal wind shear is described. This system uses a Doppler radar beamed along the glide slope linked with an on line microprocessor containing a two dimensional, three degree of freedom model of the motion of an aircraft including pilot/autopilot control. The Doppler measured longitudinal glide slope winds are entered into the aircraft motion model, and a simulated controlled aircraft trajectory is calculated. Several flight path deterioration parameters are calculated from the computed aircraft trajectory information. The aircraft trajectory program, pilot control models, and the flight path deterioration parameters are discussed. The performance of the computer model and a test pilot in a flight simulator through longitudinal and vertical wind fields characteristic of a thunderstorm wind field are compared.

Summary of flight tests to determine the spin and controllability characteristics of a remotely piloted, large-scale (3/8) fighter airplane model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holleman, E. C.

1976-01-01

An unpowered, large, dynamically scaled airplane model was test flown by remote pilot to investigate the stability and controllability of the configuration at high angles of attack. The configuration proved to be departure/spin resistant; however, spins were obtained by using techniques developed on a flight support simulator. Spin modes at high and medium high angles of attack were identified, and recovery techniques were investigated. A flight support simulation of the airplane model mechanized with low speed wind tunnel data over an angle of attack range of + or - 90 deg. and an angle of sideslip range of + or - 40 deg. provided insight into the effects of altitude, stability, aerodynamic damping, and the operation of the augmented flight control system on spins. Aerodynamic derivatives determined from flight maneuvers were used to correlate model controllability with two proposed departure/spin design criteria.

Preliminary Design of a Modular Unmanned Research Vehicle. Volume 1. System Design Document

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

providing con- munications and restraint. 1-5 Tethered unpowered vehicle - an airplane-like body tether-mounted to an automobile , the auto providing...the velocity by towing. Auto-mounted vehicle - an airplane-like body rigidly mounted external to an automobile , the auto providing the velocity. Rail...accordingly. Based on this experiment, the MURV flight control system must be flexible in two ways: it should be reprogrammable for varying experimental

M2-F1 in flight on tow line

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1964-01-01

The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here under tow at the Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. The wingless, lifting-body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Flight Research Center management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The M2-F1 project had limited goals. They were to show that a piloted lifting body could be built, that it could not only fly but be controlled in flight, and that it could make a successful landing. While the M2-F1 did prove the concept, with a wooden fuselage and fixed landing gear, it was far from an operational spacecraft. The next step in the lifting-body development was to build a heavyweight, rocket-powered vehicle that was more like an operational lifting body, albeit one without the thermal protection system that would be needed for reentry into the atmosphere from space at near-orbital speeds. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind a NASA C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Methods for Determining the Optimum Design of Structures Protected from Aerodynamic Heating and Application to Typical Boost-Glide or Reentry Flight Paths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Robert S., Jr.; Davidson, John R.

1962-01-01

General equations are developed for the design of efficient structures protected from thermal environments typical of those encountered in boost-glide or atmospheric-reentry conditions. The method is applied to insulated heat-sink stressed-skin structures and to internally cooled insulated structures. Plates loaded in compression are treated in detail. Under limited conditions of plate buckling, high loading, and short flight periods, and for aluminum structures only, the weights of both configurations are nearly equal. Load parameters are found and are similar to those derived in previous investigations for the restricted case of a constant equilibrium temperature at the outside surface of the insulation.

The three-dimensional flight of red-footed boobies: adaptations to foraging in a tropical environment?

PubMed Central

Weimerskirch, H.; Le Corre, M.; Ropert-Coudert, Y.; Kato, A.; Marsac, F.

2005-01-01

In seabirds a broad variety of morphologies, flight styles and feeding methods exist as an adaptation to optimal foraging in contrasted marine environments for a wide variety of prey types. Because of the low productivity of tropical waters it is expected that specific flight and foraging techniques have been selected there, but very few data are available. By using five different types of high-precision miniaturized logger (global positioning systems, accelerometers, time depth recorders, activity recorders, altimeters) we studied the way a seabird is foraging over tropical waters. Red-footed boobies are foraging in the day, never foraging at night, probably as a result of predation risks. They make extensive use of wind conditions, flying preferentially with crosswinds at median speed of 38 km h−1, reaching highest speeds with tail winds. They spent 66% of the foraging trip in flight, using a flap–glide flight, and gliding 68% of the flight. Travelling at low costs was regularly interrupted by extremely active foraging periods where birds are very frequently touching water for landing, plunge diving or surface diving (30 landings h−1). Dives were shallow (maximum 2.4 m) but frequent (4.5 dives h−1), most being plunge dives. While chasing for very mobile prey like flying fishes, boobies have adopted a very active and specific hunting behaviour, but the use of wind allows them to reduce travelling cost by their extensive use of gliding. During the foraging and travelling phases birds climb regularly to altitudes of 20–50 m to spot prey or congeners. During the final phase of the flight, they climb to high altitudes, up to 500 m, probably to avoid attacks by frigatebirds along the coasts. This study demonstrates the use by boobies of a series of very specific flight and activity patterns that have probably been selected as adaptations to the conditions of tropical waters. PMID:15875570

The three-dimensional flight of red-footed boobies: adaptations to foraging in a tropical environment?

PubMed

Weimerskirch, H; Le Corre, M; Ropert-Coudert, Y; Kato, A; Marsac, F

2005-01-07

In seabirds a broad variety of morphologies, flight styles and feeding methods exist as an adaptation to optimal foraging in contrasted marine environments for a wide variety of prey types. Because of the low productivity of tropical waters it is expected that specific flight and foraging techniques have been selected there, but very few data are available. By using five different types of high-precision miniaturized logger (global positioning systems, accelerometers, time depth recorders, activity recorders, altimeters) we studied the way a seabird is foraging over tropical waters. Red-footed boobies are foraging in the day, never foraging at night, probably as a result of predation risks. They make extensive use of wind conditions, flying preferentially with crosswinds at median speed of 38 km h(-1), reaching highest speeds with tail winds. They spent 66% of the foraging trip in flight, using a flap-glide flight, and gliding 68% of the flight. Travelling at low costs was regularly interrupted by extremely active foraging periods where birds are very frequently touching water for landing, plunge diving or surface diving (30 landings h(-1)). Dives were shallow (maximum 2.4 m) but frequent (4.5 dives h(-1)), most being plunge dives. While chasing for very mobile prey like flying fishes, boobies have adopted a very active and specific hunting behaviour, but the use of wind allows them to reduce travelling cost by their extensive use of gliding. During the foraging and travelling phases birds climb regularly to altitudes of 20-50 m to spot prey or congeners. During the final phase of the flight, they climb to high altitudes, up to 500 m, probably to avoid attacks by frigatebirds along the coasts. This study demonstrates the use by boobies of a series of very specific flight and activity patterns that have probably been selected as adaptations to the conditions of tropical waters.

Aerodynamic characteristics of flying fish in gliding flight.

PubMed

Park, Hyungmin; Choi, Haecheon

2010-10-01

The flying fish (family Exocoetidae) is an exceptional marine flying vertebrate, utilizing the advantages of moving in two different media, i.e. swimming in water and flying in air. Despite some physical limitations by moving in both water and air, the flying fish has evolved to have good aerodynamic designs (such as the hypertrophied fins and cylindrical body with a ventrally flattened surface) for proficient gliding flight. Hence, the morphological and behavioral adaptations of flying fish to aerial locomotion have attracted great interest from various fields including biology and aerodynamics. Several aspects of the flight of flying fish have been determined or conjectured from previous field observations and measurements of morphometric parameters. However, the detailed measurement of wing performance associated with its morphometry for identifying the characteristics of flight in flying fish has not been performed yet. Therefore, in the present study, we directly measure the aerodynamic forces and moment on darkedged-wing flying fish (Cypselurus hiraii) models and correlated them with morphological characteristics of wing (fin). The model configurations considered are: (1) both the pectoral and pelvic fins spread out, (2) only the pectoral fins spread with the pelvic fins folded, and (3) both fins folded. The role of the pelvic fins was found to increase the lift force and lift-to-drag ratio, which is confirmed by the jet-like flow structure existing between the pectoral and pelvic fins. With both the pectoral and pelvic fins spread, the longitudinal static stability is also more enhanced than that with the pelvic fins folded. For cases 1 and 2, the lift-to-drag ratio was maximum at attack angles of around 0 deg, where the attack angle is the angle between the longitudinal body axis and the flying direction. The lift coefficient is largest at attack angles around 30∼35 deg, at which the flying fish is observed to emerge from the sea surface. From glide polar, we find that the gliding performance of flying fish is comparable to those of bird wings such as the hawk, petrel and wood duck. However, the induced drag by strong wing-tip vortices is one of the dominant drag components. Finally, we examine ground effect on the aerodynamic forces of the gliding flying fish and find that the flying fish achieves the reduction of drag and increase of lift-to-drag ratio by flying close to the sea surface.

Soaring energetics and glide performance in a moving atmosphere

PubMed Central

Reynolds, Kate V.; Thomas, Adrian L. R.

2016-01-01

Here, we analyse the energetics, performance and optimization of flight in a moving atmosphere. We begin by deriving a succinct expression describing all of the mechanical energy flows associated with gliding, dynamic soaring and thermal soaring, which we use to explore the optimization of gliding in an arbitrary wind. We use this optimization to revisit the classical theory of the glide polar, which we expand upon in two significant ways. First, we compare the predictions of the glide polar for different species under the various published models. Second, we derive a glide optimization chart that maps every combination of headwind and updraft speed to the unique combination of airspeed and inertial sink rate at which the aerodynamic cost of transport is expected to be minimized. With these theoretical tools in hand, we test their predictions using empirical data collected from a captive steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) carrying an inertial measurement unit, global positioning system, barometer and pitot tube. We show that the bird adjusts airspeed in relation to headwind speed as expected if it were seeking to minimize its aerodynamic cost of transport, but find only weak evidence to suggest that it adjusts airspeed similarly in response to updrafts during straight and interthermal glides. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’. PMID:27528788

M2-F2 with test pilot Bruce A. Peterson

NASA Image and Video Library

1966-09-22

Bruce A. Peterson standing beside the M2-F2 lifting body on Rogers Dry Lake. Peterson became the NASA project pilot for the lifting body program after Milt Thompson retired from flying in late 1966. Peterson had flown the M2-F1, and made the first glide flight of the HL-10 heavy-weight lifting body in December 1966. On May 10, 1967, Peterson made his fourth glide flight in the M2-F2. This was also the M2-F2's 16th glide flight, scheduled to be the last one before the powered flights began. However, as pilot Bruce Peterson neared the lakebed, the M2-F2 suffered a pilot induced oscillation (PIO). The vehicle rolled from side to side in flight as he tried to bring it under control. Peterson recovered, but then observed a rescue helicopter that seemed to pose a collision threat. Distracted, Peterson drifted in a cross-wind to an unmarked area of the lakebed where it was very difficult to judge the height over the lakebed because of a lack of the guidance the markers provided on the lakebed runway. Peterson fired the landing rockets to provide additional lift, but he hit the lakebed before the landing gear was fully down and locked. The M2-F2 rolled over six times, coming to rest upside down. Pulled from the vehicle by Jay King and Joseph Huxman, Peterson was rushed to the base hospital, transferred to March Air Force Base and then the UCLA Hospital. He recovered but lost vision in his right eye due to a staph infection.

Users guide for guidance and control Launch and Abort Simulation for Spacecraft (LASS), volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Havig, T. F.; Backman, H. D.

1972-01-01

The mathematical models and computer program which are used to implement LASS are described. The computer program provides for a simulation of boost to orbit and abort capability from boost trajectories to a prescribed target. The abort target provides a decision point for engine shutdown from which the vehicle coasts to the vicinity of the selected abort recovery site. The simulation is a six degree of freedom simulation describing a rigid body. The vehicle is influenced by forces and moments from nondistributed aerodynamics. An adaptive autopilot is provided to control vehicle attitudes during powered and unpowered flight. A conventional autopilot is provided for study of vehicle during powered flight.

Gliding Experiments of the Wright Brothers: The Wrights and Flight Research 1899-1908

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowers, Albion H.; Hansen, Jennifer; Martin, Cam

2007-01-01

Viewgraphs showing glider experiments of the Wright Brothers from 1899-1908 are presented. The slides review the experiments that the Wright Brothers conducted prior to their first powered flight in 1903 to developing the first practical aircraft in 1905. Many pictures of the gliders and other devices are used to illustrate the gradual development and experimentation that preceeded the first powered flight.

Problems Involved in an Emergency Method of Guiding a Gliding Vehicle from High Altitudes to a High Key Position

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jewel, Joseph W., Jr.; Whitten, James B.

1960-01-01

An investigation has been conducted to determine the problems involved in an emergency method of guiding a gliding vehicle from high altitudes to a high key position (initial position) above a landing field. A jet airplane in a simulated flameout condition, conventional ground-tracking radar, and a scaled wire for guidance programming on the radar plotting board were used in the tests. Starting test altitudes varied from 30,000 feet to 46,500 feet, and starting positions ranged 8.4 to 67 nautical miles from the high key. Specified altitudes of the high key were 12,000, 10,000 or 4,000 feet. Lift-drag ratios of the aircraft of either 17, 16, or 6 were held constant during any given flight; however, for a few flights the lift-drag ratio was varied from 11 to 6. Indicated airspeeds were held constant at either 160 or 250 knots. Results from these tests indicate that a gliding vehicle having a lift-drag ratio of 16 and an indicated approach speed of 160 knots can be guided to within 800 feet vertically and 2,400 feet laterally of a high key position. When the lift-drag ratio of the vehicle is reduced to 6 and the indicated approach speed is raised to 250 knots, the radar controller was able to guide the vehicle to within 2,400 feet vertically and au feet laterally of the high key. It was also found that radar stations which give only azimuth-distance information could control the glide path of a gliding vehicle as well as stations that receive azimuth-distance-altitude information, provided that altitude information is supplied by the pilot.

Analysis of a Meteorological Database for London Heathrow in the Context of Wake Vortex Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnew, P.; Ogden, D. J.; Hoad, D. J.

2003-04-01

A database of meteorological parameters collected by aircraft arriving at LHR has recently been compiled. We have used the recorded variation of temperature and wind with height to deduce the 'wake vortex behaviour class' (WVBC) along the glide slope, as experienced by each flight. The integrated state of the glide slope has been investigated, allowing us to estimate the proportion of time for which the wake vortex threat is reduced, due to either rapid decay or transport off the glide slope. A numerical weather prediction model was used to forecast the meteorological parameters for periods coinciding with the aircraft data. This allowed us to perform a comparison of forecast WVBC with those deduced from the aircraft measurements.

Correlation study of theoretical and experimental results for spin tests of a 1/10 scale radio control model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bihrle, W., Jr.

1976-01-01

A correlation study was conducted to determine the ability of current analytical spin prediction techniques to predict the flight motions of a current fighter airplane configuration during the spin entry, the developed spin, and the spin recovery motions. The airplane math model used aerodynamics measured on an exact replica of the flight test model using conventional static and forced-oscillation wind-tunnel test techniques and a recently developed rotation-balance test apparatus capable of measuring aerodynamics under steady spinning conditions. An attempt was made to predict the flight motions measured during stall/spin flight testing of an unpowered, radio-controlled model designed to be a 1/10 scale, dynamically-scaled model of a current fighter configuration. Comparison of the predicted and measured flight motions show that while the post-stall and spin entry motions were not well-predicted, the developed spinning motion (a steady flat spin) and the initial phases of the spin recovery motion are reasonably well predicted.

KSC technicians on team to modify X-34

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The modified X-34, known as A-1A, rests in the background of the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., while an integrated team of KSC, Dryden Flight Research Center and Orbital Sciences Corporation engineers and technicians bring the X-34 A-1A vehicle closer to test flight readiness. Since September, eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab have assisted in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air- launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Low-speed longitudinal orbiter qualities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powers, B. G.

1985-01-01

The shuttle program took on the challenge of providing a manual landing capability for an operational vehicle returning from orbit. Some complex challenges were encountered in developing the longitudinal flying qualities required to land the orbiter manually in an operational environment. Approach and landing test flights indicated a tendency for pilot-induced oscillation near landing. Changes in the operational procedures reduced the difficulty of the landing task, and an adaptive stick filter was incorporated to reduce the severity of any pilot-induced oscillatory motions. Fixed-base, movingbase, and in-flight simulations were used for the evaluations, and in general, flight simulation was the only reliable means of assessing the low-speed longitudinal flying qualities problems. Overall, the orbiter control system and operational procedures have produced a good capability to routinely perform precise landings with a large, unpowered vehicle with a low lift-to-drag ratio.

NASA's B-52 takes the X-38 aloft for the seventh free flight of the program, July 10, 2001

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-10

The X-38, mounted beneath the right wing of NASA's B-52, climbed from the runway at Edwards Air Force Base for the seventh free flight test of the X-38, July 10, 2001. The X-38 was released at 37,500 feet and completed a thirteen minute glide flight to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake.

NASA's B-52 takes the X-38 aloft for the seventh free flight of the program, July 10, 2001

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

The X-38, mounted beneath the right wing of NASA's B-52, climbed from the runway at Edwards Air Force Base for the seventh free flight test of the X-38, July 10, 2001. The X-38 was released at 37,500 feet and completed a thirteen minute glide flight to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake.

Migration by soaring or flapping: numerical atmospheric simulations reveal that turbulence kinetic energy dictates bee-eater flight mode

PubMed Central

Sapir, Nir; Horvitz, Nir; Wikelski, Martin; Avissar, Roni; Mahrer, Yitzhak; Nathan, Ran

2011-01-01

Aerial migrants commonly face atmospheric dynamics that may affect their movement and behaviour. Specifically, bird flight mode has been suggested to depend on convective updraught availability and tailwind assistance. However, this has not been tested thus far since both bird tracks and meteorological conditions are difficult to measure in detail throughout extended migratory flyways. Here, we applied, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive numerical atmospheric simulations by mean of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) to study how meteorological processes affect the flight behaviour of migrating birds. We followed European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) over southern Israel using radio telemetry and contrasted bird flight mode (flapping, soaring–gliding or mixed flight) against explanatory meteorological variables estimated by RAMS simulations at a spatial grid resolution of 250 × 250 m2. We found that temperature and especially turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) determine bee-eater flight mode, whereas, unexpectedly, no effect of tailwind assistance was found. TKE during soaring–gliding was significantly higher and distinct from TKE during flapping. We propose that applying detailed atmospheric simulations over extended migratory flyways can elucidate the highly dynamic behaviour of air-borne organisms, help predict the abundance and distribution of migrating birds, and aid in mitigating hazardous implications of bird migration. PMID:21471116

Why Do Kestrels Soar?

PubMed Central

Hernández-Pliego, Jesús; Rodríguez, Carlos; Bustamante, Javier

2015-01-01

Individuals allocate considerable amounts of energy to movement, which ultimately affects their ability to survive and reproduce. Birds fly by flapping their wings, which is dependent on the chemical energy produced by muscle work, or use soaring-gliding flight, in which chemical energy is replaced with energy harvested from moving air masses, such as thermals. Flapping flight requires more energy than soaring-gliding flight, and this difference in the use of energy increases with body mass. However, soaring-gliding results in lower speeds than flapping, especially for small species. Birds therefore face a trade-off between energy and time costs when deciding which flight strategy to use. Raptors are a group of large birds that typically soar. As relatively light weight raptors, falcons can either soar on weak thermals or fly by flapping with low energy costs. In this paper, we study the flight behavior of the insectivorous lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) during foraging trips and the influence of solar radiation, which we have adopted as a proxy for thermal formation, on kestrel flight variables. We tracked 35 individuals from two colonies using high frequency GPS-dataloggers over four consecutive breeding seasons. Contrary to expectations, kestrels relied heavily on thermal soaring when foraging, especially during periods of high solar radiation. This produced a circadian pattern in the kestrel flight strategy that led to a spatial segregation of foraging areas. Kestrels flapped towards foraging areas close to the colony when thermals were not available. However, as soon as thermals were formed, they soared on them towards foraging areas far from the colony, especially when they were surrounded by poor foraging habitats. This reduced the chick provisioning rate at the colony. Given that lesser kestrels have a preference for feeding on large insects, and considering the average distance they cover to capture them during foraging trips, to commute using flapping flight would result in a negative energy balance for the family group. Our results show that lesser kestrels prioritize saving energy when foraging, suggesting that kestrels are more energy than time-constrained during the breeding season. PMID:26689780

Shuttle Abort Flight Management (SAFM) - Application Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hu, Howard; Straube, Tim; Madsen, Jennifer; Ricard, Mike

2002-01-01

One of the most demanding tasks that must be performed by the Space Shuttle flight crew is the process of determining whether, when and where to abort the vehicle should engine or system failures occur during ascent or entry. Current Shuttle abort procedures involve paging through complicated paper checklists to decide on the type of abort and where to abort. Additional checklists then lead the crew through a series of actions to execute the desired abort. This process is even more difficult and time consuming in the absence of ground communications since the ground flight controllers have the analysis tools and information that is currently not available in the Shuttle cockpit. Crew workload specifically abort procedures will be greatly simplified with the implementation of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU) project. The intent of CAU is to maximize crew situational awareness and reduce flight workload thru enhanced controls and displays, and onboard abort assessment and determination capability. SAFM was developed to help satisfy the CAU objectives by providing the crew with dynamic information about the capability of the vehicle to perform a variety of abort options during ascent and entry. This paper- presents an overview of the SAFM application. As shown in Figure 1, SAFM processes the vehicle navigation state and other guidance information to provide the CAU displays with evaluations of abort options, as well as landing site recommendations. This is accomplished by three main SAFM components: the Sequencer Executive, the Powered Flight Function, and the Glided Flight Function, The Sequencer Executive dispatches the Powered and Glided Flight Functions to evaluate the vehicle's capability to execute the current mission (or current abort), as well as more than IS hypothetical abort options or scenarios. Scenarios are sequenced and evaluated throughout powered and glided flight. Abort scenarios evaluated include Abort to Orbit (ATO), Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL), East Coast Abort Landing (ECAL) and Return to Launch Site (RTLS). Sequential and simultaneous engine failures are assessed and landing footprint information is provided during actual entry scenarios as well as hypothetical "loss of thrust now" scenarios during ascent.

Three methods of presenting flight vector information in a head-up display during simulated STOL approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dwyer, J. H., III; Palmer, E. A., III

1975-01-01

A simulator study was conducted to determine the usefulness of adding flight path vector symbology to a head-up display designed to improve glide-slope tracking performance during steep 7.5 deg visual approaches in STOL aircraft. All displays included a fixed attitude symbol, a pitch- and roll-stabilized horizon bar, and a glide-slope reference bar parallel to and 7.5 deg below the horizon bar. The displays differed with respect to the flight-path marker (FPM) symbol: display 1 had no FPM symbol; display 2 had an air-referenced FPM, and display 3 had a ground-referenced FPM. No differences between displays 1 and 2 were found on any of the performance measures. Display 3 was found to decrease height error in the early part of the approach and to reduce descent rate variation over the entire approach. Two measures of workload did not indicate any differences between the displays.

Leading-edge vortex lifts swifts.

PubMed

Videler, J J; Stamhuis, E J; Povel, G D E

2004-12-10

The current understanding of how birds fly must be revised, because birds use their hand-wings in an unconventional way to generate lift and drag. Physical models of a common swift wing in gliding posture with a 60 degrees sweep of the sharp hand-wing leading edge were tested in a water tunnel. Interactions with the flow were measured quantitatively with digital particle image velocimetry at Reynolds numbers realistic for the gliding flight of a swift between 3750 and 37,500. The results show that gliding swifts can generate stable leading-edge vortices at small (5 degrees to 10 degrees) angles of attack. We suggest that the flow around the arm-wings of most birds can remain conventionally attached, whereas the swept-back hand-wings generate lift with leading-edge vortices.

Bird flight and airplane flight. [instruments to measure air currents and flight characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Magnan, A.

1980-01-01

Research was based on a series of mechanical, electrical, and cinematographic instruments developed to measure various features of air current behavior as well as bird and airplane flight. Investigation of rising obstruction and thermal currents led to a theory of bird flight, especially of the gliding and soaring types. It was shown how a knowledge of bird flight can be applied to glider and ultimately motorized aircraft construction. The instruments and methods used in studying stress in airplanes and in comparing the lift to drag ratios of airplanes and birds are described.

The effect of weight and drag on the sinking speed and lift/drag ratio of gliders

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosin, R

1934-01-01

The most important factors in evaluating performance of gliders are minimum sinking speed and minimum gliding angle. To assure their optimum value the energy necessary for flight, that is, the energy of lift and friction must be kept very low, or in other words, weight and total drag which have a decisive effect on the sinking speed and on the gliding angle, must be kept to a minimum. How great the effect of a reduction of these two quantities will be shown in the following.

The ultralight sailplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmasters, J. H.

1979-01-01

As presently envisioned, the ultralight sailplane is intermediate in size, cost and performance between current hang gliders and the lower end of the traditional sailplane spectrum. In the design of an ultralight sailplane, safety, low cost, and operational simplicity were emphasized at the expense of absolute performance. An overview of the design requirements for an ultralight sailplane is presented. It was concluded that by a judicious combination of the technologies of hang gliding, human powered flight, conventional soaring and motor gliding, an operationally and economically viable class of ultralight, self-launching sailplanes can be developed.

KSC-99pp1272

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-11-01

Two of KSC's X-34 technicians (far right), David Rowell and Roger Cartier, look at work being done on the modified A-1A at Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. Since September, eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala

Final Environmental Assessment for Conventional Strike Missile Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-11

impacts of conducting a single demonstration flight test of the Conventional Strike Missile (CSM). The CSM Demonstration flight test vehicle would...Vehicle would glide at hypersonic velocities in the upper atmosphere, prior to a land or ocean impact at the US Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site...SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR CONVENTIONAL STRIKE MISSILE DEMONSTRATION AGENCY: United States Air Force (USAF) BACKGROUND

Control Law for Automatic Landing Using Fuzzy-Logic Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, Akio; Inagaki, Yoshiki

The effectiveness of a fuzzy-logic control law for automatically landing an aircraft that handles both the control to lead an aircraft from horizontal flight at an altitude of 500 meters to flight along the glide-path course near the runway, as well as the control to direct the aircraft to land smoothly on a runway, was investigated. The control law for the automatic landing was designed to match the design goals of directing an aircraft from horizontal flight to flight along a glide-path course quickly and smoothly, and for landing smoothly on a runway. The design of the control law and evaluation of the control performance were performed considering the ground effect at landing. As a result, it was confirmed that the design goals were achieved. Even if the characteristics of the aircraft change greatly, the proposed control law is able to maintain the control performance. Moreover, it was confirmed to be able to land an aircraft safely during air turbulence. The present paper indicates that fuzzy-logic control is an effective and flexible method when applied to the control law for automatic landing, and the design method of the control law using fuzzy-logic control was obtained.

Control Law for Automatic Landing Using Fuzzy Logic Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, Akio; Inagaki, Yoshiki

The effectiveness of fuzzy logic control law for automatic landing of aircraft, which cover both of control to lead aircraft from level flight at an altitude of 500m to the flight on the glide-path course near the runway and control for the aircraft to land smoothly on a runway, was studied. The control law of the automatic landing was designed to match the design goals of leading from the horizontal flight to the flight on the glide-path course quickly and smoothly and of landing smoothly on a runway. Because there is the ground effect at landing, design of control law and evaluation of control performance were done in consideration of the ground effect. As a result, it was confirmed that the design objective was achieved. Even if the characteristics of the plant changes greatly, this control law was able to maintain the control performance. Moreover, it was confirmed to be able to land safely when there was air turbulence. This paper shows that fuzzy logic control is an effective and flexible method when applied to control law for automatic landing and the design method of control law using fuzzy logic control was obtained.

X-37 Flight Demonstrator: A Building Block in NASA's Future Access to Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, David

2004-01-01

X-37 is a fully automated winged vehicle designed to go into low-Earth orbit, maneuver, reenter Earth's atmosphere, and glide back to a landing site. This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of the X-37 flight demonstrator, including cut-away diagrams of its interior, the phased approach to its orbital flight demonstrations, and the experience the program will give aerospace engineers. The presentation also lists X-37 applications, partners, and milestones.

Analysis of localizer and glide slope Flight Technical Error

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-12-09

A new wake turbulence procedure has been developed that permits two dependent arrival traffic streams during instrument meteorological conditions : to runways with centerline separations less than 2500 ft. For the proposed procedure, aircraft approac...

Approach and Landing Tests Film Documentary

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-09

Documentary of shuttle Enterprise on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), separating from the SCA in flight, and in free-flight. Footage shows SCA pilots Fitzhugh “Fitz” Fulton and Tom McMurtry heading to the aircraft, and Gordon Fullerton and Fred Haise following a flight in the prototype shuttle. During the nearly one-year-long series of tests, Enterprise was taken aloft on the SCA to study the aerodynamics of the mated vehicles and, in a series of five free flights, tested the glide and landing characteristics of the orbiter prototype.

Using physical models to study the gliding performance of extinct animals.

PubMed

Koehl, M A R; Evangelista, Dennis; Yang, Karen

2011-12-01

Aerodynamic studies using physical models of fossil organisms can provide quantitative information about how performance of defined activities, such as gliding, depends on specific morphological features. Such analyses allow us to rule out hypotheses about the function of extinct organisms that are not physically plausible and to determine if and how specific morphological features and postures affect performance. The purpose of this article is to provide a practical guide for the design of dynamically scaled physical models to study the gliding of extinct animals using examples from our research on the theropod dinosaur, †Microraptor gui, which had flight feathers on its hind limbs as well as on its forelimbs. Analysis of the aerodynamics of †M. gui can shed light on the design of gliders with large surfaces posterior to the center of mass and provide functional information to evolutionary biologists trying to unravel the origins of flight in the dinosaurian ancestors and sister groups to birds. Measurements of lift, drag, side force, and moments in pitch, roll, and yaw on models in a wind tunnel can be used to calculate indices of gliding and parachuting performance, aerodynamic static stability, and control effectiveness in maneuvering. These indices permit the aerodynamic performance of bodies of different shape, size, stiffness, texture, and posture to be compared and thus can provide insights about the design of gliders, both biological and man-made. Our measurements of maximum lift-to-drag ratios of 2.5-3.1 for physical models of †M. gui suggest that its gliding performance was similar to that of flying squirrels and that the various leg postures that might have been used by †M. gui make little difference to that aspect of aerodynamic performance. We found that body orientation relative to the movement of air past the animal determines whether it is difficult or easy to maneuver.

Optimization of interplanetary trajectories with unpowered planetary swingbys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sauer, Carl G., Jr.

1988-01-01

A method is presented for calculating and optimizing unpowered planetary swingby trajectories using a patched conic trajectory generator. Examples of unpowered swingby trajectories are given to demonstrate the method. The method, which uses primer vector theory, is not highly accurate, but provides projections for preliminary mission definition studies. Advantages to using a patched conic trajectory simulation for preliminary studies which examine many different and complex missions include calculation speed and adaptability to changes or additions to the formulation.

Assessing arboreal adaptations of bird antecedents: testing the ecological setting of the origin of the avian flight stroke.

PubMed

Dececchi, T Alexander; Larsson, Hans C E

2011-01-01

The origin of avian flight is a classic macroevolutionary transition with research spanning over a century. Two competing models explaining this locomotory transition have been discussed for decades: ground up versus trees down. Although it is impossible to directly test either of these theories, it is possible to test one of the requirements for the trees-down model, that of an arboreal paravian. We test for arboreality in non-avian theropods and early birds with comparisons to extant avian, mammalian, and reptilian scansors and climbers using a comprehensive set of morphological characters. Non-avian theropods, including the small, feathered deinonychosaurs, and Archaeopteryx, consistently and significantly cluster with fully terrestrial extant mammals and ground-based birds, such as ratites. Basal birds, more advanced than Archaeopteryx, cluster with extant perching ground-foraging birds. Evolutionary trends immediately prior to the origin of birds indicate skeletal adaptations opposite that expected for arboreal climbers. Results reject an arboreal capacity for the avian stem lineage, thus lending no support for the trees-down model. Support for a fully terrestrial ecology and origin of the avian flight stroke has broad implications for the origin of powered flight for this clade. A terrestrial origin for the avian flight stroke challenges the need for an intermediate gliding phase, presents the best resolved series of the evolution of vertebrate powered flight, and may differ fundamentally from the origin of bat and pterosaur flight, whose antecedents have been postulated to have been arboreal and gliding.

Heart rate responses and fluid balance of competitive cross-country hang gliding pilots.

PubMed

Morton, Darren P

2010-03-01

To evaluate the physiological challenges of competitive cross-country hang gliding. Seventeen experienced male pilots (age=41+/-9 y; mean+/-SD) were fitted with a monitor that recorded heart rate and altitude at 0.5 Hz throughout a competitive flight. Fluid losses were evaluated by comparing pilot pre- and postflight mass. The pilots' displacement was 88.4+/-43.7 km in 145.5+/-49.4 min. Mean flight altitude was 1902+/-427 m (range=1363-2601 m) with a maximum altitude of 2925+/-682 m (1870-3831 m). The mean in-flight heart rate of the pilots was 112+/-11 bpm (64+/-6% predicted HRmax). For all except one subject, heart rate was highest while launching (165+/-12 bpm, 93+/-7% predicted HRmax), followed by landing (154+/-13 bpm, 87+/-7% predicted HRmax). No statistically significant relationship was observed between heart rate during the launch and reported measures of state anxiety. Heart rate was inversely related (P<.01) to altitude for all pilots except one. Fluid loss during the flight was 1.32+/-0.70 L, which approximated 0.55 L/h, while mean in-flight fluid consumption was 0.39+/-0.44 L. Six pilots consumed no fluid during the flight. Even among experienced pilots, high heart rates are more a function of state anxiety than physical work demand. Fluid losses during flight are surprisingly moderate but pilots may still benefit from attending to fluid balance.

How lizards fly: A novel type of wing in animals.

PubMed

Dehling, J Maximilian

2017-01-01

Flying lizards of the genus Draco are renowned for their gliding ability, using an aerofoil formed by winglike patagial membranes and supported by elongated thoracic ribs. It remains unknown, however, how these lizards manoeuvre during flight. Here, I present the results of a study on the aerial behaviour of Dussumier's Flying Lizard (Draco dussumieri) and show that Draco attaches the forelimbs to the leading edge of the patagium while airborne, forming a hitherto unknown type of composite wing. The attachment of the forelimbs to the patagium suggests that that aerofoil is controlled through movements of the forelimbs. One major advantage for the lizards is that the forelimbs retain their complete range of movement and functionality for climbing and running when not used as a part of the wing. These findings not only shed a new light on the flight of Draco but also have implications for the interpretation of gliding performance in fossil species.

How lizards fly: A novel type of wing in animals

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Flying lizards of the genus Draco are renowned for their gliding ability, using an aerofoil formed by winglike patagial membranes and supported by elongated thoracic ribs. It remains unknown, however, how these lizards manoeuvre during flight. Here, I present the results of a study on the aerial behaviour of Dussumier's Flying Lizard (Draco dussumieri) and show that Draco attaches the forelimbs to the leading edge of the patagium while airborne, forming a hitherto unknown type of composite wing. The attachment of the forelimbs to the patagium suggests that that aerofoil is controlled through movements of the forelimbs. One major advantage for the lizards is that the forelimbs retain their complete range of movement and functionality for climbing and running when not used as a part of the wing. These findings not only shed a new light on the flight of Draco but also have implications for the interpretation of gliding performance in fossil species. PMID:29236777

The epidemiology of injury in hang-gliding and paragliding.

PubMed

Rekand, Tiina

2012-01-01

Para- and hang-gliding are modern air sports that developed in the 20th century. Performers should possess technical skills and manage certified equipment for successful flight. Injuries may happen during the take-off, flight and landing. PubMed was searched using the search terms 'paragliding' and/or 'hang-gliding'. The reference lists of articles identified in the search strategy were also searched for relevant articles. The most common injuries are fractures, dislocations or sprains in the extremities, followed by spinal and head traumas. Multiple injuries after accidents are common. Collision with electrical wires may cause burn injuries. Fatal outcomes are caused by brain injuries, spinal cord injuries at the cervical level or aorta rupture. Accidents happen because of risk-taking behavior, lack of education or use of self-modified equipment. Observational studies have suggested the need for protection of the head, trunk and lower extremities. The measures proposed are often based on conclusions of observational studies and not proven through randomized studies. Better education along with focusing on possible risk factors will probably diminish the risks of hang- and paragliding. Large denominator-based case series, case-control and population-based studies are needed for assessment of the risks of hang- and paragliding. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

E-20168

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-04-25

NASA research pilot Bill Dana stands in front of the HL-10 Lifting Body following his first glide flight on April 25, 1969. Dana later retired as Chief Engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, (called the NASA Flight Research Center in 1969). Prior to his lifting body assignment, Dana flew the X-15 research airplane. He flew the rocket-powered aircraft 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897 miles per hour and a peak altitude of 310,000 feet (almost 59 miles high).

Midcourse Guidance Study for Tactical Guided Weapons. Volume I. Survey and Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-08-01

relatively moderate when compared to air intercept guidance requirements.) The alignment phase involved the comparison of gyrocom- passing (using... phase of flight for discrete updates. The AFBGW aero and guidance configuration is derived from current Air Force glide weapon concepts. The AFBGW... comparable midcourse flight phase . Harpoon and Standard Arm represent performance levels similar to the AFBGW requirements, but differences in

STS Approach and Landing Test (ALT): Flight 5 - Slow Motion video of pilot-induced oscillation (PIO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

During 1977 the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, hosted the Approach and Landing Tests for the space shuttle prototype Enterprise. Since the shuttles would land initially on Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to Dryden on Edwards Air Force Base, NASA had already modified a Boeing 747 to carry them back to their launch site at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Computer calculations and simulations had predicted the mated shuttle and 747 could fly together safely, but NASA wanted to verify that prediction in a controlled flight-test environment before the shuttles went into operation. The agency also wanted to glide test the orbiter to ensure it could land safely before sending it into space with human beings aboard. So NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, developed a three-phase test program. First, an unpiloted-captive phase tested the shuttle/747 combination without a crew on the Enterprise in case of a problem that required jettisoning the prototype. There were three taxi tests and five flight tests without a crew in the shuttle. That phase ended on March 2, 1977. The second or captive-active phase-completed on July 26, 1977, flew the orbiter mated to the 747 with a two-person crew inside. Finally there were five flights-completed on October 26, 1977, in which the orbiter separated from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA, as the 747 was designated) and landed. Beginning on August 12, 1977, the first four landings took place uneventfully on lakebed runways, but the fifth occurred on the concrete, 15,000-foot runway at Edwards. For the first three flights, a tail cone was placed around the dummy main engines to reduce buffeting. The tail-cone fairing was removed for the last two flights. This movie clip begins with the Enterprise just prior to touchdown on the main runway at Edwards AFB after it's fifth and final unpowered free flight. Shuttle pilots Gordon Fullerton and Fred Haise were attempting a couple of firsts on this flight--a precision 'spot' landing on the concrete runway and flying the orbiter without it's tail-cone fairing, since the previous lakebed landing without the fairing had been made by Joe Engle and Richard Truly. Both Haise and Fullerton had prepared as well as possible for the variables of this mission by flying simulated approach profiles in NASA's shuttle training aircraft. However, as with most simulations, the performance wasn't completely identical to that of the real vehicle. Consequently Haise, the mission commander in the left seat, was too fast on the orbiter's landing approach. Deploying the speed brakes, he tried vainly to hit the assigned landing mark but in the stress of the moment, began to overcorrect the vehicle. The orbiter entered a pilot-induced oscillation or PIO along both it's roll and pitch axis causing the vehicle to begin to 'porpoise' down the runway. As it settled down to land it began to bounce from one main landing gear to the next before being brought under control and finally landed by the crew. Engineers at Dryden later determined that a roughly 270-millisecond time delay in the space shuttle's fly-by-wire system had been the cause of the problem, which was then explored with NASA Dryden's F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft and corrected with a suppression filter integrated into the orbiter's flight control system.

STS Approach and Landing Test (ALT): Flight 5 - pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) on landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

During 1977 the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, hosted the Approach and Landing Tests for the space shuttle prototype Enterprise. Since the shuttles would land initially on Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to Dryden on Edwards Air Force Base, NASA had already modified a Boeing 747 to carry them back to their launch site at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Computer calculations and simulations had predicted the mated shuttle and 747 could fly together safely, but NASA wanted to verify that prediction in a controlled flight-test environment before the shuttles went into operation. The agency also wanted to glide test the orbiter to ensure it could land safely before sending it into space with human beings aboard. So NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, developed a three-phase test program. First, an unpiloted-captive phase tested the shuttle/747 combination without a crew on the Enterprise in case of a problem that required jettisoning the prototype. There were three taxi tests and five flight tests without a crew in the shuttle. That phase ended on March 2, 1977. The second or captive-active phase-completed on July 26, 1977, flew the orbiter mated to the 747 with a two-person crew inside. Finally there were five flights-completed on October 26, 1977, in which the orbiter separated from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA, as the 747 was designated) and landed. Beginning on August 12, 1977, the first four landings took place uneventfully on lakebed runways, but the fifth occurred on the concrete, 15,000-foot runway at Edwards. For the first three flights, a tail cone was placed around the dummy main engines to reduce buffeting. The tail-cone fairing was removed for the last two flights. This movie clip begins with the Enterprise just prior to touchdown on the main runway at Edwards AFB after it's fifth and final unpowered free flight. Shuttle pilots Gordon Fullerton and Fred Haise were attempting a couple of firsts on this flight--a precision 'spot' landing on the concrete runway and flying the orbiter without it's tail-cone fairing, since the previous lakebed landing without the fairing had been made by Joe Engle and Richard Truly. Both Haise and Fullerton had prepared as well as possible for the variables of this mission by flying simulated approach profiles in NASA's shuttle training aircraft. However, as with most simulations, the performance wasn't completely identical to that of the real vehicle. Consequently Haise, the mission commander in the left seat, was too fast on the orbiter's landing approach. Deploying the speed brakes, he tried vainly to hit the assigned landing mark but in the stress of the moment, began to overcorrect the vehicle. The orbiter entered a pilot-induced oscillation or PIO along both it's roll and pitch axis causing the vehicle to begin to 'porpoise' down the runway. As it settled down to land it began to bounce from one main landing gear to the next before being brought under control and finally landed by the crew. Engineers at Dryden later determined that a roughly 270-millisecond time delay in the space shuttle's fly-by-wire system had been the cause of the problem, which was then explored with NASA Dryden's F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft and corrected with a suppression filter integrated into the orbiter's flight control system.

Fatal gliding accidents in the United Kingdom: 1960-1980.

PubMed

Cooke, J N; Balfour, A J; Underwood Ground, K E

1983-11-01

For many years, the Department of Aviation and Forensic Pathology of the RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine has assisted in the medical investigation of fatal military and civil aircraft accidents, both in the U.K. and overseas. These included 33 glider accidents involving 39 deaths over the period 1960-1980. They do not include all the fatal gliding accidents in the U.K. because there is no mandatory obligation to call in the department, but probably represent over 50%. The Department is primarily interested in the nature of fatal injuries, the performance of safety equipment and the presence or absence of pre-existing medical factors which might have affected or caused the accident. It also makes recommendations intended to improve flight safety, and is often involved in the discussions between the British Gliding Association, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the other organizations involved.

Design criteria for flightpath and airspeed control for the approach and landing of STOL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franklin, J. A.; Innis, R. C.; Hardy, G. H.; Stephenson, J. D.

1982-01-01

A flight research program was conducted to assess requirements for flightpath and airspeed control for glide-slope tracking during a precision approach and for flare control, particularly as applied to powered-lift, short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. Ames Research Center's Augmentor Wing Research Aircraft was used to fly approaches on a 7.5 deg glide slope to landings on a 30 X 518 m (100 X 1700 ft) STOL runway. The dominant aircraft response characteristics determined were flightpath overshoot, flightpath-airspeed coupling, and initial flightpath response time. The significant contribution to control of the landing flare using pitch attitude was the short-term flightpath response. The limiting condition for initial flightpath response time for flare control with thrust was also identified. It is possible to define flying-qualities design criteria for glide-slope and flare control based on the aforementioned response characteristics.

Comparison of two head-up displays in simulated standard and noise abatement night visual approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cronn, F.; Palmer, E. A., III

1975-01-01

Situation and command head-up displays were evaluated for both standard and two segment noise abatement night visual approaches in a fixed base simulation of a DC-8 transport aircraft. The situation display provided glide slope and pitch attitude information. The command display provided glide slope information and flight path commands to capture a 3 deg glide slope. Landing approaches were flown in both zero wind and wind shear conditions. For both standard and noise abatement approaches, the situation display provided greater glidepath accuracy in the initial phase of the landing approaches, whereas the command display was more effective in the final approach phase. Glidepath accuracy was greater for the standard approaches than for the noise abatement approaches in all phases of the landing approach. Most of the pilots preferred the command display and the standard approach. Substantial agreement was found between each pilot's judgment of his performance and his actual performance.

Status of 'HIMES' reentry flight test project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inatani, Yoshifumi; Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro; Yonemoto, Koichi

1990-10-01

The salient features of the Highly Maneuverable Experimental Space (HIMES) vehicle which is being developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan are discussed together with the results of tests conducted. Analytical studies carried out so far include system analyses, aerodynamic design, the navigation/guidance and control systems, the propulsion system, and structural studies. Results of flight tests conducted to verify these analyses include the low-speed gliding flight test and the atmospheric reentry flight test, as well as a ground firing test of the hydrogen-fueled propulsion system. Diagrams are presented of the HIMES vehicle and its propulsion engines.

Current Hypersonic and Space Vehicle Flight Test and Instrumentation

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-22

were transmitted/received over an air vehicle powered and glide flight range of approximately 350 nm from the point of release from the B-52. The X...Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation 2015, 22-26 June 2015, Dallas, Texas 8 C. Experimental Spaceplane ( XS -1) The Experimental Spaceplane ( XS ...TM data collection and relay systems. Figure 6 Artist Concept of Experimental Spaceplance ( XS -1) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger--inventor of the spring prosthesis and hang-glider (1811).

PubMed

Harsch, Viktor; Kriebel, Juergen

2006-10-01

Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger (1770-1829), known as the "Flying Tailor of Ulm", started with flight experiments in Ulm, Germany, in the early 19th century. He gained experience in downhill gliding with a maneuverable airworthy semi-rigid hang-glider and then attempted to cross the Danube River at Ulm's Eagle's Bastion on the 31st of May 1811. The tricky local winds caused him to crash and he was rescued by fishermen, making him the first survivor of a water immersion accident of a heavier-than-air manned "flight machine". Though he failed in his attempt to be the first man to fly, Berblinger can be regarded as one of the significant aviation pioneers who applied the "heavier than air" principle and paved the way for the more effective glide-flights of Otto Lilienthal (1891) and the Wright Brothers (1902). Less known are Berblinger's significant contributions to the construction of artificial limbs for medical use, as well as the spring-application in aviation. His invention of a special mechanical joint was also used for the juncture of the wings of his "flying machine". Because of his worthwhile contributions to medicine and flight, in 1993 the German Academy of Aviation Medicine named an annual award for young scientists in the field of aerospace medicine in his honor.

Comparison of several methods for estimating low speed stability derivatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fletcher, H. S.

1971-01-01

Methods presented in five different publications have been used to estimate the low-speed stability derivatives of two unpowered airplane configurations. One configuration had unswept lifting surfaces, the other configuration was the D-558-II swept-wing research airplane. The results of the computations were compared with each other, with existing wind-tunnel data, and with flight-test data for the D-558-II configuration to assess the relative merits of the methods for estimating derivatives. The results of the study indicated that, in general, for low subsonic speeds, no one text appeared consistently better for estimating all derivatives.

ksc-81pc-382

NASA Image and Video Library

1981-04-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After six years of silence, the thunder of manned space flight is heard again as the successful launch of the first Space Shuttle ushers in a new concept in utilization of space. The April 12 launch at Pad 39A, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. STS-1, the first in a series of shuttle vehicles planned for the Space Transportation sysstem, utilizes reusable launch and return components

Space Shuttle Avionics: a Redundant IMU On-Board Checkout and Redundancy Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckern, R. A.; Brown, D. G.; Dove, D. W.; Gilmore, J. P.; Landey, M. E.; Musoff, H.; Amand, J. S.; Vincent, K. T., Jr.

1972-01-01

A failure detection and isolation philosophy applicable to multiple off-the-shelf gimbaled IMUs are discussed. The equations developed are implemented and evaluated with actual shuttle trajectory simulations. The results of these simulations are presented for both powered and unpowered flight phases and at operational levels of four, three, and two IMUs. A multiple system checkout philosophy is developed and simulation results presented. The final task develops a laboratory test plan and defines the hardware and software requirements to implement an actual multiple system and evaluate the interim study results for space shuttle application.

Assessing Arboreal Adaptations of Bird Antecedents: Testing the Ecological Setting of the Origin of the Avian Flight Stroke

PubMed Central

Dececchi, T. Alexander; Larsson, Hans C. E.

2011-01-01

The origin of avian flight is a classic macroevolutionary transition with research spanning over a century. Two competing models explaining this locomotory transition have been discussed for decades: ground up versus trees down. Although it is impossible to directly test either of these theories, it is possible to test one of the requirements for the trees-down model, that of an arboreal paravian. We test for arboreality in non-avian theropods and early birds with comparisons to extant avian, mammalian, and reptilian scansors and climbers using a comprehensive set of morphological characters. Non-avian theropods, including the small, feathered deinonychosaurs, and Archaeopteryx, consistently and significantly cluster with fully terrestrial extant mammals and ground-based birds, such as ratites. Basal birds, more advanced than Archaeopteryx, cluster with extant perching ground-foraging birds. Evolutionary trends immediately prior to the origin of birds indicate skeletal adaptations opposite that expected for arboreal climbers. Results reject an arboreal capacity for the avian stem lineage, thus lending no support for the trees-down model. Support for a fully terrestrial ecology and origin of the avian flight stroke has broad implications for the origin of powered flight for this clade. A terrestrial origin for the avian flight stroke challenges the need for an intermediate gliding phase, presents the best resolved series of the evolution of vertebrate powered flight, and may differ fundamentally from the origin of bat and pterosaur flight, whose antecedents have been postulated to have been arboreal and gliding. PMID:21857918

Measured noise reductions resulting from modified approach procedures for business jet aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burcham, F. W., Jr.; Putnam, T. W.; Lasagna, P. L.; Parish, O. O.

1975-01-01

Five business jet airplanes were flown to determine the noise reductions that result from the use of modified approach procedures. The airplanes tested were a Gulfstream 2, JetStar, Hawker Siddeley 125-400, Sabreliner-60 and LearJet-24. Noise measurements were made 3, 5, and 7 nautical miles from the touchdown point. In addition to a standard 3 deg glide slope approach, a 4 deg glide slope approach, a 3 deg glide slope approach in a low-drag configuration, and a two-segment approach were flown. It was found that the 4 deg approach was about 4 EPNdB quieter than the standard 3 deg approach. Noise reductions for the low-drag 3 deg approach varied widely among the airplanes tested, with an average of 8.5 EPNdB on a fleet-weighted basis. The two-segment approach resulted in noise reductions of 7 to 8 EPNdB at 3 and 5 nautical miles from touchdown, but only 3 EPNdB at 7 nautical miles from touchdown when the airplanes were still in level flight prior to glide slope intercept. Pilot ratings showed progressively increasing workload for the 4 deg, low-drag 3 deg, and two-segment approaches.

KSC technicians on team to modify X-34

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Two of KSC's X-34 technicians (far right), David Rowell and Roger Cartier, look at work being done on the modified A-1A at Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. Since September, eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

X-15 drop launch, view from B-52 mothership

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1960-01-01

This roughly 20-second video clip shows the first planned glide flight of X-15 #1 on June 8, 1959. Then-North American pilot Scott Crossfield flew the mission, dropped from the B-52A mothership that bore the tail number 0003.

Comparison of vibrations of a combination of solid-rocket launch vehicle and payload during a ground firing and launching

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoenster, J. A.; Pierce, H. B.

1975-01-01

The results of a study into the environmental vibrations of a payload mounted on the Nike rocket launch vehicle were presented. Data were obtained during the flight acceptance test of the payload, the firing of the total vehicle in a special test stand, and the powered and unpowered flights of the vehicle. The vibrational response of the structure was measured. Data were also obtained on the fluctuating pressure on the outside surface of the vehicle and inside the forward and after ends of the rocket chamber. A comparison of the data from the three test conditions indicated that external pressure fluctuations were the major source of vibrations in the payload area, and pressure fluctuations within the rocket motor were the major source of vibrations contiguous to the payload area.

Six-degree-of-freedom program to optimize simulated trajectories (6D POST). Volume 1: Formulation manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brauer, G. L.; Habeger, A. R.; Stevenson, R.

1974-01-01

The basic equations and models used in a computer program (6D POST) to optimize simulated trajectories with six degrees of freedom were documented. The 6D POST program was conceived as a direct extension of the program POST, which dealt with point masses, and considers the general motion of a rigid body with six degrees of freedom. It may be used to solve a wide variety of atmospheric flight mechanics and orbital transfer problems for powered or unpowered vehicles operating near a rotating oblate planet. Its principal features are: an easy to use NAMELIST type input procedure, an integrated set of Flight Control System (FCS) modules, and a general-purpose discrete parameter targeting and optimization capability. It was written in FORTRAN 4 for the CDC 6000 series computers.

KSC-99pp1275

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-11-01

At Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., KSC technician Bryan Taylor makes an adjustment on the modified X-34, known as A-1A. Taylor is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and David Rowell. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala

KSC-99pp1274

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-11-01

At Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., KSC technician James Niehoff Jr. (left) helps attach the wing of the modified X-34, known as A-1A. Niehoff is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, David Rowell and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala

KSC technicians on team to modify X-34

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

At Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., KSC technician Bryan Taylor makes an adjustment on the modified X-34, known as A-1A. Taylor is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and David Rowell. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L- 1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

KSC technicians on team to modify X-34

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

At Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., KSC technician James Niehoff Jr. (left) helps attach the wing of the modified X-34, known as A-1A. Niehoff is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, David Rowell and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Incidents and Injuries in Foot-Launched Flying Extreme Sports.

PubMed

Feletti, Francesco; Aliverti, Andrea; Henjum, Maggie; Tarabini, Marco; Brymer, Eric

2017-11-01

Participation rates in extreme sports have grown exponentially in the last 40 yr, often surpassing traditional sporting activities. The purpose of this study was to examine injury rates in foot-launched flying sports, i.e., sports in which a pilot foot-launches into flight with a wing already deployed. This paper is based on a retrospective analysis of the reports of incidents that occurred between 2000 and 2014 among the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association members. The majority of the 1411 reported injuries were in the lower limb, followed by the upper limb. The most common lower limb injury was to the ankle and included fractures, sprains, and dislocations. The distribution of injures was different in each discipline. The calculated yearly fatality rate (fatalities/100,000 participants) was 40.4 in hang gliding, 47.1 in paragliding, 61.9 in powered hang gliding and 83.4 in powered paragliding; the overall value for foot-launched flight sports was 43.9. Significant differences in injury rates and injury patterns were found among different sport disciplines that can be useful to steer research on safety, and adopt specific safety rules about flying, protective clothing and safety systems in each of these sports.Feletti F, Aliverti A, Henjum M, Tarabini M, Brymer E. Incidents and injuries in foot-launched flying extreme sports. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(11):1016-1023.

Phylogenetics and ecomorphology of emarginate primary feathers.

PubMed

Klaassen van Oorschot, Brett; Tang, Ho Kwan; Tobalske, Bret W

2017-07-01

Wing tip slots are a distinct morphological trait broadly expressed across the avian clade, but are generally perceived to be unique to soaring raptors. These slots are the result of emarginations on the distal leading and trailing edges of primary feathers, and allow the feathers to behave as individual airfoils. Research suggests these emarginate feathers are an adaptation to increase glide efficiency by mitigating induced drag in a manner similar to aircraft winglets. If so, we might expect birds known for gliding and soaring to exhibit emarginate feather morphology; however, that is not always the case. Here, we explore emargination across the avian clade, and examine associations between emargination and ecological and morphological variables. Pelagic birds exhibit pointed, high-aspect ratio wings without slots, whereas soaring terrestrial birds exhibit prominent wing-tip slots. Thus, we formed four hypotheses: (1) Emargination is segregated according to habitat (terrestrial, coastal/freshwater, pelagic). (2) Emargination is positively correlated with mass. (3) Emargination varies inversely with aspect ratio and directly with wing loading and disc loading. (4) Emargination varies according to flight style, foraging style, and diet. We found that emargination falls along a continuum that varies with habitat: Pelagic species tend to have zero emargination, coastal/freshwater birds have some emargination, and terrestrial species have a high degree of emargination. Among terrestrial and coastal/freshwater species, the degree of emargination is positively correlated with mass. We infer this may be the result of selection to mitigate induced power requirements during slow flight that otherwise scale adversely with increasing body size. Since induced power output is greatest during slow flight, we hypothesize that emargination may be an adaptation to assist vertical take-off and landing rather than glide efficiency as previously hypothesized. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Video analysis of the flight of a model aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarantino, Giovanni; Fazio, Claudio

2011-11-01

A video-analysis software tool has been employed in order to measure the steady-state values of the kinematics variables describing the longitudinal behaviour of a radio-controlled model aircraft during take-off, climbing and gliding. These experimental results have been compared with the theoretical steady-state configurations predicted by the phugoid model for longitudinal flight. A comparison with the parameters and performance of the full-size aircraft has also been outlined.

Gliding Experiments of the Wright Brothers: The Wrights and Flight Research 1899-1908

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowers, Al; Cole, Jennifer Hansen; Martin, Cam

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the Wright Brothers's flight research during the 10 years between 1899 and 1908. The Wright Brothers began their research in flight with gliders. The presentation shows pictures, replicas and characteristics of the gliders that the Wright Brothers used. This presentation is not just a history lesson. In the end it investigates "What Does Flight Research Accomplish?" Flight research can serve many uses, such as Separates the Real from the Imagined, Uncovers the Unexpected and the Overlooked, Forces the Realistic Integration of the Pilot, Forces the Development of Reliable Prediction and Test Processes, Requires Every Problem to Be Addressed, Promotes Technology Transfer, and Builds a Core Technical Team,

Optimal symmetric flight with an intermediate vehicle model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menon, P. K. A.; Kelley, H. J.; Cliff, E. M.

1983-01-01

Optimal flight in the vertical plane with a vehicle model intermediate in complexity between the point-mass and energy models is studied. Flight-path angle takes on the role of a control variable. Range-open problems feature subarcs of vertical flight and singular subarcs. The class of altitude-speed-range-time optimization problems with fuel expenditure unspecified is investigated and some interesting phenomena uncovered. The maximum-lift-to-drag glide appears as part of the family, final-time-open, with appropriate initial and terminal transient exceeding level-flight drag, some members exhibiting oscillations. Oscillatory paths generally fail the Jacobi test for durations exceeding a period and furnish a minimum only for short-duration problems.

Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser Test Article Altitude T

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-30

Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser completed an important step toward orbital flight with a successful captive carry test at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, located on Edwards Air Force Base. A helicopter successfully carried a Dream Chaser test article, which has the same specifications as a flight-ready spacecraft, to the same altitude and flight conditions of an upcoming free flight test. The Dream Chaser is a lifting-body, winged spacecraft that will fly back to Earth in a manner similar to NASA’s space shuttles. The successful captive carry test clears the way for a free flight test of the spacecraft later this year in which the uncrewed Dream Chaser will be released to glide on its own and land.

An aeroelastic instability provides a possible basis for the transition from gliding to flapping flight.

PubMed

Curet, Oscar M; Swartz, Sharon M; Breuer, Kenneth S

2013-03-06

The morphology, kinematics and stiffness properties of lifting surfaces play a key role in the aerodynamic performance of vertebrate flight. These surfaces, as a result of their flexible nature, may move both actively, owing to muscle contraction, and passively, in reaction to fluid forces. However, the nature and implications of this fluid-structure interaction are not well understood. Here, we study passive flight (flight with no active wing actuation) and explore a physical mechanism that leads to the emergence of a natural flapping motion. We model a vertebrate wing with a compliant shoulder and the ability to camber with an idealized physical model consisting of a cantilevered flat plate with a hinged trailing flap. We find that at low wind speed the wing is stationary, but at a critical speed the wing spontaneously flaps. The lift coefficient is significantly enhanced once the wing starts to oscillate, although this increase in lift generation is accompanied by an increase in drag. Flow visualization suggests that a strong leading edge vortex attached to the wing during downstroke is the primary mechanism responsible for the enhanced lift. The flapping instability we observe suggests a possible scenario for an evolutionary transition from gliding to powered flapping flight in animals that possess compliant wings capable of passive camber. Although the flapping state is accompanied by a lower lift-to-drag ratio, the increased lifting capability it confers might have enabled increased body mass, improved foraging performance and/or flight at lower speeds, any of which might have been selectively advantageous.

An aeroelastic instability provides a possible basis for the transition from gliding to flapping flight

PubMed Central

Curet, Oscar M.; Swartz, Sharon M.; Breuer, Kenneth S.

2013-01-01

The morphology, kinematics and stiffness properties of lifting surfaces play a key role in the aerodynamic performance of vertebrate flight. These surfaces, as a result of their flexible nature, may move both actively, owing to muscle contraction, and passively, in reaction to fluid forces. However, the nature and implications of this fluid–structure interaction are not well understood. Here, we study passive flight (flight with no active wing actuation) and explore a physical mechanism that leads to the emergence of a natural flapping motion. We model a vertebrate wing with a compliant shoulder and the ability to camber with an idealized physical model consisting of a cantilevered flat plate with a hinged trailing flap. We find that at low wind speed the wing is stationary, but at a critical speed the wing spontaneously flaps. The lift coefficient is significantly enhanced once the wing starts to oscillate, although this increase in lift generation is accompanied by an increase in drag. Flow visualization suggests that a strong leading edge vortex attached to the wing during downstroke is the primary mechanism responsible for the enhanced lift. The flapping instability we observe suggests a possible scenario for an evolutionary transition from gliding to powered flapping flight in animals that possess compliant wings capable of passive camber. Although the flapping state is accompanied by a lower lift-to-drag ratio, the increased lifting capability it confers might have enabled increased body mass, improved foraging performance and/or flight at lower speeds, any of which might have been selectively advantageous. PMID:23303221

The influence of flight style on the aerodynamic properties of avian wings as fixed lifting surfaces

PubMed Central

Dimitriadis, Grigorios; Nudds, Robert L.

2016-01-01

The diversity of wing morphologies in birds reflects their variety of flight styles and the associated aerodynamic and inertial requirements. Although the aerodynamics underlying wing morphology can be informed by aeronautical research, important differences exist between planes and birds. In particular, birds operate at lower, transitional Reynolds numbers than do most aircraft. To date, few quantitative studies have investigated the aerodynamic performance of avian wings as fixed lifting surfaces and none have focused upon the differences between wings from different flight style groups. Dried wings from 10 bird species representing three distinct flight style groups were mounted on a force/torque sensor within a wind tunnel in order to test the hypothesis that wing morphologies associated with different flight styles exhibit different aerodynamic properties. Morphological differences manifested primarily as differences in drag rather than lift. Maximum lift coefficients did not differ between groups, whereas minimum drag coefficients were lowest in undulating flyers (Corvids). The lift to drag ratios were lower than in conventional aerofoils and data from free-flying soaring species; particularly in high frequency, flapping flyers (Anseriformes), which do not rely heavily on glide performance. The results illustrate important aerodynamic differences between the wings of different flight style groups that cannot be explained solely by simple wing-shape measures. Taken at face value, the results also suggest that wing-shape is linked principally to changes in aerodynamic drag, but, of course, it is aerodynamics during flapping and not gliding that is likely to be the primary driver. PMID:27781155

Gliding Swifts Attain Laminar Flow over Rough Wings

PubMed Central

Lentink, David; de Kat, Roeland

2014-01-01

Swifts are among the most aerodynamically refined gliding birds. However, the overlapping vanes and protruding shafts of their primary feathers make swift wings remarkably rough for their size. Wing roughness height is 1–2% of chord length on the upper surface—10,000 times rougher than sailplane wings. Sailplanes depend on extreme wing smoothness to increase the area of laminar flow on the wing surface and minimize drag for extended glides. To understand why the swift does not rely on smooth wings, we used a stethoscope to map laminar flow over preserved wings in a low-turbulence wind tunnel. By combining laminar area, lift, and drag measurements, we show that average area of laminar flow on swift wings is 69% (n = 3; std 13%) of their total area during glides that maximize flight distance and duration—similar to high-performance sailplanes. Our aerodynamic analysis indicates that swifts attain laminar flow over their rough wings because their wing size is comparable to the distance the air travels (after a roughness-induced perturbation) before it transitions from laminar to turbulent. To interpret the function of swift wing roughness, we simulated its effect on smooth model wings using physical models. This manipulation shows that laminar flow is reduced and drag increased at high speeds. At the speeds at which swifts cruise, however, swift-like roughness prolongs laminar flow and reduces drag. This feature gives small birds with rudimentary wings an edge during the evolution of glide performance. PMID:24964089

The calibration and flight test performance of the space shuttle orbiter air data system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dean, A. S.; Mena, A. L.

1983-01-01

The Space Shuttle air data system (ADS) is used by the guidance, navigation and control system (GN&C) to guide the vehicle to a safe landing. In addition, postflight aerodynamic analysis requires a precise knowledge of flight conditions. Since the orbiter is essentially an unpowered vehicle, the conventional methods of obtaining the ADS calibration were not available; therefore, the calibration was derived using a unique and extensive wind tunnel test program. This test program included subsonic tests with a 0.36-scale orbiter model, transonic and supersonic tests with a smaller 0.2-scale model, and numerous ADS probe-alone tests. The wind tunnel calibration was further refined with subsonic results from the approach and landing test (ALT) program, thus producing the ADS calibration for the orbital flight test (OFT) program. The calibration of the Space Shuttle ADS and its performance during flight are discussed in this paper. A brief description of the system is followed by a discussion of the calibration methodology, and then by a review of the wind tunnel and flight test programs. Finally, the flight results are presented, including an evaluation of the system performance for on-board systems use and a description of the calibration refinements developed to provide the best possible air data for postflight analysis work.

Flight-test evaluation of two electronic display formats for approach to landing under instrument conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morello, S. A.; Knox, C. E.; Steinmetz, G. G.

1977-01-01

The results of a flight evaluation of two electronic display formats for the approach to landing under instrument conditions are presented. The evaluation was conducted for a base-line electronic display format and for the same format with runway symbology and track information added. The evaluation was conducted during 3 deg, manual straight-in approaches with and without initial localizer offsets. Flight path tracking performance data and pilot subjective comments were examined with regard to the pilot's ability to capture and maintain localizer and glide slope by using both display formats.

Propellant Mass Gauging: Database of Vehicle Applications and Research and Development Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodge, Franklin T.

2008-01-01

Gauging the mass of propellants in a tank in low gravity is not a straightforward task because of the uncertainty of the liquid configuration in the tank and the possibility of there being more than one ullage bubble. Several concepts for such a low-gravity gauging system have been proposed, and breadboard or flight-like versions have been tested in normal gravity or even in low gravity, but at present, a flight-proven reliable gauging system is not available. NASA desired a database of the gauging techniques used in current and past vehicles during ascent or under settled conditions, and during short coasting (unpowered) periods, for both cryogenic and storable propellants. Past and current research and development efforts on gauging systems that are believed to be applicable in low-gravity conditions were also desired. This report documents the results of that survey.

14 CFR 136.1 - Applicability and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... (powered or un-powered), parachutes (powered or un-powered), gyroplanes, or airships. (d) For the purposes... site-specific areas would provide an emergency landing area for a single-engine helicopter or a multiengine helicopter that does not have the capability to reach a safe landing area after an engine power...

14 CFR 136.1 - Applicability and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... (powered or un-powered), parachutes (powered or un-powered), gyroplanes, or airships. (d) For the purposes... site-specific areas would provide an emergency landing area for a single-engine helicopter or a multiengine helicopter that does not have the capability to reach a safe landing area after an engine power...

14 CFR 136.1 - Applicability and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (powered or un-powered), parachutes (powered or un-powered), gyroplanes, or airships. (d) For the purposes... site-specific areas would provide an emergency landing area for a single-engine helicopter or a multiengine helicopter that does not have the capability to reach a safe landing area after an engine power...

14 CFR 136.1 - Applicability and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... (powered or un-powered), parachutes (powered or un-powered), gyroplanes, or airships. (d) For the purposes... site-specific areas would provide an emergency landing area for a single-engine helicopter or a multiengine helicopter that does not have the capability to reach a safe landing area after an engine power...

14 CFR 136.1 - Applicability and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... (powered or un-powered), parachutes (powered or un-powered), gyroplanes, or airships. (d) For the purposes... site-specific areas would provide an emergency landing area for a single-engine helicopter or a multiengine helicopter that does not have the capability to reach a safe landing area after an engine power...

Assessing the impact of a targeted plyometric training on changes in selected kinematic parameters of the swimming start.

PubMed

Rejman, Marek; Bilewski, Marek; Szczepan, Stefan; Klarowicz, Andrzej; Rudnik, Daria; Maćkała, Krzysztof

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyse changes taking place within selected kinematic parameters of the swimming start, after completing a six-week plyometric training, assuming that the take-off power training improves its effectiveness. The experiment included nine male swimmers. In the pre-test the swimmers performed three starts focusing on the best performance. Next, a plyometric training programme, adapted from sprint running, was introduced in order to increase a power of the lower extremities. The programme entailed 75 minute sessions conducted twice a week. Afterwards, a post-test was performed, analogous to the pre-test. Spatio-temporal structure data of the swimming start were gathered from video recordings of the swimmer above and under water. Impulses triggered by the plyometric training contributed to a shorter start time (the main measure of start effectiveness) and glide time as well as increasing average take-off, flight and glide velocities including take-off, entry and glide instantaneous velocities. The glide angle decreased. The changes in selected parameters of the swimming start and its confirmed diagnostic values, showed the areas to be susceptible to plyometric training and suggested that applied plyometric training programme aimed at increasing take-off power enhances the effectiveness of the swimming start.

Flight investigation of manual and automatic VTOL decelerating instrument approaches and landings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, J. R.; Niessen, F. R.; Thibodeaux, J. J.; Yenni, K. R.; Garren, J. F., Jr.

1974-01-01

A flight investigation was undertaken to study the problems associated with manual and automatic control of steep, decelerating instrument approaches and landings under simulated instrument conditions. The study was conducted with a research helicopter equipped with a three-cue flight-director indicator. The scope of the investigation included variations in the flight-director control laws, glide-path angle, deceleration profile, and control response characteristics. Investigation of the automatic-control problem resulted in the first automated approach and landing to a predetermined spot ever accomplished with a helicopter. Although well-controlled approaches and landings could be performed manually with the flight-director concept, pilot comments indicated the need for a better display which would more effectively integrate command and situation information.

Foraging at the edge of the world: low-altitude, high-speed manoeuvering in barn swallows

PubMed Central

Warrick, Douglas R.; Hedrick, Tyson L.; Crandell, Kristen E.

2016-01-01

While prior studies of swallow manoeuvering have focused on slow-speed flight and obstacle avoidance in still air, swallows survive by foraging at high speeds in windy environments. Recent advances in field-portable, high-speed video systems, coupled with precise anemometry, permit measures of high-speed aerial performance of birds in a natural state. We undertook the present study to test: (i) the manner in which barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) may exploit wind dynamics and ground effect while foraging and (ii) the relative importance of flapping versus gliding for accomplishing high-speed manoeuvers. Using multi-camera videography synchronized with wind-velocity measurements, we tracked coursing manoeuvers in pursuit of prey. Wind speed averaged 1.3–2.0 m s−1 across the atmospheric boundary layer, exhibiting a shear gradient greater than expected, with instantaneous speeds of 0.02–6.1 m s−1. While barn swallows tended to flap throughout turns, they exhibited reduced wingbeat frequency, relying on glides and partial bounds during maximal manoeuvers. Further, the birds capitalized on the near-earth wind speed gradient to gain kinetic and potential energy during both flapping and gliding turns; providing evidence that such behaviour is not limited to large, fixed-wing soaring seabirds and that exploitation of wind gradients by small aerial insectivores may be a significant aspect of their aeroecology. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'. PMID:27528781

Flight investigation of a vertical-velocity command system for VTOL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, J. R.; Niessen, F. R.; Yenni, K. R.; Person, L. H., Jr.

1977-01-01

A flight investigation was undertaken to assess the potential benefits afforded by a vertical-velocity command system (VVCS) for VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. This augmentation system was conceived primarily as a means of lowering pilot workload during decelerating approaches to a hover and/or landing under category III instrument meteorological conditions. The scope of the investigation included a determination of acceptable system parameters, a visual flight evaluation, and an instrument flight evaluation which employed a 10 deg, decelerating, simulated instrument approach task. The results indicated that the VVCS, which decouples the pitch and vertical degrees of freedom, provides more accurate glide-path tracking and a lower pilot workload than does the unaugmented system.

49 CFR 238.307 - Periodic mechanical inspection of passenger cars and unpowered vehicles used in passenger trains.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Periodic mechanical inspection of passenger cars and unpowered vehicles used in passenger trains. 238.307 Section 238.307 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PASSENGER EQUIPMENT SAFETY STANDARDS...

49 CFR 238.307 - Periodic mechanical inspection of passenger cars and unpowered vehicles used in passenger trains.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Periodic mechanical inspection of passenger cars and unpowered vehicles used in passenger trains. 238.307 Section 238.307 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PASSENGER EQUIPMENT SAFETY STANDARDS...

HyPlane for Space Tourism and Business Transportation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savino, R.

In the present work a preliminary study on a small hypersonic airplane for a long duration space tourism mission is presented. It is also consistent with a point-to-point medium range (5000-6000 km) hypersonic trip, in the frame of the "urgent business travel" market segment. The main ideas is to transfer technological solutions developed for aeronautical and space atmospheric re-entry systems to the design of such a hypersonic airplane. A winged vehicle characterized by high aerodynamic efficiency and able to manoeuvre along the flight path, in all aerodynamic regimes encountered, is taken into consideration. Rocket-Based Combined Cycle and Turbine-Based Combined Cycle engines are investigated to ensure higher performances in terms of flight duration and range. Different flight-paths are also considered, including sub-orbital parabolic trajectories and steady state hypersonic cruise. The former, in particular, takes advantage of the high aerodynamic efficiency during the unpowered phase, in combination with a periodic engine actuation, to guarantee a long duration oscillating flight path. These trajectories offer Space tourists the opportunity of extended missions, characterized by repeated periods of low-gravity at altitudes high enough to ensure a wide view of the Earth from Space.

Ascent performance issues of a vertical-takeoff rocket launch vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, Richard W.; Naftel, J. C.; Cruz, Christopher I.

1991-04-01

Advanced manned launch systems studies under way at the NASA Langley Research Center are part of a broader effort that is examining options for the next manned space transportation system to be developed by the United States. One promising concept that uses near-term technologies is a fully reusable, two-stage vertical-takeoff rocket vehicle. This vehicle features parallel thrusting of the booster and orbiter with the booster cross-feeding the propellant to the orbiter until staging. In addition, after staging, the booster glides back unpowered to the launch site. This study concentrated on two issues that could affect the ascent performance of this vehicle. The first is the large gimbal angle range required for pitch trim until staging because of the propellant cross-feed. Results from this analysis show that if control is provided by gimballing of the rocket engines, they must gimbal greater than 20 deg, which is excessive when compared with current vehicles. However, this analysis also showed that this limit could be reduced to 10 deg if gimballing were augmented by throttling the booster engines. The second issue is the potential influence of off-nominal atmospheric conditions (density and winds) on the ascent performance. This study showed that a robust guidance algorithm could be developed that would insure accurate insertion, without prelaunch atmospheric knowledge.

KSC-99pp1273

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-11-01

KSC technician David Rowell works on the wing of the modified X-34, known as A-1A, at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. Looking on are Art Cape, with Dryden, and Mike Brainard, with Orbital Sciences Corporation. Rowell is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala

KSC-99pp1270

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-11-01

Six of the KSC workers who supported recent X-34 modifications pose in front of the modified A-1A vehicle at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. From left are Mike Lane, Roger Cartier, Dave Rowell, Mike Dininny, Bryan Taylor and James Niehoff Jr. Not shown are Kevin Boughner and Jerry Moscoso. Since September, the eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, known as A-1A. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala

KSC technicians on team to modify X-34

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

KSC technician David Rowell works on the wing of the modified X- 34, known as A-1A, at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. Looking on are Art Cape, with Dryden, and Mike Brainard, with Orbital Sciences Corporation. Rowell is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air- launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

KSC technicians on team to modify X-34

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Six of the KSC workers who supported recent X-34 modifications pose in front of the modified A-1A vehicle at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. From left are Mike Lane, Roger Cartier, Dave Rowell, Mike Dininny, Bryan Taylor and James Niehoff Jr. Not shown are Kevin Boughner and Jerry Moscoso. Since September, the eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, known as A-1A. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Energy management - The delayed flap approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bull, J. S.

1976-01-01

Flight test evaluation of a Delayed Flap approach procedure intended to provide reductions in noise and fuel consumption is underway using the NASA CV-990 test aircraft. Approach is initiated at a high airspeed (240 kt) and in a drag configuration that allows for low thrust. The aircraft is flown along the conventional ILS glide slope. A Fast/Slow message display signals the pilot when to extend approach flaps, landing gear, and land flaps. Implementation of the procedure in commercial service may require the addition of a DME navigation aid co-located with the ILS glide slope transmitter. The Delayed Flap approach saves 250 lb of fuel over the Reduced Flap approach, with a 95 EPNdB noise contour only 43% as large.

System and Method for Air Launch from a Towed Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Budd, Gerald D (Inventor)

2018-01-01

The invention is a system and method of air launching a powered launch vehicle into space or high altitude. More specifically, the invention is a tow aircraft which tows an unpowered glider, with the powered launch vehicle attached thereto, to launch altitude. The powered launch vehicle is released from the unpowered glider and powered on for launch.

M2-F1 in flight during low-speed car tow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

The M2-F1 shown in flight during a low-speed car tow runs across the lakebed. Such tests allowed about two minutes to test the vehicle's handling in flight. NASA Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center) personnel conducted as many as 8 to 14 ground-tow flights in a single day either to test the vehicle in preparation for air tows or to train pilots to fly the vehicle before they undertook air tows. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

X-38 sails to a landing at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center July 10, 2001

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

The seventh free flight of an X-38 prototype for an emergency space station crew return vehicle culminated in a graceful glide to landing under the world's largest parafoil. The mission began when the X-38 was released from NASA's B-52 mother ship over Edwards Air Force Base, California, where NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is located. The July 10, 2001 flight helped researchers evaluate software and deployment of the X-38's drogue parachute and subsequent parafoil. NASA intends to create a space-worthy Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) to be docked to the International Space Station as a 'lifeboat' to enable a full seven-person station crew to evacuate in an emergency.

Close up view of the pair of Rudder Pedals in ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Close up view of the pair of Rudder Pedals in the Commander's Satiation on the Flight Deck of the Orbiter Discovery. The rudder pedals command orbiter acceleration in yaw by positioning the rudder during atmospheric flight. However, because the flight control software automatically performs turn coordination during banking maneuvers, the rudder pedals are not operationally used during glided flight. It is not until after touchdown that the crew uses them for nose wheel steering during rollout. Depressing the upper portion of the rudder pedals provides braking. Differential braking may also be used for directional control during rollout. This view was take at Johnson Space Center. - Space Transportation System, Orbiter Discovery (OV-103), Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX

X-38 sails to a landing at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center July 10, 2001

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-10

The seventh free flight of an X-38 prototype for an emergency space station crew return vehicle culminated in a graceful glide to landing under the world's largest parafoil. The mission began when the X-38 was released from NASA's B-52 mother ship over Edwards Air Force Base, California, where NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is located. The July 10, 2001 flight helped researchers evaluate software and deployment of the X-38's drogue parachute and subsequent parafoil. NASA intends to create a space-worthy Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) to be docked to the International Space Station as a "lifeboat" to enable a full seven-person station crew to evacuate in an emergency.

Flight of Sharovipteryx mirabilis: the world's first delta-winged glider.

PubMed

Dyke, G J; Nudds, R L; Rayner, J M V

2006-07-01

The 225 million-year-old reptile Sharovipteryx mirabilis was the world's first delta-winged glider; this remarkable animal had a flight surface composed entirely of a hind-limb membrane. We use standard delta-wing aerodynamics to reconstruct the flight of S. mirabilis demonstrating that wing shape could have been controlled simply by protraction of the femora at the knees, and by variation in incidence of a small forelimb canard. Our method has allowed us to address the question of how identifying realistic glide performance can be used to set limits on aerodynamic design in this small animal. Our novel interpretation of the bizarre flight mode of S. mirabilis is the first based directly on interpretation of the fossil itself and the first grounded in aerodynamics.

Combined use of tri-axial accelerometers and GPS reveals the flexible foraging strategy of a bird in relation to weather conditions

PubMed Central

Rodríguez, Carlos; Dell’Omo, Giacomo; Bustamante, Javier

2017-01-01

Tri-axial accelerometry has proved to be a useful technique to study animal behavior with little direct observation, and also an effective way to measure energy expenditure, allowing a refreshing revisit to optimal foraging theory. This theory predicts that individuals should gain the most energy for the lowest cost in terms of time and energy when foraging, in order to maximize their fitness. However, during a foraging trip, central-place foragers could face different trade-offs during the commuting and searching parts of the trip, influencing behavioral decisions. Using the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) as an example we study the time and energy costs of different behaviors during the commuting and searching parts of a foraging trip. Lesser kestrels are small insectivorous falcons that behave as central-place foragers during the breeding season. They can commute by adopting either time-saving flapping flights or energy-saving soaring-gliding flights, and capture prey by using either time-saving active hovering flights or energy-saving perch-hunting. We tracked 6 lesser kestrels using GPS and tri-axial accelerometers during the breeding season. Our results indicate that males devoted more time and energy to flight behaviors than females in agreement with being the sex responsible for food provisioning to the nest. During the commuting flights, kestrels replaced flapping with soaring-gliding flights as solar radiation increased and thermal updrafts got stronger. In the searching part, they replaced perch-hunting with hovering as wind speed increased and they experienced a stronger lift. But also, they increased the use of hovering as air temperature increased, which has a positive influence on the activity level of the preferred prey (large grasshoppers). Kestrels maintained a constant energy expenditure per foraging trip, although flight and hunting strategies changed dramatically with weather conditions, suggesting a fixed energy budget per trip to which they adjusted their commuting and searching strategies in response to weather conditions. PMID:28591181

Reentry trajectory optimization based on a multistage pseudospectral method.

PubMed

Zhao, Jiang; Zhou, Rui; Jin, Xuelian

2014-01-01

Of the many direct numerical methods, the pseudospectral method serves as an effective tool to solve the reentry trajectory optimization for hypersonic vehicles. However, the traditional pseudospectral method is time-consuming due to large number of discretization points. For the purpose of autonomous and adaptive reentry guidance, the research herein presents a multistage trajectory control strategy based on the pseudospectral method, capable of dealing with the unexpected situations in reentry flight. The strategy typically includes two subproblems: the trajectory estimation and trajectory refining. In each processing stage, the proposed method generates a specified range of trajectory with the transition of the flight state. The full glide trajectory consists of several optimal trajectory sequences. The newly focused geographic constraints in actual flight are discussed thereafter. Numerical examples of free-space flight, target transition flight, and threat avoidance flight are used to show the feasible application of multistage pseudospectral method in reentry trajectory optimization.

APEX 3D Propeller Test Preliminary Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colozza, Anthony J.

2002-01-01

A low Reynolds number, high subsonic mach number flight regime is fairly uncommon in aeronautics. Most flight vehicles do not fly under these aerodynamic conditions. However, recently there have been a number of proposed aircraft applications (such as high altitude observation platforms and Mars aircraft) that require flight within this regime. One of the main obstacles to flight under these conditions is the ability to reliably generate sufficient thrust for the aircraft. For a conventional propulsion system, the operation and design of the propeller is the key aspect to its operation. Due to the difficulty in experimentally modeling the flight conditions in ground-based facilities, it has been proposed to conduct propeller experiments from a high altitude gliding platform (APEX). A preliminary design of a propeller experiment under the low Reynolds number, high mach number flight conditions has been devised. The details of the design are described as well as the potential data that will be collected.

Reentry Trajectory Optimization Based on a Multistage Pseudospectral Method

PubMed Central

Zhou, Rui; Jin, Xuelian

2014-01-01

Of the many direct numerical methods, the pseudospectral method serves as an effective tool to solve the reentry trajectory optimization for hypersonic vehicles. However, the traditional pseudospectral method is time-consuming due to large number of discretization points. For the purpose of autonomous and adaptive reentry guidance, the research herein presents a multistage trajectory control strategy based on the pseudospectral method, capable of dealing with the unexpected situations in reentry flight. The strategy typically includes two subproblems: the trajectory estimation and trajectory refining. In each processing stage, the proposed method generates a specified range of trajectory with the transition of the flight state. The full glide trajectory consists of several optimal trajectory sequences. The newly focused geographic constraints in actual flight are discussed thereafter. Numerical examples of free-space flight, target transition flight, and threat avoidance flight are used to show the feasible application of multistage pseudospectral method in reentry trajectory optimization. PMID:24574929

M2-F1 in flight over lakebed on tow line

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

After initial ground-tow flights of the M2-F1 using the Pontiac as a tow vehicle, the way was clear to make air tows behind a C-47. The first air tow took place on 16 August 1963. Pilot Milt Thompson found that the M2-F1 flew well, with good control. This first flight lasted less than two minutes from tow-line release to touchdown. The descent rate was 4,000 feet per minute. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Aerodynamics and Ecomorphology of Flexible Feathers and Morphing Bird Wings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaassen van Oorschot, Brett

Birds are talented fliers capable of vertical take-off and landing, navigating turbulent air, and flying thousands of miles without rest. How is this possible? What allows birds to exploit the aerial environment with such ease? In part, it may be because bird wings are unlike any engineered wing. They are flexible, strong, lightweight, and dynamically capable of changes in shape on a nearly instantaneous basis (Rayner, 1988; Tobalske, 2007). Moreover, much of this change is passive, modulated only by changes in airflow angle and velocity. Birds actively morph their wings and their feathers morph passively in response to airflow to meet aerodynamic demands. Wings are highly adapted to myriad aeroecological factors and aerodynamic conditions (e.g. Lockwood et al., 1998; Bowlin and Winkler, 2004). This dissertation contains the results of my research on the complexities of morphing avian wings and feathers. I chose to study three related-but-discrete aspects of the avian wing: 1) the aerodynamics of morphing wings during take-off and gliding flight, 2) the presence and significance of wing tip slots across the avian clade, and 3) the aerodynamic role of the emarginate primary feathers that form these wing tip slots. These experiments ask fundamental questions that have intrigued me since childhood: Why do birds have different wing shapes? And why do some birds have slotted wing tips? It's fair to say that you will not find definitive answers here--rather, you will find the methodical, incremental addition of new hypotheses and empirical evidence which will serve future researchers in their own pursuits of these questions. The first chapter explores active wing morphing in two disparate aerodynamic regimes: low-advance ratio flapping (such as during takeoff) and high-advance ratio gliding. This chapter was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology (Klaassen van Oorschot et al., 2016) with the help of an undergraduate researcher, Emily Mistick. We found that wing shape affected performance during flapping but not gliding flight. Extended wings outperformed swept wings by about a third in flapping flight. This finding contrasts previous work that showed wing shape didn't affect performance in flapping flight (Usherwood and Ellington, 2002a, 2002b). This work provided key insights that inspired the second and third chapters of my dissertation. The second chapter examines the significance of wing tip slots across 135 avian species, ranging from small passerines to large seabirds. This research was completed with the help of an undergraduate international researcher, Ho Kwan Tang, and is currently in press at the Journal of Morphology (Klaassen van Oorschot, in press). These slots are caused by asymmetric emarginations missing from the leading and trailing edge of the primary feathers. We used a novel metric of primary feather emargination that allowed us to show that wing tip slots are nearly ubiquitous across the avian clade. We also showed that emargination is segregated according to habitat and behavioral metrics like flight style. Finally, we showed that emargination scaled with mass. These findings illustrated that wing tip slots may be an adaptation for efficacy during vertical takeoff rather than efficiency during gliding flight. In the third chapter, I sought to better understand the function of these slotted primary feathers. In an effort to bridge biology and aeronautics, I collaborated with Richard Choroszucha, an aeronautical engineer from the University of Michigan, on this work. These feathers deflect under aerodynamic load, and it has been hypothesized that they reduce induced drag during gliding flight (Tucker, 1993, 1995). We exposed individual primary feathers to different speeds in the wind tunnel and measured deflection such as bend, twist, and sweep. We found that feather deflection reoriented force, resulting in increased lateral stability and delayed stall characteristics compared to a rigid airfoil. These findings lay the foundation for future biomimetic applications of passive morphing-wing aircraft. I aim to submit this chapter for publication at Bioinspiration & Biomimetics in the summer of 2017. The following dissertation represents my systematic discovery of avian aerodynamics and follows my progression as a scientist. Combined, the following chapters provide novel insight into the complex nature of morphing avian wings.

Programs To Optimize Spacecraft And Aircraft Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brauer, G. L.; Petersen, F. M.; Cornick, D.E.; Stevenson, R.; Olson, D. W.

1994-01-01

POST/6D POST is set of two computer programs providing ability to target and optimize trajectories of powered or unpowered spacecraft or aircraft operating at or near rotating planet. POST treats point-mass, three-degree-of-freedom case. 6D POST treats more-general rigid-body, six-degree-of-freedom (with point masses) case. Used to solve variety of performance, guidance, and flight-control problems for atmospheric and orbital vehicles. Applications include computation of performance or capability of vehicle in ascent, or orbit, and during entry into atmosphere, simulation and analysis of guidance and flight-control systems, dispersion-type analyses and analyses of loads, general-purpose six-degree-of-freedom simulation of controlled and uncontrolled vehicles, and validation of performance in six degrees of freedom. Written in FORTRAN 77 and C language. Two machine versions available: one for SUN-series computers running SunOS(TM) (LAR-14871) and one for Silicon Graphics IRIS computers running IRIX(TM) operating system (LAR-14869).

Short-term locomotor adaptation to a robotic ankle exoskeleton does not alter soleus Hoffmann reflex amplitude.

PubMed

Kao, Pei-Chun; Lewis, Cara L; Ferris, Daniel P

2010-07-26

To improve design of robotic lower limb exoskeletons for gait rehabilitation, it is critical to identify neural mechanisms that govern locomotor adaptation to robotic assistance. Previously, we demonstrated soleus muscle recruitment decreased by approximately 35% when walking with a pneumatically-powered ankle exoskeleton providing plantar flexor torque under soleus proportional myoelectric control. Since a substantial portion of soleus activation during walking results from the stretch reflex, increased reflex inhibition is one potential mechanism for reducing soleus recruitment when walking with exoskeleton assistance. This is clinically relevant because many neurologically impaired populations have hyperactive stretch reflexes and training to reduce the reflexes could lead to substantial improvements in their motor ability. The purpose of this study was to quantify soleus Hoffmann (H-) reflex responses during powered versus unpowered walking. We tested soleus H-reflex responses in neurologically intact subjects (n=8) that had trained walking with the soleus controlled robotic ankle exoskeleton. Soleus H-reflex was tested at the mid and late stance while subjects walked with the exoskeleton on the treadmill at 1.25 m/s, first without power (first unpowered), then with power (powered), and finally without power again (second unpowered). We also collected joint kinematics and electromyography. When the robotic plantar flexor torque was provided, subjects walked with lower soleus electromyographic (EMG) activation (27-48%) and had concomitant reductions in H-reflex amplitude (12-24%) compared to the first unpowered condition. The H-reflex amplitude in proportion to the background soleus EMG during powered walking was not significantly different from the two unpowered conditions. These findings suggest that the nervous system does not inhibit the soleus H-reflex in response to short-term adaption to exoskeleton assistance. Future studies should determine if the findings also apply to long-term adaption to the exoskeleton.

Longitudinal control effectiveness and entry dynamics of a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinh, N. X.; Lin, C. F.

1982-01-01

The classical theory of flight dynamics for airplane longitudinal stability and control analysis was extended to the case of a hypervelocity reentry vehicle. This includes the elements inherent in supersonic and hypersonic flight such as the influence of the Mach number on aerodynamic characteristics, and the effect of the reaction control system and aerodynamic controls on the trim condition through a wide range of speed. Phugoid motion and angle of attack oscillation for typical cases of cruising flight, ballistic entry, and glide entry are investigated. In each case, closed form solutions for the variations in altitude, flight path angle, speed and angle of attack are obtained. The solutions explicitly display the influence of different regions design parameters and trajectory variables on the stability of the motion.

Combined Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Lightcraft no. 200 Aerodynamics at Mach 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Droz, I. M.; Myrabo, L. N.; McInerney, J. P.

2008-04-28

The combined experimental and numerical research study investigated the supersonic aerodynamics of a Type 200 laser lightcraft at Mach 3 and {approx}18 km altitude. Several 1 inch (2.54 cm) and 1.25 inch (3.175 cm) diameter lightcraft models with 'closed' axisymmetric inlets were machined from 6061-T6 aluminum and tested in RPI's vacuum-driven Mach 3 wind tunnel. Schlieren photographs were taken of the unpowered models in both axial- and lateral-flight (i.e., 'Frisbee' mode) directions, then compared and contrasted with CFD predictions using Fluent registered . One 1.25 inch axial flight model was fitted with a piezoelectric load cell to measure axial dragmore » forces. Preliminary measurements of aerodynamic lift forces in the lateral flight mode were recorded as a function of angle of attack, using a special strain guage sting balance with an adjustable elbow. The bow shock structure captured in Schlieren photographs correlated well with CFD simulations, as well as with shockwave theory for common conical noses. In these axial flight model tests, slight differences were noted between the Schlieren photos and CFD density contour plots, especially with regard to the secondary shock structure; CFD results predicted these shocks closer to the shroud than nature would have it.« less

Internal steel structure of M2-F1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

The internal steel structure for the M2-F1 was built at the Flight Research Center (predecessor of the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA) in a section of the calibration hangar dubbed 'Wright Bicycle Shop.' Visible are the stick, rudder pedals, and ejection seat. The external wooden shell was attached to the steel structure. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

HL-10 after landing with pilot Bill Dana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1960-01-01

This movie clip, running about 56 seconds, shows NASA pilot Bill Dana exiting the cockpit of the HL-10 and waving to his B-52 drop aircraft, just after landing on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. A fleet of lifting bodies flown at the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from 1963 to l975 demonstrated the ability of pilots to maneuver (in the atmosphere) and safely land a wingless vehicle. These lifting bodies were basically designed so they could fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an aircraft at a pre-determined site. (In 1976 NASA renamed the FRC as the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in honor of Hugh L. Dryden.) These unique research vehicles, with their unconventional aerodynamic shapes, were the M2-F1, M2-F2, M2-F3, HL-10, X-24A, and the X-24B. The information the lifting body program generated contributed to the database that led to development of the current space shuttle program as well as the X-33 and X-38 technology demonstrators. Aerodynamic lift -- essential to flight in the atmosphere -- was obtained from the shape of the vehicles rather than from wings on a normal aircraft. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. All but the M2-F1 were powered by the same type of XLR-11 rocket engine used in the famed Bell X-1 -- first aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound. The M2-F1, a lightweight prototype, was unpowered. The success of the Dryden M2-F1 program led to the NASA development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA Ames and Langley research centers -- the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation. The 'M' refers to 'manned' and 'F' refers to 'flight' version. 'HL' comes from 'horizontal landing' and '10' is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. The HL-10 was delivered to the FRC by Northrop in January 1966. Its first flight was on December 22 of the same year. The pilot was Bruce Peterson, before he was injured in the M2-F2 accident. The HL-10 was flown 37 times and it set several program records. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Major Peter Hoag flew it to 1,228 m.p.h. (Mach 1.86), fastest speed of any of the lifting bodies. Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the HL-10 to 90,303 feet, the highest altitude reached by any of the lifting body vehicles. The HL-10 was also the first lifting body to fly supersonically -- on May 9, 1969, with NASA pilot John Manke at the controls. The HL-10 featured a flat bottom and rounded top -- much like an airfoil -- and it had a delta planform. In its final configuration, three vertical fins, two of them canted outwards from the body and a tall center fin, gave the craft directional control. A flush canopy blended into the smooth rounded nose. It was about 21 feet long, with a span of 13.6 feet. Its glide-flight weight was 6,473 pounds and its maximum gross weight was over 10,000 pounds. Flights with the HL-10 contributed substantially to the decision to design the space shuttles without air-breathing engines that would have been used for landings. Its final flight was on July 17, 1970. The HL-10 is now on public display at Dryden.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Menglu; Tu, K. N., E-mail: kntu@ucla.edu; Kim, Dong Wook

Thermal-crosstalk induced thermomigration failure in un-powered microbumps has been found in 2.5D integrated circuit (IC) circuit. In 2.5D IC, a Si interposer was used between a polymer substrate and a device chip which has transistors. The interposer has no transistors. If transistors are added to the interposer chip, it becomes 3D IC. In our test structure, there are two Si chips placed horizontally on a Si interposer. The vertical connections between the interposer and the Si chips are through microbumps. We powered one daisy chain of the microbumps under one Si chip; however, the un-powered microbumps in the neighboring chipmore » are failed with big holes in the solder layer. We find that Joule heating from the powered microbumps is transferred horizontally to the bottom of the neighboring un-powered microbumps, and creates a large temperature gradient, in the order of 1000 °C/cm, through the un-powered microbumps in the neighboring chip, so the latter failed by thermomigration. In addition, we used synchrotron radiation tomography to compare three sets of microbumps in the test structure: microbumps under electromigration, microbumps under thermomigration, and microbumps under a constant temperature thermal annealing. The results show that the microbumps under thermomigration have the largest damage. Furthermore, simulation of temperature distribution in the test structure supports the finding of thermomigration.« less

Utilization of simulation tools in the HL-20 conceptual design process. [passenger-carrying lifting body portion of Personnel Launch System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, E. B.; Powell, Richard W.; Ragsdale, W. A.

1991-01-01

The role of simulations in the design of the HL-20, the crew-carrying unpowered lifting-body component of the NASA Personnel Launch System, is reviewed and illustrated with drawings and diagrams. Detailed consideration is given to the overall implementation of a real-time simulation of the HL-20 approach and landing phase, the baseline and experimental control laws used in the flight-control system, autoland guidance and control laws (vertical and lateral steering), the control-surface mixer and actuator model, and simulation results. The simulations allowed identification and correction of design problems with respect to the position of the landing gear and the original maximum L/D ratio of 3.2.

Near-Optimal Guidance Method for Maximizing the Reachable Domain of Gliding Aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuchiya, Takeshi

This paper proposes a guidance method for gliding aircraft by using onboard computers to calculate a near-optimal trajectory in real-time, and thereby expanding the reachable domain. The results are applicable to advanced aircraft and future space transportation systems that require high safety. The calculation load of the optimal control problem that is used to maximize the reachable domain is too large for current computers to calculate in real-time. Thus the optimal control problem is divided into two problems: a gliding distance maximization problem in which the aircraft motion is limited to a vertical plane, and an optimal turning flight problem in a horizontal direction. First, the former problem is solved using a shooting method. It can be solved easily because its scale is smaller than that of the original problem, and because some of the features of the optimal solution are obtained in the first part of this paper. Next, in the latter problem, the optimal bank angle is computed from the solution of the former; this is an analytical computation, rather than an iterative computation. Finally, the reachable domain obtained from the proposed near-optimal guidance method is compared with that obtained from the original optimal control problem.

Skylon Aerodynamics and SABRE Plumes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehta, Unmeel; Afosmis, Michael; Bowles, Jeffrey; Pandya, Shishir

2015-01-01

An independent partial assessment is provided of the technical viability of the Skylon aerospace plane concept, developed by Reaction Engines Limited (REL). The objectives are to verify REL's engineering estimates of airframe aerodynamics during powered flight and to assess the impact of Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) plumes on the aft fuselage. Pressure lift and drag coefficients derived from simulations conducted with Euler equations for unpowered flight compare very well with those REL computed with engineering methods. The REL coefficients for powered flight are increasingly less acceptable as the freestream Mach number is increased beyond 8.5, because the engineering estimates did not account for the increasing favorable (in terms of drag and lift coefficients) effect of underexpanded rocket engine plumes on the aft fuselage. At Mach numbers greater than 8.5, the thermal environment around the aft fuselage is a known unknown-a potential design and/or performance risk issue. The adverse effects of shock waves on the aft fuselage and plumeinduced flow separation are other potential risks. The development of an operational reusable launcher from the Skylon concept necessitates the judicious use of a combination of engineering methods, advanced methods based on required physics or analytical fidelity, test data, and independent assessments.

Wooden shell of M2-F1 being assembled at El Mirage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1962-01-01

Wooden shell of the M2-F1 being assembled at El Mirage, CA. While Flight Research Center technicians built the internal steel structure of the M2-F1, sailplane builder Gus Briegleb built the vehicle's outer wooden shell. Its skin was 3/32-inch mahogany plywood, with 1/8-inch mahogany rib sections reinforced with spruce. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

M2-F1 fabrication by Grierson Hamilton, Bob Green, and Ed Browne

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1962-01-01

Flight Research Center discretionary funds paid for the M2-F-1's construction. NASA mechanics, sheet-metal smiths, and technicians did much of the work in a curtained-off area of a hangar called the 'Wright Bicycle Shop.' The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Measurement of the Forces Acting on Gliders in Towed Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klenperer, W B

1940-01-01

The magnitude, the direction, and the fluctuations of tow forces exerted upon gliders by towing them aloft behind an automobile were measured under a variety of conditions covering a range from gentle to severe types of operation. For these tests, the glider towing force did not exceed 1.6 of the gross weight of the glider. V-G records obtained during the towed-flight period as well as during the subsequent return glide to earth showed accelerations in the range from 3 to -1 g. The results of preliminary airplane tow tests are also presented.

Aerodynamics of the flying snake Chrysopelea paradisi: how a bluff body cross-sectional shape contributes to gliding performance.

PubMed

Holden, Daniel; Socha, John J; Cardwell, Nicholas D; Vlachos, Pavlos P

2014-02-01

A prominent feature of gliding flight in snakes of the genus Chrysopelea is the unique cross-sectional shape of the body, which acts as the lifting surface in the absence of wings. When gliding, the flying snake Chrysopelea paradisi morphs its circular cross-section into a triangular shape by splaying its ribs and flattening its body in the dorsoventral axis, forming a geometry with fore-aft symmetry and a thick profile. Here, we aimed to understand the aerodynamic properties of the snake's cross-sectional shape to determine its contribution to gliding at low Reynolds numbers. We used a straight physical model in a water tunnel to isolate the effects of 2D shape, analogously to studying the profile of an airfoil of a more typical flyer. Force measurements and time-resolved (TR) digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) were used to determine lift and drag coefficients, wake dynamics and vortex-shedding characteristics of the shape across a behaviorally relevant range of Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. The snake's cross-sectional shape produced a maximum lift coefficient of 1.9 and maximum lift-to-drag ratio of 2.7, maintained increases in lift up to 35 deg, and exhibited two distinctly different vortex-shedding modes. Within the measured Reynolds number regime (Re=3000-15,000), this geometry generated significantly larger maximum lift coefficients than many other shapes including bluff bodies, thick airfoils, symmetric airfoils and circular arc airfoils. In addition, the snake's shape exhibited a gentle stall region that maintained relatively high lift production even up to the highest angle of attack tested (60 deg). Overall, the cross-sectional geometry of the flying snake demonstrated robust aerodynamic behavior by maintaining significant lift production and near-maximum lift-to-drag ratios over a wide range of parameters. These aerodynamic characteristics help to explain how the snake can glide at steep angles and over a wide range of angles of attack, but more complex models that account for 3D effects and the dynamic movements of aerial undulation are required to fully understand the gliding performance of flying snakes.

Enterprise Separates from 747 SCA for First Tailcone off Free Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise rises from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to begin a powerless glide flight back to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on its fourth of the five free flights in the shuttle program's Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), 12 October 1977. The tests were carried out at Dryden to verify the aerodynamic and control characteristics of the orbiters in preparation for the first space mission with the orbiter Columbia in April 1981. The Space Shuttle Approach and Landings Tests (ALT) program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle and the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) handled during low-speed flight and landing. The Enterprise, a prototype of the Space Shuttles, and the SCA were flown to conduct the approach and landing tests at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from February to October 1977. The first flight of the program consisted of the Space Shuttle Enterprise attached to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. These flights were to determine how well the two vehicles flew together. Five 'captive-inactive' flights were flown during this first phase in which there was no crew in the Enterprise. The next series of captive flights was flown with a flight crew of two on board the prototype Space Shuttle. Only three such flights proved necessary. This led to the free-flight test series. The free-flight phase of the ALT program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle handled in low-speed flight and landing attitudes. For these landings, the Enterprise was flown by a crew of two after it was released from the top of the SCA. The vehicle was released at altitudes ranging from 19,000 to 26,000 feet. The Enterprise had no propulsion system, but its first four glides to the Rogers Dry Lake runway provided realistic, in-flight simulations of how subsequent Space Shuttles would be flown at the end of an orbital mission. The fifth approach and landing test, with the Enterprise landing on the Edwards Air Force Base concrete runway, revealed a problem with the Space Shuttle flight control system that made it susceptible to Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO), a potentially dangerous control problem during a landing. Further research using other NASA aircraft, especially the F-8 Digital-Fly-By-Wire aircraft, led to correction of the PIO problem before the first orbital flight. The Enterprise's last free-flight was October 26, 1977, after which it was ferried to other NASA centers for ground-based flight simulations that tested Space Shuttle systems and structure.

Airplane tracking documents the fastest flight speeds recorded for bats.

PubMed

McCracken, Gary F; Safi, Kamran; Kunz, Thomas H; Dechmann, Dina K N; Swartz, Sharon M; Wikelski, Martin

2016-11-01

The performance capabilities of flying animals reflect the interplay of biomechanical and physiological constraints and evolutionary innovation. Of the two extant groups of vertebrates that are capable of powered flight, birds are thought to fly more efficiently and faster than bats. However, fast-flying bat species that are adapted for flight in open airspace are similar in wing shape and appear to be similar in flight dynamics to fast-flying birds that exploit the same aerial niche. Here, we investigate flight behaviour in seven free-flying Brazilian free-tailed bats ( Tadarida brasiliensis ) and report that the maximum ground speeds achieved exceed speeds previously documented for any bat. Regional wind modelling indicates that bats adjusted flight speeds in response to winds by flying more slowly as wind support increased and flying faster when confronted with crosswinds, as demonstrated for insects, birds and other bats. Increased frequency of pauses in wing beats at faster speeds suggests that flap-gliding assists the bats' rapid flight. Our results suggest that flight performance in bats has been underappreciated and that functional differences in the flight abilities of birds and bats require re-evaluation.

Forelimb posture in dinosaurs and the evolution of the avian flapping flight-stroke.

PubMed

Nudds, Robert L; Dyke, Gareth J

2009-04-01

Ontogenetic and behavioral studies using birds currently do not document the early evolution of flight because birds (including juveniles) used in such studies employ forelimb oscillation frequencies over 10 Hz, forelimb stroke-angles in excess of 130 degrees , and possess uniquely avian flight musculatures. Living birds are an advanced morphological stage in the development of flapping flight. To gain insight into the early stages of flight evolution (i.e., prebird), in the absence of a living analogue, a new approach using Strouhal number was used. Strouhal number is a nondimensional number that describes the relationship between wing-stroke amplitude (A), wing-beat frequency (f), and flight speed (U). Calculations indicated that even moderate wing movements are enough to generate rudimentary thrust and that a propulsive flapping flight-stroke could have evolved via gradual incremental changes in wing movement and wing morphology. More fundamental to the origin of the avian flapping flight-stroke is the question of how a symmetrical forelimb posture-required for gliding and flapping flight-evolved from an alternating forelimb motion, evident in all extant bipeds when running except birds.

M2-F1 mounted in NASA Ames Research Center 40x80 foot wind tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1962-01-01

After the first attempted ground-tow tests of the M2-F1 in March 1963, the vehicle was taken to the Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, for wind-tunnel testing. During these tests, Milt Thompson and others were in the M2-F1 to position the control surfaces for each test. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

M2-F1 simulator cockpit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

This early simulator of the M2-F1 lifting body was used for pilot training, to test landing techniques before the first ground tow attempts, and to test new control configurations after the first tow attempts and wind-tunnel tests. The M2-F1 simulator was limited in some ways by its analog simulator. It had only limited visual display for the pilot, as well. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

M2-F1 cockpit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

This photo shows the cockpit configuration of the M2-F1 wingless lifting body. With a top speed of about 120 knots, the M2-F1 had a simple instrument panel. Besides the panel itself, the ribs of the wooden shell (left) and the control stick (center) are also visible. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

Development and flight test of a helicopter compact, portable, precision landing system concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clary, G. R.; Bull, J. S.; Davis, T. J.; Chisholm, J. P.

1984-01-01

An airborne, radar-based, precision approach concept is being developed and flight tested as a part of NASA's Rotorcraft All-Weather Operations Research Program. A transponder-based beacon landing system (BLS) applying state-of-the-art X-band radar technology and digital processing techniques, was built and is being flight tested to demonstrate the concept feasibility. The BLS airborne hardware consists of an add-on microprocessor, installed in conjunction with the aircraft weather/mapping radar, which analyzes the radar beacon receiver returns and determines range, localizer deviation, and glide-slope deviation. The ground station is an inexpensive, portable unit which can be quickly deployed at a landing site. Results from the flight test program show that the BLS concept has a significant potential for providing rotorcraft with low-cost, precision instrument approach capability in remote areas.

Pilot Peter Hoag and HL-10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

Air Force Major Peter Hoag stands in front of the HL-10 Lifting Body. Maj. Hoag joined the HL-10 program in 1969 and made his first glide flight on June 6, 1969. He made a total of 8 flights in the HL-10. They included the fastest lifting-body flight, which reached Mach 1.861 on Feb. 18, 1970. The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of 'heavy' lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. 'HL' stands for horizontal landing, and '10' refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.

Design considerations for remotely piloted, high-altitude airplanes powered by microwave energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, C. E. K., Jr.

1984-01-01

Several types of systems have been considered in a design study of unmanned, microwave-powered, long-endurance, high-altitude airplanes. The study includes vehicles that use power from a continuously transmitted beam and other aircraft that receive intermittent power during cycles of boost-glide flight. Simple design algorithms are presented. Examples of sizing and performance analyses are used to suggest design-procedure guidelines.

Hang Gliders for Sport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Hang gliding is growing rapidly. Free Flight produces 1,000 gliders a month and other companies are entering the field. Wing is simple to control, pulling back on control bar allows you to pick up speed and at the same time lowers your altitude. Pushing forward slows your speed and levels you off. Birdmen can choose from prone, upright or swing seat harnesses in either kits or ready-to-fly gliders.

Determination of optimal trajectories for an aircraft returning to the runway following a complete loss of thrust after takeoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, Craig A.

This thesis examines the ability of a small, single-engine airplane to return to the runway following an engine failure shortly after takeoff. Two sets of trajectories are examined. One set of trajectories has the airplane fly a straight climb on the runway heading until engine failure. The other set of trajectories has the airplane perform a 90° turn at an altitude of 500 feet and continue until engine failure. Various combinations of wind speed, wind direction, and engine failure times are examined. The runway length required to complete the entire flight from the beginning of the takeoff roll to wheels stop following the return to the runway after engine failure is calculated for each case. The optimal trajectories following engine failure consist of three distinct segments: a turn back toward the runway using a large bank angle and angle of attack; a straight glide; and a reversal turn to align the airplane with the runway. The 90° turn results in much shorter required runway lengths at lower headwind speeds. At higher headwind speeds, both sets of trajectories are limited by the length of runway required for the landing rollout, but the straight climb cases generally require a lower angle of attack to complete the flight. The glide back to the runway is performed at an airspeed below the best glide speed of the airplane due to the need to conserve potential energy after the completion of the turn back toward the runway. The results are highly dependent on the rate of climb of the airplane during powered flight. The results of this study can aid the pilot in determining whether or not a return to the runway could be performed in the event of an engine failure given the specific wind conditions and runway length at the time of takeoff. The results can also guide the pilot in determining the takeoff profile that would offer the greatest advantage in returning to the runway.

Short-term locomotor adaptation to a robotic ankle exoskeleton does not alter soleus Hoffmann reflex amplitude

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background To improve design of robotic lower limb exoskeletons for gait rehabilitation, it is critical to identify neural mechanisms that govern locomotor adaptation to robotic assistance. Previously, we demonstrated soleus muscle recruitment decreased by ~35% when walking with a pneumatically-powered ankle exoskeleton providing plantar flexor torque under soleus proportional myoelectric control. Since a substantial portion of soleus activation during walking results from the stretch reflex, increased reflex inhibition is one potential mechanism for reducing soleus recruitment when walking with exoskeleton assistance. This is clinically relevant because many neurologically impaired populations have hyperactive stretch reflexes and training to reduce the reflexes could lead to substantial improvements in their motor ability. The purpose of this study was to quantify soleus Hoffmann (H-) reflex responses during powered versus unpowered walking. Methods We tested soleus H-reflex responses in neurologically intact subjects (n=8) that had trained walking with the soleus controlled robotic ankle exoskeleton. Soleus H-reflex was tested at the mid and late stance while subjects walked with the exoskeleton on the treadmill at 1.25 m/s, first without power (first unpowered), then with power (powered), and finally without power again (second unpowered). We also collected joint kinematics and electromyography. Results When the robotic plantar flexor torque was provided, subjects walked with lower soleus electromyographic (EMG) activation (27-48%) and had concomitant reductions in H-reflex amplitude (12-24%) compared to the first unpowered condition. The H-reflex amplitude in proportion to the background soleus EMG during powered walking was not significantly different from the two unpowered conditions. Conclusion These findings suggest that the nervous system does not inhibit the soleus H-reflex in response to short-term adaption to exoskeleton assistance. Future studies should determine if the findings also apply to long-term adaption to the exoskeleton. PMID:20659331

Artificial evolution of the morphology and kinematics in a flapping-wing mini-UAV.

PubMed

de Margerie, E; Mouret, J B; Doncieux, S; Meyer, J-A

2007-12-01

Birds demonstrate that flapping-wing flight (FWF) is a versatile flight mode, compatible with hovering, forward flight and gliding to save energy. This extended flight domain would be especially useful on mini-UAVs. However, design is challenging because aerodynamic efficiency is conditioned by complex movements of the wings, and because many interactions exist between morphological (wing area, aspect ratio) and kinematic parameters (flapping frequency, stroke amplitude, wing unfolding). Here we used artificial evolution to optimize these morpho-kinematic features on a simulated 1 kg UAV, equipped with wings articulated at the shoulder and wrist. Flight tests were conducted in a dedicated steady aerodynamics simulator. Parameters generating horizontal flight for minimal mechanical power were retained. Results showed that flight at medium speed (10-12 m s(-1)) can be obtained for reasonable mechanical power (20 W kg(-1)), while flight at higher speed (16-20 m s(-1)) implied increased power (30-50 W kg(-1)). Flight at low speed (6-8 m s(-1)) necessitated unrealistic power levels (70-500 W kg(-1)), probably because our simulator neglected unsteady aerodynamics. The underlying adaptation of morphology and kinematics to varying flight speed were compared to available biological data on the flight of birds.

A dynamic response and eye scanning data base useful in the development of theories and methods for the description of control/display relationships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klein, R.

1972-01-01

A set of specially prepared digital tapes is reported which contain synchronized measurements of pilot scanning behavior, control response, and vehicle response obtained during instrument landing system approaches made in a fixed-base DC-8 transport simulator. The objective of the master tape is to provide a common data base which can be used by the research community to test theories, models, and methods for describing and analyzing control/display relations and interactions. The experimental conditions and tasks used to obtain the data and the detailed format of the tapes are described. Conventional instrument panel and controls were used, with simulated vertical gust and glide slope beam bend forcing functions. Continuous pilot eye fixations and scan traffic on the panel were measured. Both flight director and standard localizer/glide slope types of approaches were made, with both fixed and variable instrument range sensitivities.

Research Pilot Milt Thompson in M2-F2 Aircraft Attached to B-52 Mothership

NASA Image and Video Library

1966-02-28

NASA research pilot Milt Thompson sits in the M2-F2 "heavyweight" lifting body research vehicle before a 1966 test flight. The M2-F2 and the other lifting-body designs were all attached to a wing pylon on NASA’s B-52 mothership and carried aloft. The vehicles were then drop-launched and, at the end of their flights, glided back to wheeled landings on the dry lake or runway at Edwards AFB. The lifting body designs influenced the design of the Space Shuttle and were also reincarnated in the design of the X-38 in the 1990s.

Exploring bird aerodynamics using radio-controlled models.

PubMed

Hoey, Robert G

2010-12-01

A series of radio-controlled glider models was constructed by duplicating the aerodynamic shape of soaring birds (raven, turkey vulture, seagull and pelican). Controlled tests were conducted to determine the level of longitudinal and lateral-directional static stability, and to identify the characteristics that allowed flight without a vertical tail. The use of tail-tilt for controlling small bank-angle changes, as observed in soaring birds, was verified. Subsequent tests, using wing-tip ailerons, inferred that birds use a three-dimensional flow pattern around the wing tip (wing tip vortices) to control adverse yaw and to create a small amount of forward thrust in gliding flight.

Convair-240 aircraft modified with shuttle hatch for CES testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Shuttle Crew Escape System (CES) hardware includes space shuttle side hatch incorporated into Convair-240 aircraft at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California. Closeup shows dummy positioned in the Convair-240 escape hatch. Beginning this month, tests will be conducted here to evaluate a tractor rocket system - one of two escape methods being studied by NASA to provide crew egress capability during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight.

M2-F1 in flight over lakebed on tow line

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

Following the first M2-F1 airtow flight on 16 August 1963, the Flight Research Center used the vehicle for both research flights and to check out new lifting-body pilots. These included Bruce Peterson, Don Mallick, Fred Haise, and Bill Dana from NASA. Air Force pilots who flew the M2-F1 included Chuck Yeager, Jerry Gentry, Joe Engle, Jim Wood, and Don Sorlie, although Wood, Haise, and Engle only flew on car tows. In the three years between the first and last flights of the M2-F1, it made about 400 car tows and 77 air tows. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

M2-F1 lifting body aircraft on a flatbed truck

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

After the grounding of the M2-F1 in 1966, it was kept in outside storage on the Dryden complex. After several years, its fabric and plywood structure was damaged by the sun and weather. Restoration of the vehicle began in February 1994 under the leadership of NASA retiree Dick Fischer, with other retirees who had originally worked on the M2-F1's construction and flight research three decades before also participating. The photo shows the now-restored M2-F1 returning to the site of its flight research, now called the Dryden Flight Research Center, on 22 August 1997. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, NASA Flight Research Center (later Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA) management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

State-dependent sensorimotor processing: gaze and posture stability during simulated flight in birds.

PubMed

McArthur, Kimberly L; Dickman, J David

2011-04-01

Vestibular responses play an important role in maintaining gaze and posture stability during rotational motion. Previous studies suggest that these responses are state dependent, their expression varying with the environmental and locomotor conditions of the animal. In this study, we simulated an ethologically relevant state in the laboratory to study state-dependent vestibular responses in birds. We used frontal airflow to simulate gliding flight and measured pigeons' eye, head, and tail responses to rotational motion in darkness, under both head-fixed and head-free conditions. We show that both eye and head response gains are significantly higher during flight, thus enhancing gaze and head-in-space stability. We also characterize state-specific tail responses to pitch and roll rotation that would help to maintain body-in-space orientation during flight. These results demonstrate that vestibular sensorimotor processing is not fixed but depends instead on the animal's behavioral state.

State-dependent sensorimotor processing: gaze and posture stability during simulated flight in birds

PubMed Central

McArthur, Kimberly L.

2011-01-01

Vestibular responses play an important role in maintaining gaze and posture stability during rotational motion. Previous studies suggest that these responses are state dependent, their expression varying with the environmental and locomotor conditions of the animal. In this study, we simulated an ethologically relevant state in the laboratory to study state-dependent vestibular responses in birds. We used frontal airflow to simulate gliding flight and measured pigeons′ eye, head, and tail responses to rotational motion in darkness, under both head-fixed and head-free conditions. We show that both eye and head response gains are significantly higher during flight, thus enhancing gaze and head-in-space stability. We also characterize state-specific tail responses to pitch and roll rotation that would help to maintain body-in-space orientation during flight. These results demonstrate that vestibular sensorimotor processing is not fixed but depends instead on the animal's behavioral state. PMID:21307332

The aerodynamics of Argentavis, the world's largest flying bird from the Miocene of Argentina

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Sankar; Templin, R. Jack; Campbell, Kenneth E.

2007-01-01

We calculate the flight performance of the gigantic volant bird Argentavis magnificens from the upper Miocene (≈6 million years ago) of Argentina using a computer simulation model. Argentavis was probably too large (mass ≈70 kg) to be capable of continuous flapping flight or standing takeoff under its own muscle power. Like extant condors and vultures, Argentavis would have extracted energy from the atmosphere for flight, relying on thermals present on the Argentinean pampas to provide power for soaring, and it probably used slope soaring over the windward slopes of the Andes. It was an excellent glider, with a gliding angle close to 3° and a cruising speed of 67 kph. Argentavis could take off by running downhill, or by launching from a perch to pick up flight speed. Other means of takeoff remain problematic. PMID:17609382

New Method of Determining the Polar Curve of an Airplane in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yegorov, B. N.

1945-01-01

A fundamental defect of existing methods for the determination of the polar of an airplane in flight is the impossibility of obtaining the thrust or the resistance of the propeller for any type airplane with any type engine. The new method is based on the premise that for zero propeller thrust the mean angle of attack of the blade is approximately the same for all propellers if this angle is reckoned from the aerodynamic chord of the profile section. This angle was determined from flight tests. Knowing the mean angle of the blade setting the angle of attack of the propeller blade at zero thrust can be found and the propeller speed in gliding obtained. The experimental check of the new method carried out on several airplanes gave positive results. The basic assumptions for the construction of the polars and the method of analyzing the flight data are given.

Energy management during the space shuttle transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, R. F.

1972-01-01

An approach to calculating optimal, gliding flight paths of the type associated with the space shuttle's transition from entry to cruising flight is presented. Kinetic energy and total energy (per unit weight) replace velocity and time in the dynamic equations, reducing the dimension and complexity of the problem. The capability for treating integral and terminal penalties (as well as Mach number effects) is retained in the numerical optimization; hence, stability and control boundaries can be observed as trajectories to the desired final energy, flight path angle, and range are determined. Numerical results show that the jump to the front-side of the L/D curve need not be made until the end of the transition and that the dynamic model provides a conservative range estimate. Alternatives for real time trajectory control are discussed.

A "hydrokinematic" method of measuring the glide efficiency of a human swimmer.

PubMed

Naemi, Roozbeh; Sanders, Ross H

2008-12-01

The aim of this study was to develop and test a method of quantifying the glide efficiency, defined as the ability of the body to maintain its velocity over time and to minimize deceleration through a rectilinear glide. The glide efficiency should be determined in a way that accounts for both the inertial and resistive characteristics of the gliding body as well as the instantaneous velocity. A displacement function (parametric curve) was obtained from the equation of motion of the body during a horizontal rectilinear glide. The values of the parameters in the displacement curve that provide the best fit to the displacement-time data of a body during a rectilinear horizontal glide represent the glide factor and the initial velocity of the particular glide interval. The glide factor is a measure of glide efficiency and indicates the ability of the body to minimize deceleration at each corresponding velocity. The glide efficiency depends on the hydrodynamic characteristic of the body, which is influenced by the body's shape as well as by the body's size. To distinguish the effects of size and shape on the glide efficiency, a size-related glide constant and a shape-related glide coefficient were determined as separate entities. The glide factor is the product of these two parameters. The goodness of fit statistics indicated that the representative displacement function found for each glide interval closely represents the real displacement data of a body in a rectilinear horizontal glide. The accuracy of the method was indicated by a relative standard error of calculation of less than 2.5%. Also the method was able to distinguish between subjects in their glide efficiency. It was found that the glide factor increased with decreasing velocity. The glide coefficient also increased with decreasing Reynolds number. The method is sufficiently accurate to distinguish between individual swimmers in terms of their glide efficiency. The separation of glide factor to a size-related glide constant and a shape-related glide coefficient enabled the effect of size and shape to be quantified.

A better way of fitting clips? A comparative study with respect to physical workload.

PubMed

Gaudez, Clarisse; Wild, Pascal; Aublet-Cuvelier, Agnès

2015-11-01

The clip fitting task is a frequently encountered assembly operation in the car industry. It can cause upper limb pain. During task laboratory simulations, upper limb muscular activity and external force were compared for 4 clip fitting methods: with the bare hand, with an unpowered tool commonly used at a company and with unpowered and powered prototype tools. None of the 4 fitting methods studied induced a lower overall workload than the other three. Muscle activity was lower at the dominant limb when using the unpowered tools and at the non-dominant limb with the bare hand or with the powered tool. Fitting clips with the bare hand required a higher external force than fitting with the three tools. Evaluation of physical workload was different depending on whether external force or muscle activity results were considered. Measuring external force only, as recommended in several standards, is insufficient for evaluating physical workload. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

An Experimental Evaluation of Generalized Predictive Control for Tiltrotor Aeroelastic Stability Augmentation in Airplane Mode of Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kvaternik, Raymond G.; Piatak, David J.; Nixon, Mark W.; Langston, Chester W.; Singleton, Jeffrey D.; Bennett, Richard L.; Brown, Ross K.

2001-01-01

The results of a joint NASA/Army/Bell Helicopter Textron wind-tunnel test to assess the potential of Generalized Predictive Control (GPC) for actively controlling the swashplate of tiltrotor aircraft to enhance aeroelastic stability in the airplane mode of flight are presented. GPC is an adaptive time-domain predictive control method that uses a linear difference equation to describe the input-output relationship of the system and to design the controller. The test was conducted in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel using an unpowered 1/5-scale semispan aeroelastic model of the V-22 that was modified to incorporate a GPC-based multi-input multi-output control algorithm to individually control each of the three swashplate actuators. Wing responses were used for feedback. The GPC-based control system was highly effective in increasing the stability of the critical wing mode for all of the conditions tested, without measurable degradation of the damping in the other modes. The algorithm was also robust with respect to its performance in adjusting to rapid changes in both the rotor speed and the tunnel airspeed.

A Recommended New Approach on Motorization Ratio Calculations of Stepper Motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nalbandian, Ruben; Blais, Thierry; Horth, Richard

2014-01-01

Stepper motors are widely used on most spacecraft mechanisms requiring repeatable and reliable performance. The unique detent torque characteristics of these type of motors makes them behave differently when subjected to low duty cycle excitations where the applied driving pulses are only energized for a fraction of the pulse duration. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in discrete permanent magnet stepper motors used in the space industry. While the inherent high detent properties of discrete permanent magnets provide desirable unpowered holding performance characteristics, it results in unique behavior especially in low duty cycles. Notably, the running torque reduces quickly to the unpowered holding torque when the duty cycle is reduced. The space industry's accepted methodology of calculating the Motorization Ratio (or Torque Margin) is more applicable to systems where the power is continuously applied to the motor coils like brushless DC motors where the cogging torques are low enough not to affect the linear performance of the motors as a function of applied current. This paper summarizes the theoretical and experimental studies performed on a number of space qualified motors under different pulse rates and duty cycles. It is the intention of this paper to introduce a new approach to calculate the Motorization Ratios for discrete permanent magnet steppers under all full and partial duty cycle regimes. The recommended approach defines two distinct relationships to calculate the Motorization Ratio for 100 percent duty cycle and partial duty cycle, when the motor detent (unpowered holding torque) is the main contributor to holding position. These two computations reflect accurately the stepper motor physical behavior as a function of the command phase (ON versus OFF times of the pulses), pointing out how the torque contributors combine. Important points highlighted under this study are the torque margin computations, in particular for well characterized mechanisms. The rationale at CDR level versus TRR/TRB level will be discussed, aiming at avoiding too much conservatism for units that have extensive test and in flight heritage. A critical topic is related to the magnetic losses and how to sort out such phenomena as a function of the motor type being used. For instance, detent torque is a major contributor that has no reason to evolve during life and is not an uncontrolled torque loss.

The Korean Prevocalic Palatal Glide: A Comparison with the Russian Glide and Palatalization.

PubMed

Suh, Yunju; Hwang, Jiwon

2016-01-01

Phonetic studies of the Korean prevocalic glides have often suggested that they are shorter in duration than those of languages like English, and lack a prolonged steady state. In addition, the formant frequencies of the Korean labiovelar glide are reported to be greatly influenced by the following vowel. In this study the Korean prevocalic palatal glide is investigated vis-à-vis the two phonologically similar configurations of another language - the glide /j/ and the secondary palatalization of Russian, with regard to the inherent duration of the glide component, F2 trajectory, vowel-to-glide coarticulation and glide-to-vowel coarticulation. It is revealed that the Korean palatal glide is closer to the Russian palatalization in duration and F2 trajectory, indicating a lack of steady state, and to the Russian segmental glide in the vowel-to-glide coarticulation degree. When the glide-to-vowel coarticulation is considered, the Korean palatal glide is distinguished from both Russian categories. The results suggest that both the Korean palatal glide and the Russian palatalization involve significant articulatory overlap, the former with the vowel and the latter with the consonant. Phonological implications of such a difference in coarticulation pattern are discussed, as well as the comparison between the Korean labiovelar and palatal glides. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

M2-F2 on ramp

NASA Image and Video Library

1966-02-24

The M2-F2 Lifting Body is seen here on the ramp at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers -- the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation. The "M" refers to "manned" and "F" refers to "flight" version. "HL" comes from "horizontal landing" and 10 is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley. The first flight of the M2-F2 -- which looked much like the "F1" -- was on July 12, 1966. Milt Thompson was the pilot. By then, the same B-52 used to air launch the famed X-15 rocket research aircraft was modified to also carry the lifting bodies. Thompson was dropped from the B-52's wing pylon mount at an altitude of 45,000 feet on that maiden glide flight. The M2-F2 weighed 4,620 pounds, was 22 feet long, and had a width of about 10 feet. On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight leading up to powered flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured the NASA pilot, Bruce Peterson. NASA pilots and researchers realized the M2-F2 had lateral control problems, even though it had a stability augmentation control system. When the M2-F2 was rebuilt at Dryden and redesignated the M2-F3, it was modified with an additional third vertical fin -- centered between the tip fins -- to improve control characteristics. The M2-F2/F3 was the first of the heavy-weight, entry-configuration lifting bodies. Its successful development as a research test vehicle answered many of the generic questions about these vehicles. NASA donated the M2-F3 vehicle to the Smithsonian Institute in December 1973. It is currently hanging in the Air and Space Museum along with the X-15 aircraft number 1, which was its hangar partner at Dryden from 1965 to 1969.

First Shuttle/747 Captive Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise rides smoothly atop NASA's first Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), NASA 905, during the first of the shuttle program's Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1977. During the nearly one year-long series of tests, Enterprise was taken aloft on the SCA to study the aerodynamics of the mated vehicles and, in a series of five free flights, tested the glide and landing characteristics of the orbiter prototype. In this photo, the main engine area on the aft end of Enterprise is covered with a tail cone to reduce aerodynamic drag that affects the horizontal tail of the SCA, on which tip fins have been installed to increase stability when the aircraft carries an orbiter. The Space Shuttle Approach and Landings Tests (ALT) program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle and the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) handled during low-speed flight and landing. The Enterprise, a prototype of the Space Shuttles, and the SCA were flown to conduct the approach and landing tests at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from February to October 1977. The first flight of the program consisted of the Space Shuttle Enterprise attached to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. These flights were to determine how well the two vehicles flew together. Five 'captive-inactive' flights were flown during this first phase in which there was no crew in the Enterprise. The next series of captive flights was flown with a flight crew of two on board the prototype Space Shuttle. Only three such flights proved necessary. This led to the free-flight test series. The free-flight phase of the ALT program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle handled in low-speed flight and landing attitudes. For these landings, the Enterprise was flown by a crew of two after it was released from the top of the SCA. The vehicle was released at altitudes ranging from 19,000 to 26,000 feet. The Enterprise had no propulsion system, but its first four glides to the Rogers Dry Lake runway provided realistic, in-flight simulations of how subsequent Space Shuttles would be flown at the end of an orbital mission. The fifth approach and landing test, with the Enterprise landing on the Edwards Air Force Base concrete runway, revealed a problem with the Space Shuttle flight control system that made it susceptible to Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO), a potentially dangerous control problem during a landing. Further research using other NASA aircraft, especially the F-8 Digital-Fly-By-Wire aircraft, led to correction of the PIO problem before the first orbital flight. The Enterprise's last free-flight was October 26, 1977, after which it was ferried to other NASA centers for ground-based flight simulations that tested Space Shuttle systems and structure.

A STOL airworthiness investigation using a simulation of an augmentor wing transport. Volume 2: Simulation data and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heffley, R. K.; Stapleford, R. L.; Rumold, R. C.; Lehman, J. M.; Scott, B. C.; Hynes, C. S.

1974-01-01

A simulator study of STOL airworthiness was conducted using a model of an augmentor wing transport. The approach, flare and landing, go-around, and takeoff phases of flight were investigated. The simulation and the data obtained are described. These data include performance measures, pilot commentary, and pilot ratings. A pilot/vehicle analysis of glide slope tracking and of the flare maneuver is included.

Performance of a commercial transport under typical MLS noise environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ho, J. K.

1986-01-01

The performance of a 747-200 automatic flight control system (AFCS) subjected to typical Microwave Landing System (MLS) noise is discussed. The performance is then compared with the results from a previous study which had a B747 AFCS subjected to the MLS standards and recommended practices (SARPS) maximum allowable noise. A glide slope control run with Instrument Landing System (ILS) noise is also conducted. Finally, a linear covariance analysis is presented.

Proposed Ames M2-F1, M1-L half-cone, and Langley lenticular bodies.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1962-01-01

Dale Reed, who inaugurated the lifting-body flight research at NASA's Flight Research Center (later, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA), originally proposed that three wooden outer shells be built. These would then be attached to the single internal steel structure. The three shapes were (viewer's left to right) the M2-F1, the M1-L, and a lenticular shape. Milt Thompson, who supported Reed's advocacy for a lifting-body research project, recommended that only the M2-F1 shell be built, believing that the M1-L shape was 'too radical,' while the lenticular one was 'too exotic.' Although the lenticular shape was often likened to that of a flying saucer, Reed's wife Donna called it the 'powder puff.' The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

M2-F1 in hangar with Pontiac tow vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here in a hangar with its hotrod Pontiac convertible tow vehicle at the Flight Research Center (later the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. The car was a 1963 Pontiac Catalina convertible, fitted with a 421-cubic-inch tripower engine like those being run at the Daytona 500 auto race. The vehicle also had a four-speed transmission and a heavy-duty suspension and cooling system. A roll bar was also added and the passenger seat turned around so an observer could watch the M2-F1 while it was being towed. The rear seat was removed and a second, side-facing seat installed. The lifting-body team used the Pontiac for all the ground-tow flights over the next three years. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

HL-10 on lakebed with pilot Bill Dana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1966-01-01

NASA research pilot Bill Dana stands in front of the HL-10 Lifting Body following his first glide flight on April 25, 1969. Dana later retired Chief Engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, which was called only the NASA Flight Research Center in 1969. Prior to his lifting body assignment, Dana flew the famed X-15 research airplane. He flew the rocket-powered aircraft 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897 miles per hour and a peak altitude of 310,000 feet (almost 59 miles high). The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of 'heavy' lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. 'HL' stands for horizontal landing, and '10' refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.

Bone histological correlates of soaring and high-frequency flapping flight in the furculae of birds.

PubMed

Mitchell, Jessica; Legendre, Lucas J; Lefèvre, Christine; Cubo, Jorge

2017-06-01

The furcula is a specialized bone in birds involved in flight function. Its morphology has been shown to reflect different flight styles from soaring/gliding birds, subaqueous flight to high-frequency flapping flyers. The strain experienced by furculae can vary depending on flight type. Bone remodeling is a response to damage incurred from different strain magnitudes and types. In this study, we tested whether a bone microstructural feature, namely Haversian bone density, differs in birds with different flight styles, and reassessed previous work using phylogenetic comparative methods that assume an evolutionary model with additional taxa. We show that soaring birds have higher Haversian bone densities than birds with a flapping style of flight. This result is probably linked to the fact that the furculae of soaring birds provide less protraction force and more depression force than furculae of birds showing other kinds of flight. The whole bone area is another explanatory factor, which confirms the fact that size is an important consideration in Haversian bone development. All birds, however, display Haversian bone development in their furculae, and other factors like age could be affecting the response of Haversian bone development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Pilot dynamics for instrument approach tasks: Full panel multiloop and flight director operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weir, D. H.; Mcruer, D. T.

1972-01-01

Measurements and interpretations of single and mutiloop pilot response properties during simulated instrument approach are presented. Pilot subjects flew Category 2-like ILS approaches in a fixed base DC-8 simulaton. A conventional instrument panel and controls were used, with simulated vertical gust and glide slope beam bend forcing functions. Reduced and interpreted pilot describing functions and remmant are given for pitch attitude, flight director, and multiloop (longitudinal) control tasks. The response data are correlated with simultaneously recorded eye scanning statistics, previously reported in NASA CR-1535. The resulting combined response and scanning data and their interpretations provide a basis for validating and extending the theory of manual control displays.

M2-F1 ejection seat test at South Edwards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

The M2-F1 was fitted with an ejection seat before the airtow flights began. The project selected the seat used in the T-37 as modified by the Weber Company to use a rocket rather than a ballistic charge for ejection. To test the ejection seat, the Flight Research Center's Dick Klein constructed a plywood mockup of the M2-F1's top deck and canopy. On the first firings, the test was unsuccessful, but on the final test the dummy in the seat landed safely. The M2-F1 ejection seat was later used in the two Lunar Landing Research Vehicles and the three Lunar Landing Training Vehicles. Three of them crashed, but in each case the pilot ejected from the vehicle successfully. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).

High Detent Torque Rotary Actuator Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, I.; Sainz, I.; Allegranza, C.

2015-09-01

In the frame of an ESA ARTES 5 Contract, SENER has performed the design, manufacturing and testing at component and mechanism levels of a High Detent Torque Rotary Actuator (DTA in short), i.e. with high capability to hold a payload when unpowered.Two configurations were developed to allow the use on specific application flight opportunity; both are identical in terms of architecture, lubrication, structural and thermal design. The exception is the angular position sensor type: the DTA 100 with contactless sensors and the DTA 120 with potentiometers.The DTA is a fully european technology. This paper provides a synthesis of the obtained parameters in front of the requirements, the evolution from the initial concept to the final configuration and the results of the extensive test campaign (DTA 120). Lessons learned and the readiness for use at upper level are also highlighted.

Project Ares 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raymer, Dan; Russell, Phyllis; Fox, Tim; Meyers, Doug; Lovric, Steven; Grabow, Robert; Epp, Manfred; Wynn, Warren, Jr.; Mako, Zoltan; Linzner, Gunther

1992-01-01

The mission of Project Ares is to design and fabricate an Earth prototype, autonomous flying rover capable of flying on the Martian surface. The project was awarded to California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 1989 where an in-depth paper study was completed. The second year's group, Project Ares 2, designed and fabricated a full-scale flight demonstration aircraft. Project Ares 3, the third and final group, is responsible for propulsion system design and installation, controls and instrumentation, and high altitude testing. The propulsion system consists of a motor and its power supply, geartrain, and propeller. The motor is a four-brush DC motor powered by a 50-V NiCd battery supply. A pulley and belt arrangement is used for the geartrain and includes light weight, low temperature materials. The propeller is constructed from composite materials which ensures high strength and light weight, and is specifically developed to provide thrust at extremely high altitudes. The aircraft is controlled with a ground-based radio control system and an autopilot which will activate in the event that the control signal is lost. A transponder is used to maintain radar contact for ground tracking purposes. The aircraft possesses a small, onboard computer for collecting and storing flight data. To safeguard the possibility of computer failure, all flight data is transmitted to a ground station via a telemetry system. An initial, unpowered, low-level test flight was completed in August of 1991. Testing of systems integration in the second low-level test flight resulted in loss of elevator control which caused considerable damage on landing. Complete failure analysis and repairs are scheduled for September of 1992.

Flight of the dragonflies and damselflies.

PubMed

Bomphrey, Richard J; Nakata, Toshiyuki; Henningsson, Per; Lin, Huai-Ti

2016-09-26

This work is a synthesis of our current understanding of the mechanics, aerodynamics and visually mediated control of dragonfly and damselfly flight, with the addition of new experimental and computational data in several key areas. These are: the diversity of dragonfly wing morphologies, the aerodynamics of gliding flight, force generation in flapping flight, aerodynamic efficiency, comparative flight performance and pursuit strategies during predatory and territorial flights. New data are set in context by brief reviews covering anatomy at several scales, insect aerodynamics, neuromechanics and behaviour. We achieve a new perspective by means of a diverse range of techniques, including laser-line mapping of wing topographies, computational fluid dynamics simulations of finely detailed wing geometries, quantitative imaging using particle image velocimetry of on-wing and wake flow patterns, classical aerodynamic theory, photography in the field, infrared motion capture and multi-camera optical tracking of free flight trajectories in laboratory environments. Our comprehensive approach enables a novel synthesis of datasets and subfields that integrates many aspects of flight from the neurobiology of the compound eye, through the aeromechanical interface with the surrounding fluid, to flight performance under cruising and higher-energy behavioural modes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'. © 2016 The Authors.

Crew escape system test at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

As part of a crew escape system (CES) test program, a lifelike dummy is pulled by a tractor rocket from an airborne Convair-240 (C-240) aircraft at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California. A P-3 chase plane accompanies the C-240. The C-240 was modified with a space shuttle side hatch mockup for the tests which will evaluate candidate concepts developed to provide crew egress capability during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight.

HL-10 on lakebed with pilot Major Jerauld R. Gentry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1968-01-01

Pilot Major Jerauld R. Gentry stands in front of the HL-10 Lifting Body. Gentry was the Air Force project pilot for the HL-10 while it was making the early glide and powered flights in 1968 following its modification. He made a total of nine flights in the vehicle. For his work on the HL-10, Gentry was awarded the Harmon International Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the science of flying. He later became the Air Force pilot for the X-24A. The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of 'heavy' lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. 'HL' stands for horizontal landing, and '10' refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.

HL-10 on lakebed with pilot Bill Dana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

This photo shows the HL-10 on Rogers Dry Lakebed with pilot Bill Dana in the foreground. Bill joined the HL-10 program in 1969 after flying the M2-F1 and the X-15, among other aircraft. His first glide flight was on April 25, 1969. Some months later, on September 3, 1969, he reached an altitude of 77,960 feet. This was one of a series of HL-10 flights to collect stability and control data at higher speeds and altitudes and at different angles of attack. The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of 'heavy' lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. 'HL' stands for horizontal landing, and '10' refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.

Actogram analysis of free-flying migratory birds: new perspectives based on acceleration logging.

PubMed

Bäckman, Johan; Andersson, Arne; Pedersen, Lykke; Sjöberg, Sissel; Tøttrup, Anders P; Alerstam, Thomas

2017-07-01

The use of accelerometers has become an important part of biologging techniques for large-sized birds with accelerometer data providing information about flight mode, wing-beat pattern, behaviour and energy expenditure. Such data show that birds using much energy-saving soaring/gliding flight like frigatebirds and swifts can stay airborne without landing for several months. Successful accelerometer studies have recently been conducted also for free-flying small songbirds during their entire annual cycle. Here we review the principles and possibilities for accelerometer studies in bird migration. We use the first annual actograms (for red-backed shrike Lanius collurio) to explore new analyses and insights that become possible with accelerometer data. Actogram data allow precise estimates of numbers of flights, flight durations as well as departure/landing times during the annual cycle. Annual and diurnal rhythms of migratory flights, as well as prolonged nocturnal flights across desert barriers are illustrated. The shifting balance between flight, rest and different intensities of activity throughout the year as revealed by actogram data can be used to analyse exertion levels during different phases of the life cycle. Accelerometer recording of the annual activity patterns of individual birds will open up a new dimension in bird migration research.

Flight of the dragonflies and damselflies

PubMed Central

Nakata, Toshiyuki; Henningsson, Per; Lin, Huai-Ti

2016-01-01

This work is a synthesis of our current understanding of the mechanics, aerodynamics and visually mediated control of dragonfly and damselfly flight, with the addition of new experimental and computational data in several key areas. These are: the diversity of dragonfly wing morphologies, the aerodynamics of gliding flight, force generation in flapping flight, aerodynamic efficiency, comparative flight performance and pursuit strategies during predatory and territorial flights. New data are set in context by brief reviews covering anatomy at several scales, insect aerodynamics, neuromechanics and behaviour. We achieve a new perspective by means of a diverse range of techniques, including laser-line mapping of wing topographies, computational fluid dynamics simulations of finely detailed wing geometries, quantitative imaging using particle image velocimetry of on-wing and wake flow patterns, classical aerodynamic theory, photography in the field, infrared motion capture and multi-camera optical tracking of free flight trajectories in laboratory environments. Our comprehensive approach enables a novel synthesis of datasets and subfields that integrates many aspects of flight from the neurobiology of the compound eye, through the aeromechanical interface with the surrounding fluid, to flight performance under cruising and higher-energy behavioural modes. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’. PMID:27528779

Time lapse photography as an approach to understanding glide avalanche activity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hendrikx, Jordy; Peitzsch, Erich H.; Fagre, Daniel B.

2012-01-01

Avalanches resulting from glide cracks are notoriously difficult to forecast, but are a recurring problem for numerous avalanche forecasting programs. In some cases glide cracks are observed to open and then melt away in situ. In other cases, they open and then fail catastrophically as large, full-depth avalanches. Our understanding and management of these phenomena are currently limited. It is thought that an increase in the rate of snow gliding occurs prior to full-depth avalanche activity so frequent observation of glide crack movement can provide an index of instability. During spring 2011 in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, we began an approach to track glide crack avalanche activity using a time-lapse camera focused on a southwest facing glide crack. This crack melted in-situ without failing as a glide avalanche, while other nearby glide cracks on north through southeast aspects failed. In spring 2012, a camera was aimed at a large and productive glide crack adjacent to the Going to the Sun Road. We captured three unique glide events in the field of view. Unfortunately, all of them either failed very quickly, or during periods of obscured view, so measurements of glide rate could not be obtained. However, we compared the hourly meteorological variables during the period of glide activity to the same variables prior to glide activity. The variables air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, incoming and reflected long wave radiation, SWE, total precipitation, and snow depth were found to be statistically different for our cases examined. We propose that these are some of the potential precursors for glide avalanche activity, but do urge caution in their use, due to the simple approach and small data set size. It is hoped that by introducing a workable method to easily record glide crack movement, combined with ongoing analysis of the associated meteorological data, we will improve our understanding of when, or if, glide avalanche activity will ensue.

X-1A in flight with flight data superimposed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1953-01-01

This photo of the X-1A includes graphs of the flight data from Maj. Charles E. Yeager's Mach 2.44 flight on December 12, 1953. (This was only a few days short of the 50th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight.) After reaching Mach 2.44, then the highest speed ever reached by a piloted aircraft, the X-1A tumbled completely out of control. The motions were so violent that Yeager cracked the plastic canopy with his helmet. He finally recovered from a inverted spin and landed on Rogers Dry Lakebed. Among the data shown are Mach number and altitude (the two top graphs). The speed and altitude changes due to the tumble are visible as jagged lines. The third graph from the bottom shows the G-forces on the airplane. During the tumble, these twice reached 8 Gs or 8 times the normal pull of gravity at sea level. (At these G forces, a 200-pound human would, in effect, weigh 1,600 pounds if a scale were placed under him in the direction of the force vector.) Producing these graphs was a slow, difficult process. The raw data from on-board instrumentation recorded on oscillograph film. Human computers then reduced the data and recorded it on data sheets, correcting for such factors as temperature and instrument errors. They used adding machines or slide rules for their calculations, pocket calculators being 20 years in the future. Three second generation Bell Aircraft Corporations X-1s were built, though four were requested. They were the X-1A (48-1384); X-1B (48-1385); X-1C (canceled and never built); X-1D (48-1386). These aircraft were similar to the X-1s, except they were five feet longer, had conventional canopies, and were powered by Reaction Motors, Inc. XLR11-RM-5 rocket engines. The RM-5, like the previous engines, had no throttle and was controlled by igniting one or more of the four thrust chambers at will. The original program outline called for the X-1A and X-1B to be used for dynamic stability and air loads investigations. The X-1D was to be used for heat transfer research while the X-1C was intended as a high-speed armament systems test bed. All of these aircraft like the original X-1s, were launched from a Boeing B-29 or Boeing B-50 'mothership' to take maximum advantage of their limited flying time with a rocket engine. Most launches were made from the JTB-29A (45-21800). The other launch aircraft was EB-50A (46-006). X-1A The Bell X-1A was similar to the Bell X-1, except for having turbo-driven fuel pumps (instead of a system using nitrogen under pressure), a new cockpit canopy, longer fuselage and increased fuel capacity. The X-1A arrived at Edwards Air Force Base, California on January 7, 1953, with the first glide flight being successfully completed by Bell pilot, Jean 'Skip' Ziegler. The airplane also made five powered flights with Ziegler at the controls. The USAF was attempting a Mach 2 flight and USAF test pilot Charles 'Chuck' Yeager was eager. He reached speed of Mach 2.435, at a altitude of 75,000 feet on December 12, 1953, a speed record at the time. But all was not well, the aircraft encountered an inertial coupling phenomenon and went out of control. Once the X-1A had entered the denser atmosphere (35,000 feet) it slowly stabilized and Yeager was able to return to Edwards. The aircraft had experienced high-speed roll-coupling, something aerodynamicists had predicted, but this was the first actual encounter. On August 26, 1954, Major Arthur Murray, USAF test pilot flew the X-1A to an altitude record of 90,440 feet. NACA High-Speed Flight Station received the aircraft in September 1954 and returned it to Bell for the installation of an ejection seat. NACA test pilot Joseph Walker made a familiarization flight on July 20, 1955 followed by another scheduled flight on August 8, 1955. Shortly before launch the X-1A suffered an explosion. The extent of the damage prohibited landing the crippled aircraft. The X-1A was jettisoned into the desert, exploding and burning on impact. Walker and the B-29 crew returned to base in satisfactory condition. Four pilots had completed 29 flights (including aborts). X-1B The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1B was similar to the Bell X-1A except for the installation of wingtips extensions for its last three flight. The NACA portion of the X-1B flight test program was for the purpose of aerodynamic heating research, accumulating data during 1956-1958. The X-1B was fitted with special instrumentation for exploratory aerodynamic heating tests. It had over 300 thermocouples installed on it. It was the first aircraft to fly with a reaction control system, a prototype of the control system used on the X-15 and other piloted aircraft. Midway through its flight test program, the X-1B was equipped with an Reaction Motors, Inc. XLR-11-RM-9 engine which differed, from the other XLR-11s, only in having an electric spark, low-tension interrupter type ignition in place of the older high-tension type. On January 27, 1959 the X-1B was given to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for preservation and public display. This aircraft completed a total of 27 glide and powered flights made by eight USAF test pilots and two NACA test pilots. X-1C Following the X-1B was the projected X-1C, which was canceled while still in the mock-up stage. The birth of transonic and supersonic-capable aircraft like the North American F-86 Sabre and the North American F-100 Super Sabre eventually eliminated the need for the X-1C. X-1D The X-1D was the first advanced model of the X-1 family to roll from Bell Aircraft Corporation's plant. It arrived at Edwards, California, in July 1951 suspended from the bomb bay shackles of a Boeing EB-50A, (46-006) aircraft. On July 24, 1951, with Bell test pilot Jean 'Skip' Ziegler at the controls, the X-1D had the only successful flight of its career. It was an unpowered glide flight, and on landing the nose gear failed with the plane sliding to a stop. The aircraft was repaired and ready once more for flight when USAF test pilot Frank 'Pete' Everest boarded the aircraft for launch on August 22, 1951. The drop from the Boeing B-50 was canceled because of mechanical problems. On the way back to the landing field and after the crew had jettisoned the propellants, an explosion occurred with flames being reported by the chase plane pilot. The X-1D was dropped to crash on the desert near the south end of Rogers Dry Lakebed. The second generation Bell Aircraft Corporations X-1s increased man's understanding of the stability and control characteristics, and aerodynamic heating at high-speeds and the environment of high-altitude flight. INVESTIGATION Since there had been a loss of several aircraft during the period of the rocket flights, the NACA instituted an investigation. It sent samples of a suspicious looking oily residue from a liquid oxygen tank to a Los Angeles, California, laboratory and to the chemical laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Edwards laboratory identified the substance as TCP--tricresyl phosphate--a substance used to impregnate leather. All the destroyed rocket planes--as well as those still flying--had gaskets made of Ulmer leather. The TCP had been the culprit, because it could easily detonate in the presence of liquid oxygen. Armed with this knowledge, the Air Force and the NACA avoided all future catastrophic blasts.

M2-F2 cockpit instrument panels

NASA Image and Video Library

1966-03-27

This photo shows the right side cockpit instrumentation panel of the M2-F2 Lifting Body. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers -- the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation. The "M" refers to "manned" and "F" refers to "flight" version. "HL" comes from "horizontal landing" and 10 is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley. The first flight of the M2-F2 -- which looked much like the "F1" -- was on July 12, 1966. Milt Thompson was the pilot. By then, the same B-52 used to air launch the famed X-15 rocket research aircraft was modified to also carry the lifting bodies. Thompson was dropped from the B-52's wing pylon mount at an altitude of 45,000 feet on that maiden glide flight. The M2-F2 weighed 4,620 pounds, was 22 feet long, and had a width of about 10 feet. On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight leading up to powered flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured the NASA pilot, Bruce Peterson. NASA pilots and researchers realized the M2-F2 had lateral control problems, even though it had a stability augmentation control system. When the M2-F2 was rebuilt at Dryden and redesignated the M2-F3, it was modified with an additional third vertical fin -- centered between the tip fins -- to improve control characteristics. The M2-F2/F3 was the first of the heavy-weight, entry-configuration lifting bodies. Its successful development as a research test vehicle answered many of the generic questions about these vehicles. NASA donated the M2-F3 vehicle to the Smithsonian Institute in December 1973. It is currently hanging in the Air and Space Museum along with the X-15 aircraft number 1, which was its hangar partner at Dryden from 1965 to 1969.

M2-F2 cockpit instrument panels

NASA Image and Video Library

1966-03-27

This photo shows the left side cockpit instrumentation panel of the M2-F2 Lifting Body. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers -- the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation. The "M" refers to "manned" and "F" refers to "flight" version. "HL" comes from "horizontal landing" and 10 is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley. The first flight of the M2-F2 -- which looked much like the "F1" -- was on July 12, 1966. Milt Thompson was the pilot. By then, the same B-52 used to air launch the famed X-15 rocket research aircraft was modified to also carry the lifting bodies. Thompson was dropped from the B-52's wing pylon mount at an altitude of 45,000 feet on that maiden glide flight. The M2-F2 weighed 4,620 pounds, was 22 feet long, and had a width of about 10 feet. On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight leading up to powered flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured the NASA pilot, Bruce Peterson. NASA pilots and researchers realized the M2-F2 had lateral control problems, even though it had a stability augmentation control system. When the M2-F2 was rebuilt at Dryden and redesignated the M2-F3, it was modified with an additional third vertical fin -- centered between the tip fins -- to improve control characteristics. The M2-F2/F3 was the first of the heavy-weight, entry-configuration lifting bodies. Its successful development as a research test vehicle answered many of the generic questions about these vehicles. NASA donated the M2-F3 vehicle to the Smithsonian Institute in December 1973. It is currently hanging in the Air and Space Museum along with the X-15 aircraft number 1, which was its hangar partner at Dryden from 1965 to 1969.

Observation of Snow cover glide on Sub-Alpine Coniferous Forests in Mount Zao, Northeastern Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, A.; Suzuki, K.

2017-12-01

This is the study to clarify the snow cover glide behavior in the sub-alpine coniferous forests on Mount Zao, Northeastern Japan, in the winter of 2014-2015. We installed the glide-meter which is sled type, and measured the glide motion on the slope of Abies mariesii forest and its surrounding slope. In addition, we observed the air temperature, snow depth, density of snow, and snow temperature to discuss relationship between weather conditions and glide occurrence. The snow cover of the 2014-15 winter started on November 13th and disappeared on April 21st. The maximum snow depth was 242 cm thick, it was recorded at February 1st. The snow cover glide in the surrounding slope was occurred first at February 10th, although maximum snow depth recorded on February 1st. The glide motion in the surrounding slope is continuing and its velocity was 0.4 cm per day. The glide in the surrounding slope stopped at March 16th. The cumulative amount of the glide was 21.1 cm. The snow cover glide in the A. mariesii forest was even later occurred first at February 21st. The glide motion of it was intermittent and extremely small. On sub-alpine zone of Mount Zao, snow cover glide intensity is estimated to be 289 kg/m2 on March when snow water equivalent is maximum. At same period, maximum snow cover glide intensity is estimated to be about 1000 kg/m2 at very steep slopes where the slope angle is about 35 degree. Although potential of snow cover glide is enough high, the snow cover glide is suppressed by stem of A. mariesii trees, in the sub-alpine coniferous forest.

Evolved atmospheric entry corridor with safety factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Zixuan; Ren, Zhang; Li, Qingdong

2018-02-01

Atmospheric entry corridors are established in previous research based on the equilibrium glide condition which assumes the flight-path angle to be zero. To get a better understanding of the highly constrained entry flight, an evolved entry corridor that considers the exact flight-path angle is developed in this study. Firstly, the conventional corridor in the altitude vs. velocity plane is extended into a three-dimensional one in the space of altitude, velocity, and flight-path angle. The three-dimensional corridor is generated by a series of constraint boxes. Then, based on a simple mapping method, an evolved two-dimensional entry corridor with safety factor is obtained. The safety factor is defined to describe the flexibility of the flight-path angle for a state within the corridor. Finally, the evolved entry corridor is simulated for the Space Shuttle and the Common Aero Vehicle (CAV) to demonstrate the effectiveness of the corridor generation approach. Compared with the conventional corridor, the evolved corridor is much wider and provides additional information. Therefore, the evolved corridor would benefit more to the entry trajectory design and analysis.

Simulator study of a pictorial display for general aviation instrument flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, J. J.

1982-01-01

A simulation study of a computer drawn pictorial display involved a flight task that included an en route segment, terminal area maneuvering, a final approach, a missed approach, and a hold. The pictorial display consists of the drawing of boxes which either move along the desired path or are fixed at designated way points. Two boxes may be shown at all times, one related to the active way point and the other related to the standby way point. Ground tracks and vertical profiles of the flights, time histories of the final approach, and comments were obtained from time pilots. The results demonstrate the accuracy and consistency with which the segments of the flight are executed. The pilots found that the display is easy to learn and to use; that it provides good situation awareness, and that it could improve the safety of flight. The small size of the display, the lack of numerical information on pitch, roll, and heading angles, and the lack of definition of the boundaries of the conventional glide slope and localizer areas were criticized.

KSC-07pd2315

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-21

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With landing wheels down, Endeavour glides toward a landing on runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after traveling nearly 5.3 million miles on mission STS-118. The Space Shuttle Endeavour crew, led by Commander Scott Kelly, completes a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-118 mission began Aug. 8 and installed a new gyroscope, an external spare parts platform and another truss segment to the expanding station. Endeavour's main gear touched down at 12:32:16 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 12:32:29 p.m. and wheel stop was at 12:33:20 p.m. Endeavour landed on orbit 201. STS-118 was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, the 20th flight for Endeavour and the second of four missions planned for 2007. This was the 65th landing of an orbiter at Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Rafael Hernandez

Evaluation of the usefulness of various simulation technology options for TERPS enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phatak, A. V.; Sorensen, J. A.

1986-01-01

Current approved terminal instrument procedures (TERPS) do not permit the full exploitation of the helicopter's unique flying characteristics. Enhanced TERPS need to be developed for a host of non-standard landing sites and navigation aids. Precision navigation systems such as microwave landing systems (MLS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) open the possibility of curved paths, steep glide slopes, and decelerating helicopter approaches. This study evaluated the feasibility, benefits, and liabilities of using helicopter cockpit simulators in place of flight testing to develop enhanced TERPS criteria for non-standard flight profiles and navigation equipment. Near-term (2 to 5 year) requirements for conducting simulator studies to verify that they produce suitable data comparable to that obtained from previous flight tests are discussed. The long-term (5 to 10 year) research and development requirements to provide necessary modeling for continued simulator-based testing to develop enhanced TERPS criteria are also outlined.

Moving-base visual simulation study of decoupled controls during approach and landing of a STOL transport aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, G. K., Jr.; Deal, P. L.

1975-01-01

The simulation employed all six rigid-body degrees of freedom and incorporated aerodynamic characteristics based on wind-tunnel data. The flight instrumentation included a localizer and a flight director which was used to capture and to maintain a two-segment glide slope. A closed-circuit television display of a STOLport provided visual cues during simulations of the approach and landing. The decoupled longitudinal controls used constant prefilter and feedback gains to provide steady-state decoupling of flight-path angle, pitch angle, and forward velocity. The pilots were enthusiastic about the decoupled longitudinal controls and believed that the simulator motion was an aid in evaluating the decoupled controls, although a minimum turbulence level with root-mean-square gust intensity of 0.3 m/sec (1 ft/sec) was required to mask undesirable characteristics of the moving-base simulator.

V/STOLAND digital avionics system for XV-15 tilt rotor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liden, S.

1980-01-01

A digital flight control system for the tilt rotor research aircraft provides sophisticated navigation, guidance, control, display and data acquisition capabilities for performing terminal area navigation, guidance and control research. All functions of the XV-15 V/STOLAND system were demonstrated on the NASA-ARC S-19 simulation facility under a comprehensive dynamic acceptance test. The most noteworthy accomplishments of the system are: (1) automatic configuration control of a tilt-rotor aircraft over the total operating range; (2) total hands-off landing to touchdown on various selectable straight-in glide slopes and on a flight path that includes a two-revolution helix; (3) automatic guidance along a programmed three-dimensional reference flight path; (4) navigation data for the automatic guidance computed on board, based on VOR/DME, TACAN, or MLS navid data; and (5) integration of a large set of functions in a single computer, utilizing 16k words of storage for programs and data.

Further Flight Tests on the Effectiveness of Handley Page Automatic Control Slots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pleines, Wilhelm

1932-01-01

Investigation of damping in roll within range of maximum lift with the Albatross L 75, with and without Handley Page automatic control slots, revealed the following: Without control slots, any attempt to go beyond a certain angle of attack near c(sub a max) in glide and climb, is followed by sudden sideslip. The conduct of the airplane throughout the motions in roll, moreover, confirmed that all attempts to higher angles of attack are accompanied by sudden loss of damping in roll.

A flight-test evaluation of a go-around control system for a twin engine powered-lift STOL airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, D. M.; Hardy, G. H.

1983-01-01

An automatic go-around control system was evaluated on the Augmentor Wing Jet Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) Research Airplane (AWJSRA) as part of a study of an automatic landing system for a powered-lift STOL airplane. The results of the evaluation indicate that the go-around control system can successfully transition the airplane to a climb configuration from any initiation point during the glide-slope track or the flare maneuver prior to touchdown.

ILS Glide Slope Standards. Part 2. Validation of Proposed Flight Inspection Filter Systems, and Responses of Simulated Aircraft on Coupled Approaches

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-10-01

If A-5 (ItA) gym IpA) Em (jpA) I point 8 POWntC TIME (me) Threshold - Figure A-1, Reapauise of Filter Sytm No. 2 to Prototype (aIide Slope Fat No. 1...II A-51 (ft (,sA) (pA) (pA) * ICt . IMDAt TO Cot A DH TIME~)FFareJ Figura A-21. Responses of the CV-880 Aircraft wil~h LSI Automatic Landing System and

System Analysis and Performance Benefits of an Optimized Rotorcraft Propulsion System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruckner, Robert J.

2007-01-01

The propulsion system of rotorcraft vehicles is the most critical system to the vehicle in terms of safety and performance. The propulsion system must provide both vertical lift and forward flight propulsion during the entire mission. Whereas propulsion is a critical element for all flight vehicles, it is particularly critical for rotorcraft due to their limited safe, un-powered landing capability. This unparalleled reliability requirement has led rotorcraft power plants down a certain evolutionary path in which the system looks and performs quite similarly to those of the 1960 s. By and large the advancements in rotorcraft propulsion have come in terms of safety and reliability and not in terms of performance. The concept of the optimized propulsion system is a means by which both reliability and performance can be improved for rotorcraft vehicles. The optimized rotorcraft propulsion system which couples an oil-free turboshaft engine to a highly loaded gearbox that provides axial load support for the power turbine can be designed with current laboratory proven technology. Such a system can provide up to 60% weight reduction of the propulsion system of rotorcraft vehicles. Several technical challenges are apparent at the conceptual design level and should be addressed with current research.

Delta Mariner arrival with EFT-1 Booster

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The United Launch Alliance barge Delta Mariner glides past the jetties as it enters Port Canaveral in Florida. The barge is carrying two of the booster stages for the Delta IV Heavy rocket slated for Orion's Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep-space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of Orion is scheduled to launch in September 2014 atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket and in 2017 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

The descent of ant: field-measured performance of gliding ants.

PubMed

Munk, Yonatan; Yanoviak, Stephen P; Koehl, M A R; Dudley, Robert

2015-05-01

Gliding ants avoid predatory attacks and potentially mortal consequences of dislodgement from rainforest canopy substrates by directing their aerial descent towards nearby tree trunks. The ecologically relevant measure of performance for gliding ants is the ratio of net horizontal to vertical distance traveled over the course of a gliding trajectory, or glide index. To study variation in glide index, we measured three-dimensional trajectories of Cephalotes atratus ants gliding in natural rainforest habitats. We determined that righting phase duration, glide angle, and path directness all significantly influence variation in glide index. Unsuccessful landing attempts result in the ant bouncing off its target and being forced to make a second landing attempt. Our results indicate that ants are not passive gliders and that they exert active control over the aerodynamic forces they experience during their descent, despite their apparent lack of specialized control surfaces. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Simulation for F.C.C. deformation texture by modified pencil glide theory[Face Centered Cubic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Masui, H.

1999-11-26

Inspired by the pencil glide theory for b.c.c. metal, modified pencil glide theory for f.c.c. metal was proposed, dividing the 12 glide systems of f.c.c. metal into three groups individually composed of eight {l{underscore}brace}111{r{underscore}brace}{l{underscore}angle}110{r{underscore}angle} glide systems around the principal axes X[100], Y[010] and Z[001]. These assumptions yielded two mathematical solutions {Omega}(3) and {Omega}(1). In {Omega}(3), from the three groups with four complete conjugated glide systems composed of, respectively, two glide systems of common {l{underscore}angle}110{r{underscore}angle} direction, only one group with the maximum plastic work may operate if the requirements are satisfied, otherwise glide systems in {Omega}(1) where one of the fourmore » conjugated glide systems is zero are activated. The model considering the 12 glide systems of f.c.c. as a whole explained many experimentally stable orientations in axisymmetric and rolling deformation. The differences between the two pencil glide theories for b.c.c. and f.c.c. are also discussed with data.« less

A practitioner's tool for assessing glide crack activity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hendrikx, Jordy; Peitzsch, Erich H.; Fagre, Daniel B.

2010-01-01

Glide cracks can result in full-depth glide avalanche release. Avalanches from glide cracks are notoriously difficult to forecast, but are a reoccurring problem in a number of different avalanche forecasting programs across a range of snow climates. Despite this, there is no consensus for how to best manage, mitigate, or even observe glide cracks and the potential resultant avalanche activity. It is thought that an increase in the rate of snow gliding occurs prior to full-depth avalanche activity, so frequent measuring of glide crack movement provides an index of instability. Therefore, a comprehensive avalanche program with glide crack avalanche activity, should at the least, undertake some form of direct monitoring of glide crack movement. In this paper we present a simple, cheap and repeatable method to track glide crack activity using a series of stakes, reflectors and a laser rangefinder (LaserTech TruPulse360B) linked to a GPS (Trimble Geo XH). We tested the methodology in April 2010, on a glide crack above the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. This study suggests a new method to better track the development and movement of glide cracks. It is hoped that by introducing a workable method to easily record glide crack movement, avalanche forecasters will improve their understanding of when, or if, avalanche activity will ensue. Our initial results suggest that these new observations, when combined with local micrometeorological data will result in improved process understanding and forecasting of these phenomena.

On the attitude control and flight result of winged reentry test vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro; Inatani, Yoshifumi; Yonemoto, Koichi; Hinada, Motoki

The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) has been studying the unmanned winged space vehicle HIMES (HIghly Maneuverable Engineering Space vehicle) for a decade and successfully carried out sub-sonic Gliding Flight Experiments several years ago, which was followed by Reentry Flight Experiment, utilizing so called 'Rockoon' method, in September of 1988, which failed due to the unexpected burst of the balloon. ISAS conducted it again making use of refined 'Rockoon' scheme in February of 1992. In spite of its small bulk property, it was equipped with not only a reaction control system (RCS) but a surface control system (SCS) capability as well, which enabled it to make a successful flight under both vacuum and atmospheric circumstances. The highest Mach number exceeded 3.5 and the highest altitude was a bit lower to 67 km. Switching from reaction control to surface control was one of the essential engineering interests in the flight like this. Supersonic autonomous flight control with high angle of attack was also what should be established through this, since in general it inevitably carries inherent lateral instability. A flight test this time revealed those features and characteristics quite well. This paper deals with the attitude control strategy with three-axis Motion Simulation Test as well as the flight results.

The mechanics and behavior of cliff swallows during tandem flights.

PubMed

Shelton, Ryan M; Jackson, Brandon E; Hedrick, Tyson L

2014-08-01

Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) are highly maneuverable social birds that often forage and fly in large open spaces. Here we used multi-camera videography to measure the three-dimensional kinematics of their natural flight maneuvers in the field. Specifically, we collected data on tandem flights, defined as two birds maneuvering together. These data permit us to evaluate several hypotheses on the high-speed maneuvering flight performance of birds. We found that high-speed turns are roll-based, but that the magnitude of the centripetal force created in typical maneuvers varied only slightly with flight speed, typically reaching a peak of ~2 body weights. Turning maneuvers typically involved active flapping rather than gliding. In tandem flights the following bird copied the flight path and wingbeat frequency (~12.3 Hz) of the lead bird while maintaining position slightly above the leader. The lead bird turned in a direction away from the lateral position of the following bird 65% of the time on average. Tandem flights vary widely in instantaneous speed (1.0 to 15.6 m s(-1)) and duration (0.72 to 4.71 s), and no single tracking strategy appeared to explain the course taken by the following bird. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

E-21093

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-12-18

The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The lifting body aircraft studied the feasibility of maneuvering and landing an aerodynamic craft designed for reentry from space. These lifting bodies were air launched by a B-52 mother ship, then flew powered by their own rocket engines before making an unpowered approach and landing. They helped validate the concept that a space shuttle could make accurate landings without power. The X-24A flew from April 17, 1969 to June 4, 1971. The M2-F3 flew from June 2, 1970 until December 20, 1972. The HL-10 flew from December 22, 1966 until July 17, 1970 and logged the highest and fastest records in the lifting body program.

E-21115

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-12-18

The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The lifting body aircraft studied the feasibility of maneuvering and landing an aerodynamic craft designed for reentry from space. These lifting bodies were air launched by a B-52 mother ship, then flew powered by their own rocket engines before making an unpowered approach and landing. They helped validate the concept that a space shuttle could make accurate landings without power. The X-24A flew from April 17, 1969 to June 4, 1971. The M2-F3 flew from June 2, 1970 until December 20, 1972. The HL-10 flew from December 22, 1966 until July 17, 1970 and logged the highest and fastest records in the lifting body program.

EC69-2358

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-12-18

The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The lifting body aircraft studied the feasibility of maneuvering and landing an aerodynamic craft designed for reentry from space. These lifting bodies were air launched by a B-52 mother ship, then flew powered by their own rocket engines before making an unpowered approach and landing. They helped validate the concept that a space shuttle could make accurate landings without power. The X-24A flew from April 17, 1969 to June 4, 1971. The M2-F3 flew from June 2, 1970 until December 21, 1971. The HL-10 flew from December 22, 1966 until July 17, 1970, and logged the highest and fastest records in the lifting body program.

ECN-2359

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-12-18

The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The lifting body aircraft studied the feasibility of maneuvering and landing an aerodynamic craft designed for reentry from space. These lifting bodies were air launched by a B-52 mother ship, then flew powered by their own rocket engines before making an unpowered approach and landing. They helped validate the concept that a space shuttle could make accurate landings without power. The X-24A flew from April 17, 1969 to June 4, 1971. The M2-F3 flew from June 2, 1970 until December 22, 1972. The HL-10 flew from December 22, 1966 until July 17, 1970, and logged the highest and fastest records in the lifting body program.

Higher Harmonic Control for Tiltrotor Vibration Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nixon, Mark W.; Kvaternik, Raymond G.; Settle, T. Ben

1997-01-01

The results of a joint NASA/Army/Bell Helicopter Textron wind-tunnel test to assess the potential of higher harmonic control (HHC) for reducing vibrations in tiltrotor aircraft operating in the airplane mode of flight, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a Bell-developed HHC algorithm called MAVSS (Multipoint Adaptive Vibration Suppression System) are presented. The test was conducted in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel using an unpowered 1/5- scale semispan aeroelastic model of the V-22 which was modified to incorporate an HHC system employing both the rotor swashplate and the wing flaperon. The effectiveness of the swashplate and the flaperon acting either singly or in combination in reducing 1P and 3P wing vibrations over a wide range of tunnel airspeeds and rotor rotational speeds was demonstrated. The MAVSS algorithm was found to be robust to variations in tunnel airspeed and rotor speed, requiring only occasion-al on-line recalculations of the system transfer matrix.

X-15 test pilots - in a lighter mood

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1966-01-01

The X-15 pilots clown around in front of the #2 aircraft.From left to right: USAF Capt. Joseph Engle, USAF Maj. Robert Rushworth, NASA test pilot John 'Jack' McKay, USAF Maj. William 'Pete' Knight, NASA test pilot Milton Thompson, and NASA test pilot William Dana. First flown in 1959 from the NASA High Speed Flight Station (later renamed the Dryden Flight Research Center), the rocket powered X-15 was developed to provide data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls and the physiological aspects of high speed, high altitude flight. Three were built by North American Aviation for NASA and the U.S. Air Force. They made a total of 199 flights during a highly successful research program lasting almost ten years, following which its speed and altitude records for winged aircraft remained unbroken until the Space Shuttle first returned from earth orbit in 1981. The X-15's main rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 seconds of a 10 to 11 minute flight; the aircraft then glided to a 200 mph landing. The X-15 reached altitudes of 354,200 feet (67.08 miles) and a speed of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7).

Uncovering the Mystery of Gliding Motility in the Myxobacteria

PubMed Central

Nan, Beiyan; Zusman, David R.

2012-01-01

Bacterial gliding motility is the smooth movement of cells on solid surfaces unaided by flagella or pili. Many diverse groups of bacteria exhibit gliding, but the mechanism of gliding motility has remained a mystery since it was first observed more than a century ago. Recent studies on the motility of Myxococcus xanthus, a soil myxobacterium, suggest a likely mechanism for gliding in this organism. About forty M. xanthus genes were shown to be involved in gliding motility, and some of their protein products were labeled and localized within cells. These studies suggest that gliding motility in M. xanthus involves large multiprotein structural complexes, regulatory proteins, and cytoskeletal filaments. In this review, we summarize recent experiments that provide the basis for this emerging view of M. xanthus motility. We also discuss alternative models for gliding. PMID:21910630

X-15 #3 and F-104A chase plane landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1960-01-01

Followed by a Lockheed F-104A Starfighter chase plane, the North American X-15 ship #3 (56-6672) sinks toward touchdown on Rogers Dry Lake following a research flight. In the foreground is green smoke, used to indicate wind direction. The F-104 chase pilot joined up with the X-15 as it glided to the landing. The chase pilot was there to warn the X-15 pilot of any problems and to call out the altitude above the lakebed. F-104 aircraft were also used for X-15 pilot training to simulate the landing characteristics of the rocket-powered airplane, which landed without engine power since the rocket engine had already burned all of its propellant before the landing. The F-104s could simulate the steep descent of the X-15 as it glided to a landing. They did this by extending the landing gear and speed brakes while setting the throttle to idle. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft. The original three aircraft were about 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. The modified #2 aircraft (X-15A-2 was longer.) They were a missile-shaped vehicles with unusual wedge-shaped vertical tails, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was rated at 57,000 lb of thrust, although there are indications that it actually achieved up to 60,000 lb. North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as testbeds to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at approximately 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used; a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years -- June 1959 to Oct. 1968 -- and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on 15 November 1967, resulting in the death of Maj. Michael J. Adams.

F-15 RPRV Spin Research Vehicle (SRV) attached to B-52 pylon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

In this ground photo, one of the F-15 RPRV/SRVs is shown on the same pylon used for the X-15 and lifting body flights. The vehicle was a 3/8 scale model of the F-15 aircraft, and was designed for stall and spin research. The cost was $250,000 for each RPRV versus $6.8 million for an actual F-15. After being released from the B-52, the unpowered vehicle was flown by pilots on the ground, including Einar K. Envoldson, William H. Dana, Thomas C. McMurtry, John A. Manke, and Michael C. Swann. During the descent, the F-15 RPRV underwent tests of its stability and control, departure characteristics, spin evaluation at high and low altitude, upright and inverted spins, and different spin modes. On its first 16 flights, the F-15 RPRV was to be recovered in midair by a helicopter. The F-15 RPRV's parachute would be caught by ropes strung between two poles below the helicopter. Of the 16 attempts, 13 were successful, while the three other flights ended with parachute landings and varying amounts of damage. The F-15 RPRVs were then fitted with three retractable skids, which allowed the ground pilot to land the aircraft on the lakebed. Of the next 10 flights, nine were successful lakebed landings, while the other came down by parachute. After 26 flights, the aircraft was renamed the Spin Research Vehicle (SRV) and was used to test different nose configurations. The tests made on flights 27 through 52 were spin mode determination, auto-spin recovery, airflow visualization, the effects of strakes on vortex flow, aft pressure measurements, and a nose-mounted anti-spin parachute. The latter was unusual, as anti-spin parachutes are commonly mounted on the tail. During flight 36, on February 18, 1981, the nose-mounted parachute fouled the pitot tube after deployment. This forced a parachute landing, which was the only one in the SRV flights. The last RPRV/SRV flight was made on July 15, 1981. One of the vehicles has been restored and is on display at the Dryden Flight Research Center.

Soil erosion by snow gliding - a first quantification attempt in a subalpine area in Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meusburger, K.; Leitinger, G.; Mabit, L.; Mueller, M. H.; Walter, A.; Alewell, C.

2014-09-01

Snow processes might be one important driver of soil erosion in Alpine grasslands and thus the unknown variable when erosion modelling is attempted. The aim of this study is to assess the importance of snow gliding as a soil erosion agent for four different land use/land cover types in a subalpine area in Switzerland. We used three different approaches to estimate soil erosion rates: sediment yield measurements in snow glide depositions, the fallout radionuclide 137Cs and modelling with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). RUSLE permits the evaluation of soil loss by water erosion, the 137Cs method integrates soil loss due to all erosion agents involved, and the measurement of snow glide deposition sediment yield can be directly related to snow-glide-induced erosion. Further, cumulative snow glide distance was measured for the sites in the winter of 2009/2010 and modelled for the surrounding area and long-term average winter precipitation (1959-2010) with the spatial snow glide model (SSGM). Measured snow glide distance confirmed the presence of snow gliding and ranged from 2 to 189 cm, with lower values on the north-facing slopes. We observed a reduction of snow glide distance with increasing surface roughness of the vegetation, which is an important information with respect to conservation planning and expected and ongoing land use changes in the Alps. Snow glide erosion estimated from the snow glide depositions was highly variable with values ranging from 0.03 to 22.9 t ha-1 yr-1 in the winter of 2012/2013. For sites affected by snow glide deposition, a mean erosion rate of 8.4 t ha-1 yr-1 was found. The difference in long-term erosion rates determined with RUSLE and 137Cs confirms the constant influence of snow-glide-induced erosion, since a large difference (lower proportion of water erosion compared to total net erosion) was observed for sites with high snow glide rates and vice versa. Moreover, the difference between RUSLE and 137Cs erosion rates was related to the measured snow glide distance (R2 = 0.64; p < 0.005) and to the snow deposition sediment yields (R2 = 0.39; p = 0.13). The SSGM reproduced the relative difference of the measured snow glide values under different land uses and land cover types. The resulting map highlighted the relevance of snow gliding for large parts of the investigated area. Based on these results, we conclude that snow gliding appears to be a crucial and non-negligible process impacting soil erosion patterns and magnitude in subalpine areas with similar topographic and climatic conditions.

Investigating glide snow avalanche release using seismic monitoring in combination with time-lapse photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Herwijnen, Alec; Failletaz, Jerome; Berhod, Nicole; Mitterer, Christoph

2013-04-01

Glide avalanches occur when the entire snowpack glides over the ground until an avalanche releases. These avalanches are difficult to forecast since the gliding process can take place over a few hours up to several weeks or months. The presence of liquid water at the interface between the snow cover and the ground surface is of primary importance as it reduces frictional support. Glide avalanches are often preceded by the opening of a tensile crack in the snow cover, called a glide crack. Past research has shown that glide crack opening accelerates prior to avalanche release. During the winter of 2012-2013, we monitored glide crack expansion using time-lapse photography in combination with a seismic sensor and two heat flux sensors on a slope with well documented glide avalanche activity in the Eastern Swiss Alps above Davos, Switzerland. To track changes in glide rates, the number of dark pixels in an area around the glide crack is counted in each image. Using this technique, we observed an increase in glide rates prior to avalanche release. Since the field site is located very close to the town of Davos, the seismic data was very noisy. Nevertheless, the accelerated snow gliding observed in the time-lapse images coincided with increased seismic activity. Overall, these results show that a combination of time-lapse photography with seismic monitoring could provide valuable insight into glide avalanche release. Recordings of the heat flux plates show that the energy input from the soil is fairly small and constant throughout the observed period. The results suggest that ground heat flux is a minor contributor to the water production at the snow-soil interface. Instead, the presence of water at the base of the snowpack is probably due to a strong hydraulic pressure gradient at the snow-soil interface.

Sialylated Receptor Setting Influences Mycoplasma pneumoniae Attachment and Gliding Motility.

PubMed

Williams, Caitlin R; Chen, Li; Driver, Ashley D; Arnold, Edward A; Sheppard, Edward S; Locklin, Jason; Krause, Duncan C

2018-06-08

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of human respiratory tract infections, including bronchitis and atypical pneumonia. M. pneumoniae binds glycoprotein receptors having terminal sialic acid residues via the P1 adhesin protein. Here we explored the impact of sialic acid presentation on M. pneumoniae adherence and gliding on surfaces coated with sialylated glycoproteins, or chemically functionalized with α-2,3- and α-2,6-sialyllactose ligated individually or in combination to a polymer scaffold in precisely controlled densities. In both models, gliding required a higher receptor density threshold than adherence, and receptor density influenced gliding frequency but not gliding speed. However, very high densities of α-2,3-sialyllactose actually reduced gliding frequency over peak levels observed at lower densities. Both α-2,3- and α-2,6-sialyllactose supported M. pneumoniae adherence, but gliding was only observed on the former. Finally, gliding on α-2,3-sialyllactose was inhibited on surfaces also conjugated with α-2,6-sialyllactose, suggesting that both moieties bind P1 despite the inability of the latter to support gliding. Our results indicate that the nature and density of host receptor moieties profoundly influences M. pneumoniae gliding, which could affect pathogenesis and infection outcome. Furthermore, precise functionalization of polymer scaffolds shows great promise for further analysis of sialic acid presentation and M. pneumoniae adherence and gliding. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of five video-assisted intubation devices by novice and expert laryngoscopists for use in the aeromedical evacuation environment.

PubMed

Wallace, Matthew C; Britton, SSgt Tyler; Meek, Robbie; Walsh-Hart, Sharon; Carter, Col Todd E; Lisco, Steven J

2017-01-01

The critically ill or injured patient undergoing military medical evacuation may require emergent intubation. Intubation may be life-saving, but it carries risks. The novice or infrequent laryngoscopist has a distinct disadvantage because experience is critical for the rapid and safe establishment of a secured airway. This challenge is compounded by the austere environment of the back of an aircraft under blackout conditions. This study determined which of five different video-assisted intubation devices (VAIDs) was best suited for in-flight use by U.S. Air Force Critical Care Air Transport Teams by comparing time to successful intubation between novice and expert laryngoscopists under three conditions, Normal Airway Lights on (NAL), Difficult Airway Lights on (DAL) and Difficult Airway Blackout (DAB), using manikins on a standard military transport stanchion and the floor with a minimal amount of setup time and extraneous light emission. A convenience sample size of 40 participants (24 novices and 16 experts) attempted intubation with each of the 5 different video laryngoscopic devices on high-fidelity airway manikins. Time to tracheal intubation and number of optimization maneuvers used were recorded. Kruskal-Wallis testing determined significant differences between the VAIDs in time to intubation for each particular scenario. Devices with significant differences underwent pair-wise comparison testing using rank-sum analysis to further clarify the difference. Device assembly times, startup times and the amount of light emitted were recorded. Perceived ease of use was surveyed. Novices were fastest with the Pentax AWS in all difficult airway scenarios. Experts recorded the shortest median times consistently using 3 of the 5 devices. The AWS was superior overall in 4 of the 6 scenarios tested. Experts and novices subjectively judged the GlideScope Ranger as easiest to use. The light emitted by all the devices was less than the USAF-issued headlamp. Novices intubated fastest with the Pentax AWS in all difficult airway scenarios. The GlideScope required the shortest setup time, and participants judged this device as the easiest to use. The GlideScope and AWS exhibited the two fastest total setup times. Both devices are suitable for in-flight use by infrequent and seasoned laryngoscopists.

A Comparison of Glide Force Characteristics Between 2 Prefilled Insulin Lispro Pens

PubMed Central

Lennartz, Amanda H.; Ignaut, Debra A.

2015-01-01

Background: Glide force, average glide force, and glide force variability of the insulin lispro 200 units/mL pen (Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA) were compared to the Humalog® KwikPen® 100 units/mL pen (hereafter, KwikPen; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA). Methods: Data were collected on 2 doses, 2 injection speeds, and 2 needle types. Results: Insulin lispro 200 units/mL pen showed significantly lower maximum glide force, average glide force, and glide force variability than the KwikPen across all combinations of dose size, dose speed, and needle type. Conclusions: The lower glide force observed with the insulin lispro 200 units/mL pen offers another treatment option for patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who require greater than 20 units of mealtime insulin daily. PMID:25591858

Gliding Motility of Babesia bovis Merozoites Visualized by Time-Lapse Video Microscopy

PubMed Central

Asada, Masahito; Goto, Yasuyuki; Yahata, Kazuhide; Yokoyama, Naoaki; Kawai, Satoru; Inoue, Noboru; Kaneko, Osamu; Kawazu, Shin-ichiro

2012-01-01

Background Babesia bovis is an apicomplexan intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite that induces babesiosis in cattle after transmission by ticks. During specific stages of the apicomplexan parasite lifecycle, such as the sporozoites of Plasmodium falciparum and tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii, host cells are targeted for invasion using a unique, active process termed “gliding motility”. However, it is not thoroughly understood how the merozoites of B. bovis target and invade host red blood cells (RBCs), and gliding motility has so far not been observed in the parasite. Methodology/Principal Findings Gliding motility of B. bovis merozoites was revealed by time-lapse video microscopy. The recorded images revealed that the process included egress of the merozoites from the infected RBC, gliding motility, and subsequent invasion into new RBCs. The gliding motility of B. bovis merozoites was similar to the helical gliding of Toxoplasma tachyzoites. The trails left by the merozoites were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay using antiserum against B. bovis merozoite surface antigen 1. Inhibition of gliding motility by actin filament polymerization or depolymerization indicated that the gliding motility was driven by actomyosin dependent process. In addition, we revealed the timing of breakdown of the parasitophorous vacuole. Time-lapse image analysis of membrane-stained bovine RBCs showed formation and breakdown of the parasitophorous vacuole within ten minutes of invasion. Conclusions/Significance This is the first report of the gliding motility of B. bovis. Since merozoites of Plasmodium parasites do not glide on a substrate, the gliding motility of B. bovis merozoites is a notable finding. PMID:22506073

Ecological and biomechanical insights into the evolution of gliding in mammals.

PubMed

Byrnes, Greg; Spence, Andrew J

2011-12-01

Gliding has evolved independently at least six times in mammals. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of gliding. These include the evasion of predators, economical locomotion or foraging, control of landing forces, and habitat structure. Here we use a combination of comparative methods and ecological and biomechanical data collected from free-ranging animals to evaluate these hypotheses. Our comparative data suggest that the origins of gliding are often associated with shifts to low-quality diets including leaves and plant exudates. Further, data from free-ranging colugos suggest that although gliding is not more energetically economical than moving through the canopy, it is much faster, allowing shorter times of transit between foraging patches and therefore more time available to forage in a given patch. In addition to moving quickly, gliding mammals spend only a small fraction of their overall time engaged in locomotion, likely offsetting its high cost. Kinetic data for both take-off and landing suggest that selection on these behaviors could also have shaped the evolution of gliding. Glides are initiated by high-velocity leaps that are potentially effective in evading arboreal predators. Further, upon landing, the ability to control aerodynamic forces and reduce velocity prior to impact is likely key to extending distances of leaps or glides while reducing the likelihood of injury. It is unlikely that any one of these hypotheses exclusively explains the evolution of gliding, but by examining gliding in multiple groups of extant animals in ecological and biomechanical contexts, new insights into the evolution of gliding can be gained.

Assessing the importance of terrain parameters on glide avalanche release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peitzsch, E.; Hendrikx, J.; Fagre, D. B.

2013-12-01

Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite recent research there is still a lack of understanding regarding the controls of glide avalanche release. Glide avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually and observations suggest that topography may be critical. Thus, to gain an understanding of the terrain component of these types of avalanches we examined terrain parameters associated with glide avalanche release as well as areas of consistent glide crack formation but no subsequent avalanches. Glide avalanche occurrences visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in Glacier National Park, Montana from 2003-2013 were investigated using an avalanche database derived of daily observations each year from April 1 to June 15. This yielded 192 glide avalanches in 53 distinct avalanche paths. Each avalanche occurrence was digitized in a GIS using satellite, oblique, and aerial imagery as reference. Topographical parameters such as area, slope, aspect, elevation and elevation were then derived for the entire dataset utilizing GIS tools and a 10m DEM. Land surface substrate and surface geology were derived from National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring maps and U.S. Geological Survey surface geology maps, respectively. Surface roughness and glide factor were calculated using a four level classification index. . Then, each avalanche occurrence was aggregated to general avalanche release zones and the frequencies were compared. For this study, glide avalanches released in elevations ranging from 1300 to 2700 m with a mean aspect of 98 degrees (east) and a mean slope angle of 38 degrees. The mean profile curvature for all glide avalanches was 0.15 and a plan curvature of -0.01, suggesting a fairly linear surface (i.e. neither convex nor concave). The glide avalanches occurred in mostly bedrock made up of dolomite and limestone slabs and talus deposits with very few occurring in alpine meadows. However, not all glide avalanches failed as cohesive slabs on this bedrock surface. Consequently, surface roughness proved to be a useful descriptive variable to discriminate between slopes that avalanched and those that did not. Annual 'repeat offender' glide avalanche paths were characterized by smooth outcropping rock plates with stratification planes parallel to the slope. Combined with aspect these repeat offenders were also members of the highest glide category. Using this understanding of the role of topographic parameters on glide avalanche activity, a spatial terrain based model was developed to identify other areas with high glide avalanche potential outside of our immediate observation area.

Assessing the importance of terrain parameters on glide avalanche release

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peitzsch, Erich H.; Hendrikx, Jordy; Fagre, Daniel B.

2014-01-01

Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite recent research there is still a lack of understanding regarding the controls of glide avalanche release. Glide avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually and observations suggest that topography may be critical. Thus, to gain an understanding of the terrain component of these types of avalanches we examined terrain parameters associated with glide avalanche release as well as areas of consistent glide crack formation but no subsequent avalanches. Glide avalanche occurrences visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in Glacier National Park, Montana from 2003-2013 were investigated using an avalanche database derived of daily observations each year from April 1 to June 15. This yielded 192 glide avalanches in 53 distinct avalanche paths. Each avalanche occurrence was digitized in a GIS using satellite, oblique, and aerial imagery as reference. Topographical parameters such as area, slope, aspect, elevation and elevation were then derived for the entire dataset utilizing GIS tools and a 10m DEM. Land surface substrate and surface geology were derived from National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring maps and U.S. Geological Survey surface geology maps, respectively. Surface roughness and glide factor were calculated using a four level classification index. . Then, each avalanche occurrence was aggregated to general avalanche release zones and the frequencies were compared. For this study, glide avalanches released in elevations ranging from 1300 to 2700 m with a mean aspect of 98 degrees (east) and a mean slope angle of 38 degrees. The mean profile curvature for all glide avalanches was 0.15 and a plan curvature of -0.01, suggesting a fairly linear surface (i.e. neither convex nor concave). The glide avalanches occurred in mostly bedrock made up of dolomite and limestone slabs and talus deposits with very few occurring in alpine meadows. However, not all glide avalanches failed as cohesive slabs on this bedrock surface. Consequently, surface roughness proved to be a useful descriptive variable to discriminate between slopes that avalanched and those that did not. Annual 'repeat offender' glide avalanche paths were characterized by smooth outcropping rock plates with stratification planes parallel to the slope. Combined with aspect these repeat offenders were also members of the highest glide category. Using this understanding of the role of topographic parameters on glide avalanche activity, a spatial terrain based model was developed to identify other areas with high glide avalanche potential outside of our immediate observation area.

M2-F1 lifting body and Paresev 1B on ramp

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

In this photo of the M2-F1 lifting body and the Paresev 1B on the ramp, the viewer sees two vehicles representing different approaches to building a research craft to simulate a spacecraft able to land on the ground instead of splashing down in the ocean as the Mercury capsules did. The M2-F1 was a lifting body, a shape able to re-enter from orbit and land. The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) used a Rogallo wing that could be (but never was) used to replace a conventional parachute for landing a capsule-type spacecraft, allowing it to make a controlled landing on the ground. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a 'flying bathtub,' and was designated the M2-F1, the 'M' referring to 'manned' and 'F' referring to 'flight' version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter 'Whitey' Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden 'Bud' Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the 'instant L/D rocket,' was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project). The Paresev (Paraglider Rescue Vehicle) was an indirect outgrowth of kite-parachute studies by NACA Langley engineer Francis M. Rogallo. In the early 1960s the 'Rogallo wing' seemed an excellent means of returning a spacecraft to Earth. The delta wing design was patented by Mr. Rogallo. In May 1961, Robert R. Gilruth, director NASA's Space Task Group, requested studies of an inflatable Rogallo-type 'Parawing' for spacecraft. Several companies responded; North American Aviation produced the most acceptable concept and development was contracted to that company. In November 1961 NASA Headquarters launched a paraglider development program, with Langely doing wind-tunnel studies and the NASA Flight Research Center supporting the North American test program. The North American concept was a capsule type vehicle with a stowed 'parawing' that could be deployed and controlled from within for a landing more like an airplane instead of a 'splash down' in the ocean as was the practice in the Mercury and later the Gemini and Apollo programs. The logistics became enormous and the price exorbitant, besides which, NASA pilots and engineers felt some baseline experience like building a vehicle and flying a Parawing should be accomplished first. The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) was used to gain in-flight experience with four different membranes (wings) and was not used to develop the more complicated inflatable deployment system. The Paresev was designed by Charles Richard, of the Flight Research Center's Vehicle and System Dynamics Branch, with the rest of the team being: engineers Richard Klein, Gary Layton, John Orahood, and Joe Wilson; Frank Fedor and LeRoy Barto from the Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch; Project Manager Victor Horton, with Gary Layton becoming Project Manager later on in the Program. Mr. Paul Bikle, Director of the Center, gave instructions that were short and to the point: build a single-seat Paraglider and 'do it quick and cheap.' The Paresev was unpowered, the 'fuselage' an open framework fabricated of welded 4130 steel tubing referred to as a `space frame.' The keel and leading edges of the wings were constructed of 2 1/2-inch diameter aluminum tubing. The leading edge sweep angle was held constant at 50 degrees by a rigid spreader bar. Additional wing structure fabricated of steel tubing ensured structural integrity. Seven weeks after the project was initiated the team rolled out the Paresev 1. It resembled a grown-up tricycle, with a rudimentary seat, an angled tripod mast, and, perched on top of the mast, a Rogallo-type parawing. The pilot sat out in the open, strapped in the seat, with no enclosure of any kind. He controlled the descent rate by tilting the wing fore and aft, and turned by tilting the wing from side to side with a control stick that came from overhead. NASA registered the Paresev, the first NASA research airplane to be constructed totally 'in-house,' with the Federal Aviation Administration on February 12, 1962. Flight testing started immediately. There was one space frame built called the Paresev that used four different wing types. Paresev 1 had a linen membrane, with the control stick coming from overhead in front of the pilots seat. Paresev 1A had a regulation control stick and a Dacron membrane. Paresev 1B had a smaller Dacron membrane with the space frame remaining the same. Paresev 1C used a half-scale version of the inflatable Gemini parawing with a small change to the space frame. All `space frames,' regardless of the parawing configuration, had a shield with 'Paresev 1-A' and the NASA meatball on the front of the vehicle. PARESEV-1 After the space frame was completed a sailmaker was asked to sew the wing membrane according to the planform developed by NASA Flight Research Center personnel. He suggested using Dacron instead of the linen fabric chosen, but yielded to the engineers' specs. A nylon bolt rope was attached in the trailing edge of the 150-square-foot wing membrane. The rope was unrestrained except at the wing tips and was therefore free to equalize the load between the two lobes of the wing. This worked reasonably well, but flight tests proved the wing to be too flexible with it flapping and bulging in alarming ways. The poor membrane design led to trailing edge flutter, with longitudinal and lateral stick forces being severe. A number of different rigging modifications to improve the flying characteristics were tried, but very few were successful and none were predictable. Everything seemed to affect stick forces in the worst way. The fifth flight aloft lasted 10 seconds. On a ground tow the Paresev and pilot fell 10 feet. Considerable damage was done to the Paresev with the pilot, Bruce Peterson, being taken to the base hospital. Injuries sustained by the pilot were not serious. After this accident the Paresev was extensively rebuilt and renamed, Paresev-1A. PARESEV 1-A The sailmaker was asked again to construct a 150-square-foot membrane the way he wanted to. The resulting wing membrane had excellent contours in flight and was made from 6 ounce Dacron. The space frame was rebuilt with more sophistication than the Paresev 1 had. The shock absorbers were Ford automotive parts, the wing universal joint was a 1948 Pontiac part, and the tires and wheels were from a Cessna 175 aircraft. The overhead stick was replaced with a stick and pulley arrangement that operated more like conventional aircraft controls. This vehicle had much improved stick forces and handling qualities. The instrumentation used to obtain data was quite crude, partially as a result of the desire to keep the program simple and low in cost and also because there was no onboard power. To measure performance, technicians installed a large alpha vane on the wing apex with a scale at the trailing edge that the pilot could read directly. A curved bubble level measured the vehicle's attitude, and a Fairchild camera recorded the glide slope PARESEV 1-B The Paresev 1-B used the Paresev 1-A space frame with a smaller Dacron wing (100 square feet) and was flight tested to evaluate its handling qualities with lower lift-to-drag values. One NASA project engineer described its gliding ability as 'pretty scary.' PARESEV 1-C The space frame of the vehicle remained almost unchanged from the earlier vehicles. However, a new control box gave the pilot the ability to increase or decrease the nitrogen in the inflatable wing supports to compensate for the changing density of the air. Two bottles of nitrogen provided an extra supply of nitrogen. The vehicle featured a partially inflatable wing. The whole wing was not inflatable; the three chambers that acted as spars and supported the wing inflated. The center spar ran fore and aft and measured 191 inches; two other inflatable spars formed the leading edges. These three compartments were filled with nitrogen under pressure to make them rigid. The Paresev in this configuration was expected to closely approximate the aerodynamic characteristics that would be encountered with the Gemini space capsule with a parawing extended. The Paresev was very unstable in flight with this configuration. The first Paresev flights began with tows across the dry lakebed, in 1962, using a NASA vehicle, an International Harvester carry-all (6 cylinder). Eventually ground and airtows were done using a Stearman sport biplane (450 hp), a Piper Super Cub (150-180 hp), Cessna L-19 (200 hp Bird Dog) and a Boeing-Vertol HC-1A. Speed range of the Paresev was about 35-65 mph. The Paresev completed nearly 350 flights during a research program from 1962 until 1964. Pilots flying the Paresev included NASA pilots Milton Thompson, Bruce Peterson, and Neil Armstrong from Dryden, Robert Champine from Langley, and astronaut Gus Grissom, plus North American test pilot Charles Hetzel. The Paresev was legally transferred to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. Despite its looks, the Paresev was a useful research aircraft that helped develop a new way to fly. Although the Rogallo wing was never used on a spacecraft, it revolutionized the sport of hang gliding, and a different but related kind of wing will be used on the X-38 technology demonstrator for a crew return vehicle from the International space station.

X-38 vehicle #131R in first free flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The third iteration of the X-38, V-131R, glides down under a giant parafoil towards a landing on Rogers Dry Lake near NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center during its first free flight Nov. 2, 2000. The X-38 prototypes are intended to perfect technology for a planned Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) 'lifeboat' to carry a crew to safety in the event of an emergency on the International Space Station. Free-flight tests of X-38 V-131R are evaluating upgraded avionics and control systems and the aerodynamics of the modified upper body, which is more representative of the final design of the CRV than the two earlier X-38 test craft, including a simulated hatch atop the body. The huge 7,500 square-foot parafoil will enable the CRV to land in the length of a football field after returning from space. The first three X-38's are air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52B mother ship, while the last version, V-201, will be carried into space by a Space Shuttle and make a fully autonomous re-entry and landing.

Eye position affects flight altitude in visual approach to landing independent of level of expertise of pilot

PubMed Central

Camachon, Cyril; Montagne, Gilles

2018-01-01

The present study addresses the effect of the eye position in the cockpit on the flight altitude during the final approach to landing. Three groups of participants with different levels of expertise (novices, trainees, and certified pilots) were given a laptop with a flight simulator and they were asked to maintain a 3.71° glide slope while landing. Each participant performed 40 approaches to the runway. During 8 of the approaches, the point of view that the flight simulator used to compute the visual scene was slowly raised or lowered with 4 cm with respect to the cockpit, hence moving the projection of the visible part of the cockpit down or up in the visible scene in a hardly noticeable manner. The increases and decreases in the simulated eye height led to increases and decreases in the altitude of the approach trajectories, for all three groups of participants. On the basis of these results, it is argued that the eye position of pilots during visual approaches is a factor that contributes to the risk of black hole accidents. PMID:29795618

Flight evaluation of a simple total energy-rate system with potential wind-shear application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ostroff, A. J.; Hueschen, R. M.; Hellbaum, R. F.; Creedon, J. F.

1981-01-01

Wind shears can create havoc during aircraft terminal area operations and have been cited as the primary cause of several major aircraft accidents. A simple sensor, potentially having application to the wind-shear problem, was developed to rapidly measure aircraft total energy relative to the air mass. Combining this sensor with either a variometer or a rate-of-climb indicator provides a total energy-rate system which was successfully applied in soaring flight. The measured rate of change of aircraft energy can potentially be used on display/control systems of powered aircraft to reduce glide-slope deviations caused by wind shear. The experimental flight configuration and evaluations of the energy-rate system are described. Two mathematical models are developed: the first describes operation of the energy probe in a linear design region and the second model is for the nonlinear region. The calculated total rate is compared with measured signals for many different flight tests. Time history plots show the tow curves to be almost the same for the linear operating region and very close for the nonlinear region.

Gliding Motility and Por Secretion System Genes Are Widespread among Members of the Phylum Bacteroidetes

PubMed Central

Zhu, Yongtao

2013-01-01

The phylum Bacteroidetes is large and diverse, with rapid gliding motility and the ability to digest macromolecules associated with many genera and species. Recently, a novel protein secretion system, the Por secretion system (PorSS), was identified in two members of the phylum, the gliding bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae and the nonmotile oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. The components of the PorSS are not similar in sequence to those of other well-studied bacterial secretion systems. The F. johnsoniae PorSS genes are a subset of the gliding motility genes, suggesting a role for the secretion system in motility. The F. johnsoniae PorSS is needed for assembly of the gliding motility apparatus and for secretion of a chitinase, and the P. gingivalis PorSS is involved in secretion of gingipain protease virulence factors. Comparative analysis of 37 genomes of members of the phylum Bacteroidetes revealed the widespread occurrence of gliding motility genes and PorSS genes. Genes associated with other bacterial protein secretion systems were less common. The results suggest that gliding motility is more common than previously reported. Microscopic observations confirmed that organisms previously described as nonmotile, including Croceibacter atlanticus, “Gramella forsetii,” Paludibacter propionicigenes, Riemerella anatipestifer, and Robiginitalea biformata, exhibit gliding motility. Three genes (gldA, gldF, and gldG) that encode an apparent ATP-binding cassette transporter required for F. johnsoniae gliding were absent from two related gliding bacteria, suggesting that the transporter may not be central to gliding motility. PMID:23123910

Future X Pathfinder: Quick, Low Cost Flight Testing for Tomorrow's Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

London, John, III; Sumrall, Phil

1999-01-01

The DC-X and DC-XA Single Stage Technology flight program demonstrated the value of low cost rapid prototyping and flight testing of launch vehicle technology testbeds. NASA is continuing this important legacy through a program referred to as Future-X Pathfinder. This program is designed to field flight vehicle projects that cost around $100M each, with a new vehicle flying about every two years. Each vehicle project will develop and extensively flight test a launch vehicle technology testbed that will advance the state of the art in technologies directly relevant to future space transportation systems. There are currently two experimental, or "X" vehicle projects in the Pathfinder program, with additional projects expected to follow in the near future. The first Pathfinder project is X-34. X-34 is a suborbital rocket plane capable of flights to Mach 8 and 75 kilometers altitude. There are a number of reusable launch vehicle technologies embedded in the X-34 vehicle design, such as composite structures and propellant tanks, and advanced reusable thermal protection systems. In addition, X-34 is designed to carry experiments applicable to both the launch vehicle and hypersonic aeronautics community. X-34 is scheduled to fly later this year. The second Pathfinder project is the X-37. X-37 is an orbital space plane that is carried into orbit either by the Space Shuttle or by an expendable launch vehicle. X-37 provides NASA access to the orbital and orbital reentry flight regimes with an experimental testbed vehicle. The vehicle will expose embedded and carry-on advanced space transportation technologies to the extreme environments of orbit and reentry. Early atmospheric approach and landing tests of an unpowered version of the X-37 will begin next year, with orbital flights beginning in late 2001. Future-X Pathfinder is charting a course for the future with its growing fleet of low-cost X- vehicles. X-34 and X-37 are leading the assault on high launch costs and enabling the flight testing of technologies that will lead to affordable access to space.

Estimation of energetic efficiency of heat supply in front of the aircraft at supersonic accelerated flight. Part 1. Mathematical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latypov, A. F.

2008-12-01

Fuel economy at boost trajectory of the aerospace plane was estimated during energy supply to the free stream. Initial and final flight velocities were specified. The model of a gliding flight above cold air in an infinite isobaric thermal wake was used. The fuel consumption rates were compared at optimal trajectory. The calculations were carried out using a combined power plant consisting of ramjet and liquid-propellant engine. An exergy model was built in the first part of the paper to estimate the ramjet thrust and specific impulse. A quadratic dependence on aerodynamic lift was used to estimate the aerodynamic drag of aircraft. The energy for flow heating was obtained at the expense of an equivalent reduction of the exergy of combustion products. The dependencies were obtained for increasing the range coefficient of cruise flight for different Mach numbers. The second part of the paper presents a mathematical model for the boost interval of the aircraft flight trajectory and the computational results for the reduction of fuel consumption at the boost trajectory for a given value of the energy supplied in front of the aircraft.

Features of owl wings that promote silent flight

PubMed Central

Weger, Matthias; Klaas, Michael; Schröder, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Owls are an order of birds of prey that are known for the development of a silent flight. We review here the morphological adaptations of owls leading to silent flight and discuss also aerodynamic properties of owl wings. We start with early observations (until 2005), and then turn to recent advances. The large wings of these birds, resulting in low wing loading and a low aspect ratio, contribute to noise reduction by allowing slow flight. The serrations on the leading edge of the wing and the velvet-like surface have an effect on noise reduction and also lead to an improvement of aerodynamic performance. The fringes at the inner feather vanes reduce noise by gliding into the grooves at the lower wing surface that are formed by barb shafts. The fringed trailing edge of the wing has been shown to reduce trailing edge noise. These adaptations to silent flight have been an inspiration for biologists and engineers for the development of devices with reduced noise production. Today several biomimetic applications such as a serrated pantograph or a fringed ventilator are available. Finally, we discuss unresolved questions and possible future directions. PMID:28163870

Functional anatomy of gliding membrane muscles in the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps).

PubMed

Endo, H; Yokokawa, K; Kurohmaru, M; Hayashi, Y

1998-02-01

In order to clarify the morphological adaptation for gliding behavior in the marsupial mammals, the gliding membrane muscles in the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) were observed. Unlike the styliform cartilage in flying squirrels, the sugar glider has a well-developed tibiocarpalis muscle in the most lateral area of the gliding membrane. The gliding membrane substantially consists of the humerodorsalis and tibioabdominalis muscle complex. We believe that the thick tibiocarpalis bundle and the humerodorsalis and tibioabdominalis muscle complex may serve as a membrane controller in the gliding behavior. A characteristic thin membranous structure between the cutaneous and deeper muscles was observed. In addition to the direct powerful control exerted by trunk and limb movement, we suggest that indirect power conduction by this thin membranous structure may contribute to gliding membrane control.

Shuttle crew escape systems (CES) rocket test at Hurricane Mesa, Utah

NASA Image and Video Library

1987-11-12

Shuttle crew escape systems (CES) tractor rocket tests conducted at Hurricane Mesa, Utah. This preliminary ground test of the tractor rocket will lead up to in-air evaluations. View shows tractor rocket as it is fired from side hatch mockup. The tractor rocket concept is one of two escape methods being studied to provide crew egress capability during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight. In-air tests of the system, utilizing a Convair-240 aircraft, will begin 11-19-87 at the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California.

Shuttle crew escape systems test conducted in JSC Bldg 9A CCT

NASA Image and Video Library

1987-03-20

Shuttle crew escape systems test is conducted by astronauts Steven R. Nagel (left) and Manley L. (Sonny) Carter in JSC One Gravity Mockup and Training Facilities Bldg 9A crew compartment trainer (CCT). Nagel and Carter are evaluating methods for crew escape during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight. JSC test was done in advance of tests scheduled for facilities in California and Utah. Here, Carter serves as test subject evaluating egress positioning for the tractor rocket escape method - one of the two systems currently being closely studied by NASA.

Handling Qualities and Stability Derivatives of the X-24B Research Aircraft

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-03-01

problem was not encountered during the glide portion of the flight since dynaifac pressure was higher. Another area of concern , «’.specially on early...i ^bufore CM-.95. a-120) , stability at this pointf? coSld*teii^h!i^tt,ar ^^ the directional stability, it wasno longer a concern Jro^f^"^ in...and 1.5. Beta slipped out to the left again, and I remember it going out to at least about 3 to 4 degrees. I do remember coming in with left rudder

Use of multiple modes of flight subsidy by a soaring terrestrial bird, the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, when on migration

PubMed Central

Katzner, Todd E.; Turk, Philip J.; Duerr, Adam E.; Miller, Tricia A.; Lanzone, Michael J.; Cooper, Jeff L.; Brandes, David; Tremblay, Junior A.; Lemaître, Jérôme

2015-01-01

Large birds regularly use updrafts to subsidize flight. Although most research on soaring bird flight has focused on use of thermal updrafts, there is evidence suggesting that many species are likely to use multiple modes of subsidy. We tested the degree to which a large soaring species uses multiple modes of subsidy to provide insights into the decision-making that underlies flight behaviour. We statistically classified more than 22 000 global positioning satellite–global system for mobile communications telemetry points collected at 30-s intervals to identify the type of subsidized flight used by 32 migrating golden eagles during spring in eastern North America. Eagles used subsidized flight on 87% of their journey. They spent 41.9% ± 1.5 (, range: 18–56%) of their subsidized northbound migration using thermal soaring, 45.2% ± 2.1 (12–65%) of time gliding between thermals, and 12.9% ± 2.2 (1–55%) of time using orographic updrafts. Golden eagles responded to the variable local-scale meteorological events they encountered by switching flight behaviour to take advantage of multiple modes of subsidy. Orographic soaring occurred more frequently in morning and evening, earlier in the migration season, and when crosswinds and tail winds were greatest. Switching between flight modes allowed migration for relatively longer periods each day and frequent switching behaviour has implications for a better understanding of avian flight behaviour and of the evolution of use of subsidy in flight. PMID:26538556

The SKY SHARK: an RPV Designed to Investigate the Pressure Distribution on a Lifting Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ziemba, Rob; Schudt, Joe; Comly, Karen; Vanthournut, Mike; Trybus, Jerome C.; Branch, Greg; Hassan, Maggie; Noll, Steve; Julian, Steve; Carey, Dave

1989-01-01

The objective was to design a remotely piloted vehicle which is capable of gathering in-flight pressure distribution data on a lifting test specimen, and then test the design by constructing a subscale demonstrator, to prove the flight worthiness of the concept. The technology demonstrator was scheduled for takeoff at approximately, 7:20 AM on Thursday April 27th. There was a light wind from the southeast. The plane was hand-launched and made an initial dip, most likely due to the poor trim conditions at launch. It then began to climb and bank into a left turn. The aircraft climbed to an altitude of approximately 150 ft and circled. The plane flew for several minutes and at times appeared to bump around, which was due to thermal activity disrupting the flight of the aircraft. The aircraft was brought slowly down in a power-off condition and glided in for a belly landing and landed without incident. Results of the flight test proved the general capability of the design to maintain flight stability throughout the take off, cruise, turning, and landing flight regimes. We were not able to demonstrate stability with the test specimen in place as the control surfaces designed to counteract the instabilities induced in the static system, winglets and ailerons, were not included.

[Sensory illusions in hang-gliding].

PubMed

Bousquet, F; Bizeau, A; Resche-Rigon, P; Taillemite, J P; De Rotalier

1997-01-01

Sensory illusions in hang-gliding and para-gliding. Hang-gliding and para-gliding are at the moment booming sports. Sensory illusions are physiological phenomena sharing the wrong perception of the pilote's real position in space. These phenomena are very familiar to aeroplane pilotes, they can also be noticed on certain conditions with hang-gliding pilotes. There are many and various sensory illusions, but only illusions of vestibular origin will be dealt with in this article. Vestibular physiology is reminded with the working principle of a semicircular canal. Physiology and laws of physics explain several sensory illusions, especially when the pilote loses his visual landmarks: flying through a cloud, coriolis effect. Also some specific stages of hang-gliding foster those phenomena: spiraling downwards, self-rotation, following an asymetric closing of the parachute, spin on oneself. Therefore a previous briefing for the pilotes seems necessary.

Approach trajectory planning system for maximum concealment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warner, David N., Jr.

1986-01-01

A computer-simulation study was undertaken to investigate a maximum concealment guidance technique (pop-up maneuver), which military aircraft may use to capture a glide path from masked, low-altitude flight typical of terrain following/terrain avoidance flight enroute. The guidance system applied to this problem is the Fuel Conservative Guidance System. Previous studies using this system have concentrated on the saving of fuel in basically conventional land and ship-based operations. Because this system is based on energy-management concepts, it also has direct application to the pop-up approach which exploits aircraft performance. Although the algorithm was initially designed to reduce fuel consumption, the commanded deceleration is at its upper limit during the pop-up and, therefore, is a good approximation of a minimum-time solution. Using the model of a powered-lift aircraft, the results of the study demonstrated that guidance commands generated by the system are well within the capability of an automatic flight-control system. Results for several initial approach conditions are presented.

An expert system for wind shear avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, Robert F.; Stratton, D. Alexander

1990-01-01

The principal objectives are to develop methods for assessing the likelihood of wind shear encounter (based on real-time information in the cockpit), for deciding what flight path to pursue (e.g., takeoff abort, landing go-around, or normal climbout or glide slope), and for using the aircraft's full potential for combating wind shear. This study requires the definition of both deterministic and statistical techniques for fusing internal and external information, for making go/no-go decisions, and for generating commands to the aircraft's autopilot and flight directors for both automatic and manually controlled flight. The expert system for pilot aiding is based on the results of the FAA Windshear Training Aids Program, a two-volume manual that presents an overview, pilot guide, training program, and substantiating data that provides guidelines for this initial development. The Windshear Safety Advisor expert system currently contains over 140 rules and is coded in the LISP programming language for implementation on a Symbolics 3670 LISP Machine.

STS-1 operational flight profile. Volume 5: Descent cycle 3. Appendix D: GRTLS six degree of freedom Monte Carlo dispersion analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montez, M. N.

1980-01-01

The results of a six degree of freedom (6-DOF) nonlinear Monte Carlo dispersion analysis for the latest glide return to landing site (GRTLS) abort trajectory for the Space Transportation System 1 Flight are presented. For this GRTLS, the number two main engine fails at 262.5 seconds ground elapsed time. Fifty randomly selected simulations, initialized at external tank separation, are analyzed. The initial covariance matrix is a 20 x 20 matrix and includes navigation errors and dispersions in position and velocity, time, accelerometer bias, and inertial platform misalinements. In all 50 samples, speedbrake, rudder, elevon, and body flap hinge moments are acceptable. Transitions to autoland begin before 9,000 feet and there are no tailscrapes. Navigation derived dynamic pressure accuracies exceed the flight control system constraints above Mach 2.5. Three out of 50 landings exceeded tire specification limit speed of 222 knots. Pilot manual landings are expected to reduce landing speed by landing farther downrange.

Excess Baggage for Birds: Inappropriate Placement of Tags on Gannets Changes Flight Patterns

PubMed Central

Vandenabeele, Sylvie P.; Grundy, Edward; Friswell, Michael I.; Grogan, Adam; Votier, Stephen C.; Wilson, Rory P.

2014-01-01

Devices attached to flying birds can hugely enhance our understanding of their behavioural ecology for periods when they cannot be observed directly. For this, scientists routinely attach units to either birds' backs or their tails. However, inappropriate payload distribution is critical in aircraft and, since birds and planes are subject to the same laws of physics during flight, we considered aircraft aerodynamic constraints to explain flight patterns displayed by northern gannets Sula bassana equipped with (small ca. 14 g) tail- and back-mounted accelerometers and (larger ca. 30 g) tail-mounted GPS units. Tail-mounted GPS-fitted birds showed significantly higher cumulative numbers of flap-glide cycles and a higher pitch angle of the tail than accelerometer-equipped birds, indicating problems with balancing inappropriately placed weights with knock-on consequences relating to energy expenditure. These problems can be addressed by carefully choosing where to place tags on birds according to the mass of the tags and the lifestyle of the subject species. PMID:24671007

The miniature parachute of the dandelion fruit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummins, Cathal; Viola, Ignazio Maria; Seale, Madeleine; Mastropaolo, Enrico; Nakayama, Naomi

2017-11-01

At the low Reynolds number at which small plant fruit (the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants) fly, there are a variety of modes of flight available: from parachuting to gliding and autorotation. Here we will explore the aerodynamics of small plumed fruit (dandelions) that utilise the parachuting mode of flight. If a parachute-type fruit is picked up by the breeze, it can be carried over formidable distances. Incredibly, these parachutes are mostly empty space, yet they are effectively impervious to the airflow as they descend. In addition, the fruit can become more or less streamlined depending on the environmental conditions. In this talk, we will present results from our numerical and physical modelling that clarify how these tiny parachutes achieve such impermeability despite their high porosity. We reveal that the dandelion's parachute tunes its permeability to achieve the aerodynamic stability as it flies, which helps confer the fruit's incredible flight capacity. This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust [RPG-2015-255].

The design of high-performance gliders

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, B.; Heuermann, V.

1985-01-01

A high-performance glider is defined as a glider which has been designed to carry the pilot in a minimum of time a given distance, taking into account conditions which are as conveniently as possible. The present investigation has the objective to show approaches for enhancing the cross-country flight cruising speed, giving attention to the difficulties which the design engineer will have to overcome. The characteristics of the cross-country flight and their relation to the cruising speed are discussed, and a description is provided of mathematical expressions concerning the cruising speed, the sinking speed, and the optimum gliding speed. The effect of aspect ratio and wing loading on the cruising speed is illustrated with the aid of a graph. Trends in glider development are explored, taking into consideration the design of laminar profiles, the reduction of profile-related drag by plain flaps, and the variation of wing loading during the flight. A number of suggestions are made for obtaining gliders with improved performance.

Excess baggage for birds: inappropriate placement of tags on gannets changes flight patterns.

PubMed

Vandenabeele, Sylvie P; Grundy, Edward; Friswell, Michael I; Grogan, Adam; Votier, Stephen C; Wilson, Rory P

2014-01-01

Devices attached to flying birds can hugely enhance our understanding of their behavioural ecology for periods when they cannot be observed directly. For this, scientists routinely attach units to either birds' backs or their tails. However, inappropriate payload distribution is critical in aircraft and, since birds and planes are subject to the same laws of physics during flight, we considered aircraft aerodynamic constraints to explain flight patterns displayed by northern gannets Sula bassana equipped with (small ca. 14 g) tail- and back-mounted accelerometers and (larger ca. 30 g) tail-mounted GPS units. Tail-mounted GPS-fitted birds showed significantly higher cumulative numbers of flap-glide cycles and a higher pitch angle of the tail than accelerometer-equipped birds, indicating problems with balancing inappropriately placed weights with knock-on consequences relating to energy expenditure. These problems can be addressed by carefully choosing where to place tags on birds according to the mass of the tags and the lifestyle of the subject species.

Characterizing wet slab and glide slab avalanche occurrence along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peitzsch, Erich H.; Hendrikx, Jordy; Fagre, Daniel B.; Reardon, Blase

2010-01-01

Wet slab and glide slab snow avalanches are dangerous and yet can be particularly difficult to predict. Both wet slab and glide slab avalanches are thought to depend upon free water moving through the snowpack but are driven by different processes. In Glacier National Park, Montana, both types of avalanches can occur in the same year and affect the Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR). Both wet slab and glide slab avalanches along the GTSR from 2003-2010 are investigated. Meteorological data from two high-elevation weather stations and one SNOTEL site are used in conjunction with an avalanche database and snowpit profiles. These data were used to characterize years when only glide slab avalanches occurred and those years when both glide slab and wet slab avalanches occurred. Results of 168 glide slab and 57 wet slab avalanches along the GTSR suggest both types of avalanche occurrence depend on sustained warming periods with intense solar radiation (or rain on snow) to produce free water in the snowpack. Differences in temperature and net radiation metrics between wet slab and glide slab avalanches emerge as one moves from one day to seven days prior to avalanche occurrence. On average, a more rapid warming precedes wet slab avalanche occurrence. Glide slab and wet slab avalanches require a similar amount of net radiation. Wet slab avalanches do not occur every year, while glide slab avalanches occur annually. These results aim to enhance understanding of the required meteorological conditions for wet slab and glide slab avalanches and aid in improved wet snow avalanche forecasting.

Natural glide slab avalanches, Glacier National Park, USA: A unique hazard and forecasting challenge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reardon, Blase; Fagre, Daniel B.; Dundas, Mark; Lundy, Chris

2006-01-01

In a museum of avalanche phenomena, glide cracks and glide avalanches might be housed in the “strange but true” section. These oddities are uncommon in most snow climates and tend to be isolated to specific terrain features such as bedrock slabs. Many glide cracks never result in avalanches, and when they do, the wide range of time between crack formation and slab failure makes them highly unpredictable. Despite their relative rarity, glide cracks and glide avalanches pose a regular threat and complex forecasting challenge during the annual spring opening of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, U.S.A. During the 2006 season, a series of unusual glide cracks delayed snow removal operations by over a week and provided a unique opportunity to record detailed observations of glide avalanches and characterize their occurrence and associated weather conditions. Field observations were from snowpits, crown profiles and where possible, measurements of slab thickness, bed surface slope angle, substrate and other physical characteristics. Weather data were recorded at one SNOTEL site and two automated stations located from 0.6-10 km of observed glide slab avalanches. Nearly half (43%) of the 35 glide slab avalanches recorded were Class D2-2.5, with 15% Class D3-D3.5. The time between glide crack opening and failure ranged from 2 days to over six weeks, and the avalanches occurred in cycles associated with loss of snow water equivalent and spikes in temperature and radiation. We conclude with suggest ions for further study.

Hypersonic drone design: A multidisciplinary experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Efforts were focused on design problems of an unmanned hypersonic vehicle. It is felt that a scaled hypersonic drone is necessary to bridge the gap between present theory on hypersonics and the future reality of the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) for two reasons: to fulfill a need for experimental data in the hypersonic regime, and to provide a testbed for the scramjet engine which is to be the primary mode of propulsion for the NASP. Three areas of great concern to NASP design were examined: propulsion, thermal management, and flight systems. Problem solving in these areas was directed towards design of the drone with the idea that the same design techniques could be applied to the NASP. A seventy degree swept double delta wing configuration, developed in the 70's at NASA Langley, was chosen as the aerodynamic and geometric model for the drone. This vehicle would be air-launched from a B-1 at Mach 0.8 and 48,000 feet, rocket boosted by two internal engines to Mach 10 and 100,000 feet, and allowed to cruise under power of the scramjet engine until burnout. It would then return to base for an unpowered landing. Preliminary energy calculations based upon the flight requirements give the drone a gross launch weight of 134,000 lb. and an overall length of 85 feet.

Microstructure and Cross-Sectional Shape of Limb Bones in Great Horned Owls and Red-Tailed Hawks: How Do These Features Relate to Differences in Flight and Hunting Behavior?

PubMed Central

Marelli, Crystal A.; Simons, Erin L. R.

2014-01-01

The Red-tailed Hawk and Great Horned Owl are two species of raptor that are similar in body size, diet, and habitat. Both species use their hindlimbs during hunting, but differ in foot morphology, how they approach and immobilize prey, and the average size of prey captured. They also differ in primary flight style: the Red-tailed Hawk uses static soaring and the Great Horned Owl uses flap-gliding. The objectives of this study were to characterize the microstructure and cross-sectional shape of limb bones of these species and examine the relationship with flight and hunting behaviors. The mid-shaft of six limb bones from six individuals of each species was sampled. The degree of bone laminarity (proportion of circular primary vascular canals) and cross-sectional geometric parameters were calculated. In both species, the humerus and femur exhibited features that suggest high resistance to torsional loading, whereas the tibiotarsus and phalanges had a shape more likely to resist compression and bending in a specific plane. The femur of the Red-tailed Hawk exhibited higher laminarity and larger polar moment of area than that of the Great Horned Owl. The tibiotarsus was more elliptical than that of the Great Horned Owl. The hawk approaches prey from a more horizontal axis, takes prey of greater mass, and is more likely to pursue prey on the ground, which could potentially be causing more torsional loads on the femur and bending loads on the tibiotarsus. In addition, differences in polar moment of area of the phalanges between the species could relate to differences in foot morphology or digit length. The humerus and ulna of the flap-gliding Great Horned Owl are more elliptical than the static soaring Red-tailed Hawk, a shape that may better resist the bending loads associated with a larger amount of flapping. PMID:25162595

Microstructure and cross-sectional shape of limb bones in Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks: how do these features relate to differences in flight and hunting behavior?

PubMed

Marelli, Crystal A; Simons, Erin L R

2014-01-01

The Red-tailed Hawk and Great Horned Owl are two species of raptor that are similar in body size, diet, and habitat. Both species use their hindlimbs during hunting, but differ in foot morphology, how they approach and immobilize prey, and the average size of prey captured. They also differ in primary flight style: the Red-tailed Hawk uses static soaring and the Great Horned Owl uses flap-gliding. The objectives of this study were to characterize the microstructure and cross-sectional shape of limb bones of these species and examine the relationship with flight and hunting behaviors. The mid-shaft of six limb bones from six individuals of each species was sampled. The degree of bone laminarity (proportion of circular primary vascular canals) and cross-sectional geometric parameters were calculated. In both species, the humerus and femur exhibited features that suggest high resistance to torsional loading, whereas the tibiotarsus and phalanges had a shape more likely to resist compression and bending in a specific plane. The femur of the Red-tailed Hawk exhibited higher laminarity and larger polar moment of area than that of the Great Horned Owl. The tibiotarsus was more elliptical than that of the Great Horned Owl. The hawk approaches prey from a more horizontal axis, takes prey of greater mass, and is more likely to pursue prey on the ground, which could potentially be causing more torsional loads on the femur and bending loads on the tibiotarsus. In addition, differences in polar moment of area of the phalanges between the species could relate to differences in foot morphology or digit length. The humerus and ulna of the flap-gliding Great Horned Owl are more elliptical than the static soaring Red-tailed Hawk, a shape that may better resist the bending loads associated with a larger amount of flapping.

Gliding Motility of Mycoplasma mobile on Uniform Oligosaccharides.

PubMed

Kasai, Taishi; Hamaguchi, Tasuku; Miyata, Makoto

2015-09-01

The binding and gliding of Mycoplasma mobile on a plastic plate covered by 53 uniform oligosaccharides were analyzed. Mycoplasmas bound to and glided on only 21 of the fixed sialylated oligosaccharides (SOs), showing that sialic acid is essential as the binding target. The affinities were mostly consistent with our previous results on the inhibitory effects of free SOs and suggested that M. mobile recognizes SOs from the nonreducing end with four continuous sites as follows. (i and ii) A sialic acid at the nonreducing end is tightly recognized by tandemly connected two sites. (iii) The third site is recognized by a loose groove that may be affected by branches. (iv) The fourth site is recognized by a large groove that may be enhanced by branches, especially those with a negative charge. The cells glided on uniform SOs in manners apparently similar to those of the gliding on mixed SOs. The gliding speed was related inversely to the mycoplasma's affinity for SO, suggesting that the detaching step may be one of the speed determinants. The cells glided faster and with smaller fluctuations on the uniform SOs than on the mixtures, suggesting that the drag caused by the variation in SOs influences gliding behaviors. Mycoplasma is a group of bacteria generally parasitic to animals and plants. Some Mycoplasma species form a protrusion at a pole, bind to solid surfaces, and glide in the direction of the protrusion. These procedures are essential for parasitism. Usually, mycoplasmas glide on mixed sialylated oligosaccharides (SOs) derived from glycoprotein and glycolipid. Since gliding motility on uniform oligosaccharides has never been observed, this study gives critical information about recognition and interaction between receptors and SOs. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Dynamics of glide avalanches and snow gliding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ancey, Christophe; Bain, Vincent

2015-09-01

In recent years, due to warmer snow cover, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of damage caused by gliding snowpacks and glide avalanches. On most occasions, these have been full-depth, wet-snow avalanches, and this led some people to express their surprise: how could low-speed masses of wet snow exert sufficiently high levels of pressure to severely damage engineered structures designed to carry heavy loads? This paper reviews the current state of knowledge about the formation of glide avalanches and the forces exerted on simple structures by a gliding mass of snow. One particular difficulty in reviewing the existing literature on gliding snow and on force calculations is that much of the theoretical and phenomenological analyses were presented in technical reports that date back to the earliest developments of avalanche science in the 1930s. Returning to these primary sources and attempting to put them into a contemporary perspective are vital. A detailed, modern analysis of them shows that the order of magnitude of the forces exerted by gliding snow can indeed be estimated correctly. The precise physical mechanisms remain elusive, however. We comment on the existing approaches in light of the most recent findings about related topics, including the physics of granular and plastic flows, and from field surveys of snow and avalanches (as well as glaciers and debris flows). Methods of calculating the forces exerted by glide avalanches are compared quantitatively on the basis of two case studies. This paper shows that if snow depth and density are known, then certain approaches can indeed predict the forces exerted on simple obstacles in the event of glide avalanches or gliding snow cover.

Effect of the Glide Path Establishment on the Torque Generation to the Files during Instrumentation: An In Vitro Measurement.

PubMed

Kwak, Sang Won; Ha, Jung-Hong; Cheung, Gary Shun-Pan; Kim, Hyeon-Cheol; Kim, Sung Kyo

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to compare in vitro torque generation during instrumentation with or without glide path establishment. Endo-training resin blocks with J-shaped canals were randomly divided into 2 groups according to glide path establishment (with or without) and subdivided into 2 subgroups with shaping instruments (WaveOne [Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland] or WaveOne Gold [Dentsply Maillefer]) (n = 15). For the glide path-established group, the glide path was prepared using ProGlider (Dentsply Maillefer). During the instrumentation with WaveOne or WaveOne Gold, in vitro torque was measured. The acquired data were analyzed with software. The maximum torque and total torque (the sum of the generated torque) were calculated. The data were statistically evaluated using 2-way analysis of variance and the Duncan post hoc comparison to examine any correlation of torque generation with glide path establishment and nickel-titanium instruments. The significance level was set at 95%. The generated total torque by WaveOne Gold was significantly reduced by glide path establishment (P < .05), whereas glide path establishment did not induce significant changes in the maximum torque for both file systems. WaveOne Gold with a glide path showed the lowest total torque generation among all groups (P < .05). WaveOne generated a higher maximum torque than WaveOne Gold regardless of the establishment of a glide path (P < .05). Under the limitations of this study, glide path establishment and the mechanical property of instruments have a significant influence on torque generation. It is recommended to create the glide path and use a flexible file to reduce torque generation and, consequently, the risk of file fracture and root dentin damage. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Soil erosion by snow gliding - a first quantification attempt in a sub-alpine area, Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meusburger, K.; Leitinger, G.; Mabit, L.; Mueller, M. H.; Walter, A.; Alewell, C.

2014-03-01

Snow processes might be one important driver of soil erosion in Alpine grasslands and thus the unknown variable when erosion modelling is attempted. The aim of this study is to assess the importance of snow gliding as soil erosion agent for four different land use/land cover types in a sub-alpine area in Switzerland. We used three different approaches to estimate soil erosion rates: sediment yield measurements in snow glide deposits, the fallout radionuclide 137Cs, and modelling with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The RUSLE model is suitable to estimate soil loss by water erosion, while the 137Cs method integrates soil loss due to all erosion agents involved. Thus, we hypothesise that the soil erosion rates determined with the 137Cs method are higher and that the observed discrepancy between the soil erosion rate of RUSLE and the 137Cs method is related to snow gliding and sediment concentrations in the snow glide deposits. Cumulative snow glide distance was measured for the sites in the winter 2009/10 and modelled for the surrounding area with the Spatial Snow Glide Model (SSGM). Measured snow glide distance ranged from 2 to 189 cm, with lower values at the north facing slopes. We observed a reduction of snow glide distance with increasing surface roughness of the vegetation, which is important information with respect to conservation planning and expected land use changes in the Alps. Our hypothesis was confirmed: the difference of RUSLE and 137Cs erosion rates was related to the measured snow glide distance (R2= 0.64; p < 0.005) and snow sediment yields (R2 = 0.39; p = 0.13). A high difference (lower proportion of water erosion compared to total net erosion) was observed for high snow glide rates and vice versa. The SSGM reproduced the relative difference of the measured snow glide values under different land uses and land cover types. The resulting map highlighted the relevance of snow gliding for large parts of the investigated area. Based on these results, we conclude that snow gliding is a key process impacting soil erosion pattern and magnitude in sub-alpine areas with similar topographic and climatic conditions.

A tactual display aid for primary flight training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilson, R. D.

1979-01-01

A means of flight instruction is discussed. In addition to verbal assistance, control feedback was continously presented via a nonvisual means utilizing touch. A kinesthetic-tactile (KT) display was used as a readout and tracking device for a computer generated signal of desired angle of attack during the approach and landing. Airspeed and glide path information was presented via KT or visual heads up display techniques. Performance with the heads up display of pitch information was shown to be significantly better than performance with the KT pitch display. Testing without the displays showed that novice pilots who had received tactile pitch error information performed both pitch and throttle control tasks significantly better than those who had received the same information from the visual heads up display of pitch during the test series of approaches to landing.

A Flight Dynamics Model for a Small Glider in Ambient Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beeler, Scott C.; Moerder, Daniel D.; Cox, David E.

2003-01-01

In this paper we describe the equations of motion developed for a point-mass zero-thrust (gliding) aircraft model operating in an environment of spatially varying atmospheric winds. The wind effects are included as an integral part of the flight dynamics equations, and the model is controlled through the three aerodynamic control angles. Formulas for the aerodynamic coefficients for this model are constructed to include the effects of several different aspects contributing to the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle. Characteristic parameter values of the model are compared with those found in a different set of small glider simulations. We execute a set of example problems which solve the glider dynamics equations to find the aircraft trajectory given specified control inputs. The ambient wind conditions and glider characteristics are varied to compare the simulation results under these different circumstances.

A Flight Dynamics Model for a Small Glider in Ambient Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beeler, Scott C.; Moerder, Daniel D.; Cox, David E.

2003-01-01

In this paper we describe the equations of motion developed for a point-mass zero-thrust (gliding) aircraft model operating in an environment of spatially varying atmospheric winds. The wind effects are included as an integral part of the flight dynamics equations, and the model is controlled through the three aerodynamic control angles. Formulas for the aerodynamic coefficients for this model are constructed to include the effects of several different aspects contributing to the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle. Characteristic parameter values of the model are compared with those found in a different set of small glider simulations. We execute a set of example problems which solve the glider dynamics equations to find aircraft trajectory given specified control inputs. The ambient wind conditions and glider characteristics are varied to compare the simulation results under these different circumstances.

Locomotor performance and cost of transport in the northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus.

Treesearch

John S. Scheibe; Winston P. Smith; Jill Bassham; Dawn Magness

2006-01-01

We assess locomotor performance by northern flying squirrels Glartcontys sabrinus Shaw, 1801 and test the hypothesis that gliding locomotion is energetically cheaper than quadrupedal locomotion. We measured 168 glides by 82 northern flying squirrels in Alaska. Mean glide distances varied from 12.46 m to 14.39 m, with a maximum observed glide...

Illusory Continuity without Sufficient Sound Energy to Fill a Temporal Gap: Examples of Crossing Glide Tones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuroda, Tsuyoshi; Nakajima, Yoshitaka; Eguchi, Shuntarou

2012-01-01

The gap transfer illusion is an auditory illusion where a temporal gap inserted in a longer glide tone is perceived as if it were in a crossing shorter glide tone. Psychophysical and phenomenological experiments were conducted to examine the effects of sound-pressure-level (SPL) differences between crossing glides on the occurrence of the gap…

An Unpowered Exoskeleton to Reduce Astronaut Hand Fatigue during Microgravity EVA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carey, Alan John

Improving manufacturing techniques to minimize costs have always been the ultimate goal for engineers since the dawn of technology. Working toward making the end product as affordable as possible without compromising on its quality is not just a skill set to develop but also, art. This thesis deals with changing the approach to the manufacturing of the patented XQ-139 UAV by using alternative materials to reduce production costs and time. Retaining the overall structure and utility of the UAV while eliminating the high costs to produce is the primary goal. It also includes tests performed on the new UAV airframe to prove this hypothesis and compare it to the results of the original airframe. The objective is to prove that the new airframe can cope with the structural and performance demands of the original XQ-139A, while reducing the total costs to manufacture it. This thesis only deals with the processing and manufacturing of the new XQ-139A airframe. No flight tests are involved.

Modified Convair-240 aircraft at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Convair-240 aircraft modified to fill role of a Space Shuttle is parked outside aircraft hangar at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California. Space shuttle side hatch mockup is incorporated in fuselage (visible toward the aft section of the aircraft). Convair-240 aircraft is part of November crew escape system (CES) testing of a candidate concept developed to provide crew egress capability during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight. Tractor rocket testing using the Convair-240 will begin 11-20-87. Life-like dummies will be pulled by the rockets from the modified aircraft's side hatch mockup.

Simplified aerodynamic analysis of the cyclogiro rotating wing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheatley, John B

1930-01-01

A simplified aerodynamic theory of the cyclogiro rotating wing is presented herein. In addition, examples have been calculated showing the effect on the rotor characteristics of varying the design parameters of the rotor. A performance prediction, on the basis of the theory here developed, is appended, showing the performance to be expected of a machine employing this system of sustentation. The aerodynamic principles of the cyclogiro are sound; hovering flight, vertical climb, and a reasonable forward speed may be obtained with a normal expenditure of power. Auto rotation in a gliding descent is available in the event of a power-plant failure.

Space Shuttle flying qualities criteria assessment. Phase 5: Data acquistion and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, T. T.; Johnston, D. E.; Mcruer, D. T.

1986-01-01

The development of flying qualities experiments (OFQ) as a part of the Orbiter Experiments Program (OEX) was continued. The data base was extended to use the ground based cinetheodolite measurements of orbiter approach and landing. Onboard the cinetheodolite data were analyzed from flights STS 2 through 7 to identify the effective augmented vehicle dynamics, the control strategy employed by the pilot during preflare, shallow glide, and final flare segments of the landing, and the key approach and touchdown performance measures. A plan for an OFQ flying qualities data archive and processing is presented.

Orion Stage Adapter Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft glides to a stop at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Super Guppy is carrying the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA), the second flight-hardware section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that has arrived at Kennedy. The OSA will connect the Orion spacecraft to the upper part of the SLS rocket, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Both the OSA and ICPS are being stored for processing in the center's Space Station Processing Facility in preparation for Exploration Mission-1, the first uncrewed, integrated launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

Impact of snow gliding on soil redistribution for a sub-alpine area in Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meusburger, K.; Leitinger, G.; Mabit, L.; Mueller, M. H.; Alewell, C.

2013-07-01

The aim of this study is to assess the importance of snow gliding as soil erosion agent for four different land use/land cover types in a sub-alpine area in Switzerland. The 14 investigated sites are located close to the valley bottom at approximately 1500 m a.s.l., while the elevation of the surrounding mountain ranges is about 2500 m a.s.l. We used two different approaches to estimate soil erosion rates: the fallout radionuclide 137Cs and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The RUSLE model is suitable to estimate soil loss by water erosion, while the 137Cs method integrates soil loss due to all erosion agents involved. Thus, we hypothesise that the soil erosion rates determined with the 137Cs method are higher and that the observed discrepancy between the erosion rate of RUSLE and the 137Cs method is related to snow gliding. Cumulative snow glide distance was measured for the sites in the winter 2009/2010 and modelled for the surrounding area with the Spatial Snow Glide Model (SSGM). Measured snow glide distance range from 0 to 189 cm with lower values for the north exposed slopes. We observed a reduction of snow glide distance with increasing surface roughness of the vegetation, which is an important information with respect to conservation planning and expected land use changes in the Alps. Our hypothesis was confirmed, the difference of RUSLE and 137Cs erosion rates was correlated to the measured snow glide distance (R2 = 0.73; p < 0.005). A high difference (lower proportion of water erosion compared to total net erosion) was observed for high snow glide rates and vice versa. The SSGM reproduced the relative difference of the measured snow glide values between different land use/land cover types. The resulting map highlights the relevance of snow gliding for large parts of the investigated area. Based on these results, we conclude that snow gliding is a key process impacting soil erosion pattern and magnitude in sub-alpine areas with similar topographic and climatic conditions.

Neuroinspired control strategies with applications to flapping flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorothy, Michael Ray

This dissertation is centered on a theoretical, simulation, and experimental study of control strategies which are inspired by biological systems. Biological systems, along with sufficiently complicated engineered systems, often have many interacting degrees of freedom and need to excite large-displacement oscillations in order to locomote. Combining these factors can make high-level control design difficult. This thesis revolves around three different levels of abstraction, providing tools for analysis and design. First, we consider central pattern generators (CPGs) to control flapping-flight dynamics. The key idea here is dimensional reduction - we want to convert complicated interactions of many degrees of freedom into a handful of parameters which have intuitive connections to the overall system behavior, leaving the control designer unconcerned with the details of particular motions. A rigorous mathematical and control theoretic framework to design complex three-dimensional wing motions is presented based on phase synchronization of nonlinear oscillators. In particular, we show that flapping-flying dynamics without a tail or traditional aerodynamic control surfaces can be effectively controlled by a reduced set of central pattern generator parameters that generate phase-synchronized or symmetry-breaking oscillatory motions of two main wings. Furthermore, by using a Hopf bifurcation, we show that tailless aircraft (inspired by bats) alternating between flapping and gliding can be effectively stabilized by smooth wing motions driven by the central pattern generator network. Results of numerical simulation with a full six-degree-of-freedom flight dynamic model validate the effectiveness of the proposed neurobiologically inspired control approach. Further, we present experimental micro aerial vehicle (MAV) research with low-frequency flapping and articulated wing gliding. The importance of phase difference control via an abstract mathematical model of central pattern generators is confirmed with a robotic bat on a 3-DOF pendulum platform. An aerodynamic model for the robotic bat based on the complex wing kinematics is presented. Closed loop experiments show that control dimension reduction is achievable - unstable longitudinal modes are stabilized and controlled using only two control parameters. A transition of flight modes, from flapping to gliding and vice-versa, is demonstrated within the CPG control scheme. The second major thrust is inspired by this idea that mode switching is useful. Many bats and birds adopt a mixed strategy of flapping and gliding to provide agility when necessary and to increase overall efficiency. This work explores dwell time constraints on switched systems with multiple, possibly disparate invariant limit sets. We show that, under suitable conditions, trajectories globally converge to a superset of the limit sets and then remain in a second, larger superset. We show the effectiveness of the dwell-time conditions by using examples of nonlinear switching limit cycles from our work on flapping flight. This level of abstraction has been found to be useful in many ways, but it also produces its own challenges. For example, we discuss death of oscillation which can occur for many limit-cycle controllers and the difficulty in incorporating fast, high-displacement reflex feedback. This leads us to our third major thrust - considering biologically realistic neuron circuits instead of a limit cycle abstraction. Biological neuron circuits are incredibly diverse in practice, giving us a convincing rationale that they can aid us in our quest for flexibility. Nevertheless, that flexibility provides its own challenges. It is not currently known how most biological neuron circuits work, and little work exists that connects the principles of a neuron circuit to the principles of control theory. We begin the process of trying to bridge this gap by considering the simplest of classical controllers, PD control. We propose a simple two-neuron, two-synapse circuit based on the concept that synapses provide attenuation and a delay. We present a simulation-based method of analysis, including a smoothing algorithm, a steady-state response curve, and a system identification procedure for capturing differentiation. There will never be One True Control Method that will solve all problems. Nature's solution to a diversity of systems and situations is equally diverse. This will inspire many strategies and require a multitude of analysis tools. This thesis is my contribution of a few.

Aeromechanics of the Spider Cricket Jump: How to Jump 60+ Times Your Body Length and Still Land on Your Feet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmer, Emily; Deshler, Nicolas; Gorman, David; Neves, Catarina; Mittal, Rajat

2015-11-01

Flapping, gliding, running, crawling and swimming have all been studied extensively in the past and have served as a source of inspiration for engineering designs. In the current project, we explore a mode of locomotion that straddles ground and air: jumping. The subject of our study is among the most proficient of long-jumpers in Nature: the spider cricket of the family Rhaphidophoridae, which can jump more than 60 times its body length. Despite jumping this immense distance, these crickets usually land on their feet, indicating an ability to control their posture during ``flight.'' We employ high-speed videogrammetry, to examine the jumps and to track the crickets' posture and appendage orientation throughout their jumps. Simple aerodynamic models are developed to predict the aerodynamic forces and moment on the crickets during `flight`. The analysis shows that these wingless insects employ carefully controlled and coordinated positioning of the limbs during flight so as to increase jump distance and to stabilize body posture during flight. The principles distilled from this study could serve as an inspiration for small jumping robots that can traverse complex terrains.

X-38 vehicle #131R in first free flight

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-11-02

The third iteration of the X-38, V-131R, glides down under a giant parafoil towards a landing on Rogers Dry Lake near NASAÕs Dryden Flight Research Center during its first free flight Nov. 2, 2000. The X-38 prototypes are intended to perfect technology for a planned Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) ÒlifeboatÓ to carry a crew to safety in the event of an emergency on the International Space Station. Free-flight tests of X-38 V-131R are evaluating upgraded avionics and control systems and the aerodynamics of the modified upper body, which is more representative of the final design of the CRV than the two earlier X-38 test craft, including a simulated hatch atop the body. The huge 7,500 square-foot parafoil will enable the CRV to land in the length of a football field after returning from space. The first three X-38Õs are air-launched from NASAÕs venerable NB-52B mother ship, while the last version, V-201, will be carried into space by a Space Shuttle and make a fully autonomous re-entry and landing.

The impact of glide phases on the trackability of hydrodynamic trails in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina).

PubMed

Wieskotten, S; Dehnhardt, G; Mauck, B; Miersch, L; Hanke, W

2010-11-01

The mystacial vibrissae of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) constitute a highly sensitive hydrodynamic receptor system enabling the seals to detect and follow hydrodynamic trails. In the wild, hydrodynamic trails, as generated by swimming fish, consist of cyclic burst-and-glide phases, associated with various differences in the physical parameters of the trail. Here, we investigated the impact of glide phases on the trackability of differently aged hydrodynamic trails in a harbour seal. As fish are not easily trained to swim certain paths with predetermined burst-and-glide phases, the respective hydrodynamic trails were generated using a remote-controlled miniature submarine. Gliding phases in hydrodynamic trails had a negative impact on the trackability when trails were 15 s old. The seal lost the generated trails more often within the transition zones, when the submarine switched from a burst to a glide moving pattern. Hydrodynamic parameter analysis (particle image velocimetry) revealed that the smaller dimensions and faster decay of hydrodynamic trails generated by the gliding submarine are responsible for the impaired success of the seal tracking the gliding phase. Furthermore, the change of gross water flow generated by the submarine from a rearwards-directed stream in the burst phase to a water flow passively dragged behind the submarine during gliding might influence the ability of the seal to follow the trail as this might cause a weaker deflection of the vibrissae. The possible ecological implications of intermittent swimming behaviour in fish for piscivorous predators are discussed.

Jump stabilization and landing control by wing-spreading of a locust-inspired jumper.

PubMed

Beck, Avishai; Zaitsev, Valentin; Hanan, Uri Ben; Kosa, Gabor; Ayali, Amir; Weiss, Avi

2017-10-16

Bio-inspired robotics is a promising design strategy for mobile robots. Jumping is an energy efficient locomotion gait for traversing difficult terrain. Inspired by the jumping and flying behavior of the desert locust, we have recently developed a miniature jumping robot that can jump over 3.5 m high. However, much like the non-adult locust, it rotates while in the air and lands uncontrollably. Inspired by the winged adult locust, we have added spreading wings and a tail to the jumper. After the robot leaps, at the apex of the trajectory, the wings unfold and it glides to the ground. The advantages of this maneuver are the stabilization of the robot when airborne, the reduction of velocity at landing, the control of the landing angle and the potential to change the robot's orientation and control its flight trajectory. The new upgraded robot is capable of jumping to a still impressive height of 1.7 m eliminating airborne rotation and reducing landing velocity. Here, we analyze the dynamic and aerodynamic models of the robot, discuss the robot's design, and validate its ability to perform a jump-glide in a stable trajectory, land safely and change its orientation while in the air.

Mechanical properties of the avian acrocoracohumeral ligament and its role in shoulder stabilization in flight.

PubMed

Baier, David Bradley

2012-02-01

Control of movement in the avian shoulder joint is fundamental to understanding the avian wingstroke. The acrocoracohumeral ligament (AHL) is thought to play a key role in stabilizing the glenoid and balancing the pectoralis in gliding flight. If the AHL has to be taut to balance the pectoralis, then it must constrain glenohumeral motion during flapping flight as well. However, birds vary wing kinematics depending on flight speed and behavior. How can a passive ligament accommodate such varying joint movements? Herein, mechanical testing and 3-D modeling are used to link the mechanical properties and morphology of the AHL to its functional role during flapping flight. The bone-ligament-bone complex of the pigeon (Columba livia) fails at a tensile loading of 141 ± 18 N (± s .D., n = 10) or 39 times body weight, which corresponds to a failure stress of 51 MPa, well above expected loads during flight. Simulated AHL length changes, comparisons to glenohumeral kinematics from the literature, and manipulations of partially dissected pigeon specimens all support the hypothesis that the AHL remains taut through downstroke and most of upstroke while becoming slack during the downstroke/upstroke transition. The digital AHL model provides a mechanism for explaining how the AHL can stabilize the shoulder joint under a broad array of humeral paths by constraining the coordination of glenohumeral degrees of freedom. © 2011 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Strongly gliding harmonic tremor during the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hotovec, Alicia J.; Prejean, Stephanie G.; Vidale, John E.; Gomberg, Joan S.

2013-01-01

During the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, gliding harmonic tremor occurred prominently before six nearly consecutive explosions during the second half of the eruptive sequence. The fundamental frequency repeatedly glided upward from < 1 Hz to as high as 30 Hz in less than 10 min, followed by a relative seismic quiescence of 10 to 60 s immediately prior to explosion. High frequency (5 to 20 Hz) gliding returned during the extrusive phase, and lasted for 20 min to 3 h at a time. Although harmonic tremor is not uncommon at volcanoes, tremor at such high frequencies is a rare observation. These frequencies approach or exceed the plausible upper limits of many models that have been suggested for volcanic tremor. We also analyzed the behavior of a swarm of repeating earthquakes that immediately preceded the first instance of pre-explosion gliding harmonic tremor. We find that these earthquakes share several traits with upward gliding harmonic tremor, and favor the explanation that the gliding harmonic tremor at Redoubt Volcano is created by the superposition of increasingly frequent and regular, repeating stick–slip earthquakes through the Dirac comb effect.

Discrimination of nonlinear frequency glides.

PubMed

Thyer, Nick; Mahar, Doug

2006-05-01

Discrimination thresholds for short duration nonlinear tone glides that differed in glide rate were measured in order to determine whether cues related to rate of frequency change alone were sufficient for discrimination. Thresholds for rising and falling nonlinear glides of 50-ms and 400-ms duration, spanning three frequency excursions (0.5, 1, and 2 ERBs) at three center frequencies (0.5, 2.0, and 6.0 kHz) were measured. Results showed that glide discrimination was possible when duration and initial and final frequencies were identical. Thresholds were of a different order to those found in previous studies using linear frequency glides where endpoint frequency or duration information is available as added cues. The pattern of results was suggestive of a mechanism sensitive to spectral changes in time. Thresholds increased as the rate of transition span increased, particularly above spans of 1 ERB. The Weber fraction associated with these changes was 0.6-0.7. Overall, the results were consistent with an excitation pattern model of nonlinear glide detection that has difficulty in tracking signals with rapid frequency changes that exceed the width of an auditory filter and are of short duration.

Test Plan for the Technology Maturation of Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Jenny R.; Cruz, Juan R.

2009-01-01

Supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerators (IADs) are drag devices intended to be deployed at high Mach numbers. In the application considered here they assist in the descent and landing of spacecraft on Mars. Although promising, present IAD technology is not yet sufficiently mature for use in the near future. This paper describes a technology maturation plan for tension cone IADs using subscale test articles to reduce development costs. As envisioned, the proposed test plan includes three phases: wind tunnel tests (subsonic), unpowered high-altitude flight tests (transonic), and powered high-altitude tests (supersonic). This test plan is based on a building block approach in which successful completion of each phase adds to the understanding of the behavior of IADs and reduces the risk of the subsequent, more expensive phases. By properly scaling the IADs, test articles of the same size and nearly the same construction can be used for all three phases. The final phase is a dynamically scaled flight test with IAD deployment at the same Mach number as the full-scale vehicle on Mars. Two full-scale example cases are presented: one for a single-stage system (15 m dia. IAD to subsonic retropropulsion), and another for a two-stage system (10.5 m dia. IAD to subsonic parachute). Using scale factors of 0.333 and 0.476 yield subscale test IADs of 5 m dia. The dynamically scaled powered flight test starts at Mach 4 and an altitude of 33.5 km. Existing balloons and rocket motors are shown to be adequate to meet the required test conditions.

Thermal Vacuum Testing of a Proto-flight Miniature Loop Heat Pipe with Two Evaporators and Two Condensers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ku, Jentung; Ottenstein, Laura

2011-01-01

This paper describes thermal vacuum testing of a proto-flight miniature loop heat pipe (MLHP) with two evaporators and two condensers designed for future small systems applications requiring low mass, low power and compactness. Each evaporator contains a wick with an outer diameter of 6.35 mm, and each has its own integral compensation chamber (CC). Miniaturization of the loop components reduces the volume and mass of the thermal system. Multiple evaporators provide flexibility for placement of instruments that need to be maintained at the same temperature, and facilitate heat load sharing among instruments, reducing the auxiliary heater power requirement. A flow regulator is used to regulate heat dissipations between the two condensers, allowing flexible placement of radiators on the spacecraft. A thermoelectric converter (TEC) is attached to each CC for control of the operating temperature and enhancement of start-up success. Tests performed include start-up, power cycle, sink temperature cycle, high power and low power operation, heat load sharing, and operating temperature control. The proto-flight MLHP demonstrated excellent performance in the thermal vacuum test. The loop started successfully and operated stably under various evaporator heat loads and condenser sink temperatures. The TECs were able to maintain the loop operating temperature within b1K of the desired set point temperature at all power levels and all sink temperatures. The un-powered evaporator would automatically share heat from the other powered evaporator. The flow regulator was able to regulate the heat dissipation among the radiators and prevent vapor from flowing into the liquid line.

STS-94 Columbia Landing at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia glides in for a touchdown on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at approximately 6:46 a.m. EDT with Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr. and Pilot Susan L. Still at the controls to complete the STS-94 mission. Also on board are Mission Specialist Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt, Payload Commander Janice Voss, and Payload Specialists Roger K.Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. During the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission, the Spacelab module was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. This mission was a reflight of the STS-83 mission that lifted off from KSC in April of this year. That space flight was cut short due to indications of a faulty fuel cell.

Case reports of insulin-dependent glider pilots in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Saundby, R P

1998-10-01

Insulin-dependent diabetics have not been licensed to fly as pilots. In the United Kingdom, the standards for flying gliders solo were adopted from those required for driving licences, allowing diabetics to fly gliders. No accidents had been reported. My hypothesis was that insulin-dependent diabetics can fly as pilots without danger. A survey was conducted among insulin-dependent glider pilots, using a questionnaire to determine their flying experience and establish any difficulties arising from their disease. Respondents reported that their blood sugar level could be managed in flight and that while complications of diabetes occurred, they had not presented a flight safety hazard. Insulin dependent diabetic pilots flying solo recreational aircraft are not at greater risk than when driving road vehicles. The decision by the British Gliding Association to allow insulin dependent pilots to fly gliders solo has been justified by experience.

STS-94 Columbia Landing at KSC (before main gear touchdown)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia glides in for a touchdown on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at approximately 6:46 a.m. EDT with Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr. and Pilot Susan L. Still at the controls to complete the STS-94 mission. Also on board are Mission Specialist Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt, Payload Commander Janice Voss, and Payload Specialists Roger K.Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. During the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission, the Spacelab module was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. This mission was a reflight of the STS-83 mission that lifted off from KSC in April of this year. That space flight was cut short due to indications of a faulty fuel cell.

Odometers for Rail Application

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-05-01

Available mileage counters were evaluated, anticipating the possibility of using mileage intervals, rather than elapsed time, for freight car inspection. Simple, reliable and reasonably low costing devices were required. Only two unpowered mileage co...

M2-F1 under tow across lakebed by car

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

This 20-second clip shows the M2-F1 being towed by the Pontiac across Rogers Dry Lakebed. The M2-F1 lifting body, dubbed the 'flying bathtub' by the media, was the precursor of a remarkable series of wingless flying vehicles that contributed data used in the Space Shuttles, the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the next century's Reusable Launch Vehicle, and the X-38 Technology Demonstrator for crew return from the International Space Station. Based on the ideas and basic design of Alfred J. Eggers and others at the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory (now the Ames Research Center), Mountain View, California, in the mid-1950's, the M2-F1 was built in 1962-63 over a four-month period for a cost of only about $30,000, plus an additional $8,000-$10,000 for an ejection seat. Engineers and technicians at the NASA Flight Research Center (now NASA Dryden) kept costs low by designing and fabricating it partly in-house, with the plywood shell constructed by a local sailplane builder. Someone at the time estimated that it would have cost a major aircraft company $150,000 to build the same vehicle. Unlike the later lifting bodies, the M2-F1 was unpowered and was initially towed by a souped-up Pontiac convertible until it was airborne. Later a C-47 took over the towing duties. Flown by such famous research pilots as Milt Thompson, Bruce Peterson, Chuck Yeager, and Bill Dana, the lightweight flying bathtub demonstrated that a wingless vehicle shaped for reentry into the Earth's atmosphere from space could be flown and landed safely. Flown from 1963 to 1966, the lightweight M2-F1 paved the way for the heavyweight M2-F2, M2`F3, HL-10, X-24A, and X-24B lifting bodies that flew under rocket power after launch from a B-52 mothership. The heavyweights flew from 1966 to 1975, demonstrating the viability and versatility of the wingless configuration and the ability of a vehicle with low lift-over-drag characteristics to fly to high altitudes and then to land precisely with their rocket engines no longer burning. Their unpowered approaches and landings showed that the Space Shuttles need not decrease their payloads by carrying fuel and engines that would have been required for conventional, powered landings. The lifting bodies also prepared the way for the later X-33 and X-38 programs that feature lifting-body shapes. The entire lifting-body program was carried out at comparatively low cost in partnership with the Ames and Langley Research Centers, the Air Force, and their Northrop and Martin industrial partners. It was a harbinger of NASA's current philosophy, 'faster, better, cheaper,' and as such, it epitomizes the innovation, technical agility, and discovery through flight research that have characterized the Dryden Flight Research Center for more than fifty years.

GLobal Integrated Design Environment (GLIDE): A Concurrent Engineering Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGuire, Melissa L.; Kunkel, Matthew R.; Smith, David A.

2010-01-01

The GLobal Integrated Design Environment (GLIDE) is a client-server software application purpose-built to mitigate issues associated with real time data sharing in concurrent engineering environments and to facilitate discipline-to-discipline interaction between multiple engineers and researchers. GLIDE is implemented in multiple programming languages utilizing standardized web protocols to enable secure parameter data sharing between engineers and researchers across the Internet in closed and/or widely distributed working environments. A well defined, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) based Application Programming Interface (API) to the GLIDE client/server environment enables users to interact with GLIDE, and each other, within common and familiar tools. One such common tool, Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation), paired with its add-in API for GLIDE, is discussed in this paper. The top-level examples given demonstrate how this interface improves the efficiency of the design process of a concurrent engineering study while reducing potential errors associated with manually sharing information between study participants.

Marked colour divergence in the gliding membranes of a tropical lizard mirrors population differences in the colour of falling leaves

PubMed Central

Klomp, D. A.; Stuart-Fox, D.; Das, I.; Ord, T. J.

2014-01-01

Populations of the Bornean gliding lizard, Draco cornutus, differ markedly in the colour of their gliding membranes. They also differ in local vegetation type (mangrove forest versus lowland rainforest) and consequently, the colour of falling leaves (red and brown/black in mangrove versus green, brown and black in rainforest). We show that the gliding membranes of these lizards closely match the colours of freshly fallen leaves in the local habitat as they appear to the visual system of birds (their probable predators). Furthermore, gliding membranes more closely resembled colours of local fallen leaves than standing foliage or fallen leaves in the other population's habitat. This suggests that the two populations have diverged in gliding membrane coloration to match the colours of their local falling leaves, and that mimicking falling leaves is an adaptation that functions to reduce predation by birds. PMID:25540157

Aerodynamic Characteristics and Glide-Back Performance of Langley Glide-Back Booster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pamadi, Bandu N.; Covell, Peter F.; Tartabini, Paul V.; Murphy, Kelly J.

2004-01-01

NASA-Langley Research Center is conducting system level studies on an-house concept of a small launch vehicle to address NASA's needs for rapid deployment of small payloads to Low Earth Orbit. The vehicle concept is a three-stage system with a reusable first stage and expendable upper stages. The reusable first stage booster, which glides back to launch site after staging around Mach 3 is named the Langley Glide-Back Booster (LGBB). This paper discusses the aerodynamic characteristics of the LGBB from subsonic to supersonic speeds, development of the aerodynamic database and application of this database to evaluate the glide back performance of the LGBB. The aerodynamic database was assembled using a combination of wind tunnel test data and engineering level analysis. The glide back performance of the LGBB was evaluated using a trajectory optimization code and subject to constraints on angle of attack, dynamic pressure and normal acceleration.

Director gliding in a nematic liquid crystal layer: Quantitative comparison with experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mema, E.; Kondic, L.; Cummings, L. J.

2018-03-01

The interaction between nematic liquid crystals and polymer-coated substrates may lead to slow reorientation of the easy axis (so-called "director gliding") when a prolonged external field is applied. We consider the experimental evidence of zenithal gliding observed by Joly et al. [Phys. Rev. E 70, 050701 (2004), 10.1103/PhysRevE.70.050701] and Buluy et al. [J. Soc. Inf. Disp. 14, 603 (2006), 10.1889/1.2235686] as well as azimuthal gliding observed by S. Faetti and P. Marianelli [Liq. Cryst. 33, 327 (2006), 10.1080/02678290500512227], and we present a simple, physically motivated model that captures the slow dynamics of gliding, both in the presence of an electric field and after the electric field is turned off. We make a quantitative comparison of our model results and the experimental data and conclude that our model explains the gliding evolution very well.

Launch, Low-Speed, and Landing Characteristics Determined from the First Flight of the North American X-15 Research Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finch, Thomas W.; Matranga, Gene J.

1959-01-01

The first flight of the North American X-15 research airplane was made on June 8, 1959. This was accomplished after completion of a series of captive flights with the X-15 attached to the B-52 carrier airplane to demonstrate the aerodynamic and systems compatibility of the X-15//B-52 combination and the X-15 subsystem operation. This flight was planned as a glide flight so that the pilot need not be concerned with the propulsion system. Discussions of the launch, low-speed maneuvering, and landing characteristics are presented, and the results are compared with predictions from preflight studies. The launch characteristics were generally satisfactory, and the X-15 vertical tail adequately cleared the B-52 wing cutout. The actual landing pattern and landing characteristics compared favorably with predictions, and the recommended landing technique of lowering the flaps and landing gear at a low altitude appears to be a satisfactory method of landing the X-15 airplane. There was a quantitative correlation between flight-measured and predicted lift-drag-ratio characteristics in the clean configuration and a qualitative correlation in the landing configuration. A longitudinal-controllability problem, which became severe in the landing configuration, was evident throughout the flight and, apparently, was aggravated by the sensitivity of the side-located control stick. In the low-to-moderate angle-of-attack range covered, the longitudinal and directional stability were indicated to be adequate.

Some elementary aspects of non-linear airplane speed stability in constrained flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campos, L. M. B. C.; Fonseca, A. A.; Azinheira, J. R. C.

We review the longitudinal motion of an airplane, starting a dive at an arbitrary speed, and flown on a constant glide slope; this non-linear longitudinal speed stability problem is solved analytically (Section 2), to provide groundspeed as a function of time. Three restrictions were made: (i) neglect of the short period mode; (ii) low Mach number flight, i.e. omission of drag due to compressibility; (iii) small altitude change, so that the air density could be taken as constant. The predicted stability curves were compared with flight test data (Section 6), obtained using a CASA 212 Aviocar twin-turboprop transport. The flight data records showed that lateral motion was negligible; the effects of wind were compensated for, and the possible errors were estimated. An extension was made of the stability theory from still air (Section 2), to account for the presence of winds (Section 3); the latter were assumed not to exceed 30% of the groundspeed. The comparison of the theoretical stability curves with flight test data can be automated, as can the identification of the relevant data record. The disturbance intensity can be used as a parameter (Section 5) which indicates the start and end of flight manouever. This parameter is defined (Section 4) as the relative lift change, and for longitudinal flight it can be obtained from the wind velocity, vorticity components and changes of airspeed, angle-of-attack and vertical acceleration. It similarly has applications to perturbations of a horizontal turn.

Association of manual or engine-driven glide path preparation with canal centring and apical transportation: a systematic review.

PubMed

Hartmann, R C; Peters, O A; de Figueiredo, J A P; Rossi-Fedele, G

2018-04-28

The role and effect of glide path preparation in root canal treatment remain controversial. This systematic review aims to compare apical transportation and canal centring of different glide path preparation techniques, with or without subsequent engine-driven root canal preparation. A database search in PubMed, PubMed Central, Embase, Scopus, EBSCO Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source and Virtual Health Library was conducted, using appropriate key words to identify the effect of glide path preparation (or its absence) on apical transportation and canal centring. An assessment for the risk of bias in included studies was carried out. Amongst 2146 studies, 18 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Nine studies assessed glide path preparation per se, comparing apical transportation and canal centring of rotary systems and/or manual files; eleven further investigations examined the efficacy of the glide path prior to final canal preparation with different engine-driven systems. Risk of bias and other study design features with potential influence on study outcomes and clinical implications were assessed. Based on the available evidence, and within the limitation of the studies included, preparation of a glide path using rotary sequences performs similarly (in most of the component studies) or significantly better than manual preparation when assessing apical transportation or canal centring. When compared to the absence of a glide path, canal shaping following glide path preparation was of similar, or significantly better quality, in regard to apical transportation or canal centring. © 2018 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A flight evaluation of VTOL jet transport under visual and simulated instrument conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holzhauser, C. A.; Morello, S. A.; Innis, R. C.; Patton, J. M., Jr.

1972-01-01

A flight investigation was performed with the Dornier DO-31 VTOL to evaluate the performance, handling qualities, and operating characteristics that are considered to be important in the operation of a commerical VTOL transport in the terminal area. The DO-31, a 20,000 kilogram transport, has a mixed jet propulsion system; main engines with nozzles deflect from a cruise to a hover position, and vertical lift engines operated below 170 knots. This VTOL mode incorporates pitch and roll attitude and yaw rate stabilization. The tests concentrated on the transition, approach, and vertical landing. The mixed jet propulsion system provided a large usable performance envelope that enabled simulated IFR approaches to be made on 7 deg and 12 deg glide slopes. In these approaches management of thrust magnitude and direction was a primary problem, and some form of integrating the controls will be necessary. The handling qualities evaluation pointed out the need for additional research of define flight path criteria. The aircraft had satisfactory control and stability in hover out of ground effect. The recirculation effects in vertical landing were large below 15 meters.

The Drag Penalty of Lateral Asymmetries in Formation Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weihs, Daniel; Gabbay, Karen

2006-11-01

It has long been known that formation flight of birds and aircraft results in a significant energy saving due to reduction in induced drag. However measured gains have consistently been lower, usually explained by viscous effects neglected by the potential flow model for lift and induced drag. We show that the inherent asymmetry of the flow-field in the general case results in rolling and yawing moments, which need to be corrected by control surface reflection. This deflection results in an increase in drag, which partially cancels the gains mentioned above. Using classical lifting line theory and elliptical lift distributions on two or more wings flying in formation we show that the penalty incurred by these corrections can reduce the expected gains by up to 25%. We also show that the gains for an individual in formation flight grow with the number of members of the formation, up to about 7 members, the added gains becoming negligible beyond that number. The present results are relevant for large aspect-ratio, fixed wing aircraft, and gliding bird flocks.

Insect Flight: From Newton's Law to Neurons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z. Jane

2016-03-01

Why do animals move the way they do? Bacteria, insects, birds, and fish share with us the necessity to move so as to live. Although each organism follows its own evolutionary course, it also obeys a set of common laws. At the very least, the movement of animals, like that of planets, is governed by Newton's law: All things fall. On Earth, most things fall in air or water, and their motions are thus subject to the laws of hydrodynamics. Through trial and error, animals have found ways to interact with fluid so they can float, drift, swim, sail, glide, soar, and fly. This elementary struggle to escape the fate of falling shapes the development of motors, sensors, and mind. Perhaps we can deduce parts of their neural computations by understanding what animals must do so as not to fall. Here I discuss recent developments along this line of inquiry in the case of insect flight. Asking how often a fly must sense its orientation in order to balance in air has shed new light on the role of motor neurons and steering muscles responsible for flight stability.

Tiltrotor Acoustic Flight Test: Terminal Area Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

SantaMaria, O. L.; Wellman, J. B.; Conner, D. A.; Rutledge, C. K.

1991-01-01

This paper provides a comprehensive description of an acoustic flight test of the XV- 15 Tiltrotor Aircraft with Advanced Technology Blades (ATB) conducted in August and September 1991 at Crows Landing, California. The purpose of this cooperative research effort of the NASA Langley and Ames Research Centers was to obtain a preliminary, high quality database of far-field acoustics for terminal area operations of the XV-15 at a takeoff gross weight of approximately 14,000 lbs for various glide slopes, airspeeds, rotor tip speeds, and nacelle tilt angles. The test also was used to assess the suitability of the Crows Landing complex for full scale far-field acoustic testing. This was the first acoustic flight test of the XV-15 aircraft equipped with ATB involving approach and level flyover operations. The test involved coordination of numerous personnel, facilities and equipment. Considerable effort was made to minimize potential extraneous noise sources unique to the region during the test. Acoustic data from the level flyovers were analyzed, then compared with data from a previous test of the XV-15 equipped with Standard Metal Blades

Gardening Health and Safety Tips

MedlinePlus

... can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors, get physical activity, beautify the community, and grow ... factor (SPF) 15 or higher. Spring and Summer Outdoor Safety Put safety first. Powered and unpowered tools ...

Comparison of apical extrusion of intracanal bacteria by various glide-path establishing systems: an in vitro study.

PubMed

Dagna, Alberto; El Abed, Rashid; Hussain, Sameeha; Abu-Tahun, Ibrahim H; Visai, Livia; Bertoglio, Federico; Bosco, Floriana; Beltrami, Riccardo; Poggio, Claudio; Kim, Hyeon-Cheol

2017-11-01

This study compared the amount of apically extruded bacteria during the glide-path preparation by using multi-file and single-file glide-path establishing nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary systems. Sixty mandibular first molar teeth were used to prepare the test apparatus. They were decoronated, blocked into glass vials, sterilized in ethylene oxide gas, infected with a pure culture of Enterococcus faecalis, randomly assigned to 5 experimental groups, and then prepared using manual stainless-steel files (group KF) and glide-path establishing NiTi rotary files (group PF with PathFiles, group GF with G-Files, group PG with ProGlider, and group OG with One G). At the end of canal preparation, 0.01 mL NaCl solution was taken from the experimental vials. The suspension was plated on brain heart infusion agar and colonies of bacteria were counted, and the results were given as number of colony-forming units (CFU). The manual instrumentation technique tested in group KF extruded the highest number of bacteria compared to the other 4 groups ( p < 0.05). The 4 groups using rotary glide-path establishing instruments extruded similar amounts of bacteria. All glide-path establishment instrument systems tested caused a measurable apical extrusion of bacteria. The manual glide-path preparation showed the highest number of bacteria extruded compared to the other NiTi glide-path establishing instruments.

Effects of unilateral robotic limb loading on gait characteristics in subjects with chronic stroke.

PubMed

Khanna, Ira; Roy, Anindo; Rodgers, Mary M; Krebs, Hermano I; Macko, Richard M; Forrester, Larry W

2010-05-21

Hemiparesis after stroke often leads to impaired ankle motor control that impacts gait function. In recent studies, robotic devices have been developed to address this impairment. While capable of imparting forces to assist during training and gait, these devices add mass to the paretic leg which might encumber patients' gait pattern. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the added mass of one of these robots, the MIT's Anklebot, while unpowered, on gait of chronic stroke survivors during overground and treadmill walking. Nine chronic stroke survivors walked overground and on a treadmill with and without the anklebot mounted on the paretic leg. Gait parameters, interlimb symmetry, and joint kinematics were collected for the four conditions. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to examine for possible differences across four conditions for the paretic and nonparetic leg. The added inertia and friction of the unpowered anklebot had no statistically significant effect on spatio-temporal parameters of gait, including paretic and nonparetic step time and stance percentage, in both overground and treadmill conditions. Noteworthy, interlimb symmetry as characterized by relative stance duration was greater on the treadmill than overground regardless of loading conditions. The presence of the unpowered robot loading reduced the nonparetic knee peak flexion on the treadmill and paretic peak dorsiflexion overground (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that for these subjects the added inertia and friction of this backdriveable robot did not significantly alter their gait pattern.

Adaptation to walking with an exoskeleton that assists ankle extension.

PubMed

Galle, S; Malcolm, P; Derave, W; De Clercq, D

2013-07-01

The goal of this study was to investigate adaptation to walking with bilateral ankle-foot exoskeletons with kinematic control that assisted ankle extension during push-off. We hypothesized that subjects would show a neuromotor and metabolic adaptation during a 24min walking trial with a powered exoskeleton. Nine female subjects walked on a treadmill at 1.36±0.04ms(-1) during 24min with a powered exoskeleton and 4min with an unpowered exoskeleton. Subjects showed a metabolic adaptation after 18.5±5.0min, followed by an adapted period. Metabolic cost, electromyography and kinematics were compared between the unpowered condition, the beginning of the adaptation and the adapted period. In the beginning of the adaptation (4min), a reduction in metabolic cost of 9% was found compared to the unpowered condition. This reduction was accompanied by reduced muscular activity in the plantarflexor muscles, as the powered exoskeleton delivered part of the necessary ankle extension moment. During the adaptation this metabolic reduction further increased to 16%, notwithstanding a constant exoskeleton assistance. This increased reduction is the result of a neuromotor adaptation in which subjects adapt to walking with the exoskeleton, thereby reducing muscular activity in all leg muscles. Because of the fast adaptation and the significant reductions in metabolic cost we want to highlight the potential of an ankle-foot exoskeleton with kinematic control that assists ankle extension during push-off. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hypersonic drone vehicle design: A multidisciplinary experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

UCLA's Advanced Aeronautic Design group focussed their efforts on design problems of an unmanned hypersonic vehicle. It is felt that a scaled hypersonic drone is necesary to bridge the gap between present theory on hypersonics and the future reality of the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) for two reasons: (1) to fulfill a need for experimental data in the hypersonic regime, and (2) to provide a testbed for the scramjet engine which is to be the primary mode of propulsion for the NASP. The group concentrated on three areas of great concern to NASP design: propulsion, thermal management, and flight systems. Problem solving in these areas was directed toward design of the drone with the idea that the same design techniques could be applied to the NASP. A 70 deg swept double-delta wing configuration, developed in the 70's at the NASA Langley, was chosen as the aerodynamic and geometric model for the drone. This vehicle would be air launched from a B-1 at Mach 0.8 and 48,000 feet, rocket boosted by two internal engines to Mach 10 and 100,000 feet, and allowed to cruise under power of the scramjet engine until burnout. It would then return to base for an unpowered landing. Preliminary energy calculations based on flight requirements give the drone a gross launch weight of 134,000 pounds and an overall length of 85 feet.

On the formation of glide-snow avalanches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitterer, C.; Schweizer, J.

2012-12-01

On steep slopes the full snowpack can glide on the ground; tension cracks may open and eventually the slope may fail as a glide-snow avalanche. Due to their large mass they have considerable destructive potential. Glide-snow avalanches typically occur when the snow-soil interface is moist or wet so that basal friction is reduced. The occurrence, however, of glide cracks and their evolution to glide avalanches are still poorly understood. Consequently, glides are difficult to predict as (i) not all cracks develop into an avalanche, and (ii) for those that do, the time between crack opening and avalanche event might vary from hours to weeks - or on the other hand be so short that there is no warning at all by crack opening. To improve our understanding we monitored several slopes and related glide snow activity to meteorological data. In addition, we explored conditions that favor the formation of a thin wet basal snowpack layer with a physical-based model representing water and heat flux at the snow-soil interface. The statistical analyses revealed that glide-snow avalanche activity might be associated to an early season and a spring condition. While early season conditions tend to have warm and dry autumns followed by heavy snowfalls, spring conditions showed good agreement with increasing air temperature. The model indicates that energy (summer heat) stored in the ground might be sufficient to melt snow at the bottom of the snowpack. Due to capillary forces, water will rise for a few centimeters into the snowpack and thereby reduce friction at the interface. Alternatively, we demonstrate that also in the absence of melt water production at the bottom of the snowpack water may accumulate in the bottom layer due to an upward flux into the snowpack if a dry snowpack overlies a wet soil. The particular conditions that are obviously required at the snow-soil interface explain the strong winter-to-winter variations in snow gliding.

The Toxoplasma Acto-MyoA Motor Complex Is Important but Not Essential for Gliding Motility and Host Cell Invasion

PubMed Central

Jackson, Allison J.; Whitelaw, Jamie A.; Pall, Gurman; Black, Jennifer Ann; Ferguson, David J. P.; Tardieux, Isabelle; Mogilner, Alex; Meissner, Markus

2014-01-01

Apicomplexan parasites are thought to actively invade the host cell by gliding motility. This movement is powered by the parasite's own actomyosin system, and depends on the regulated polymerisation and depolymerisation of actin to generate the force for gliding and host cell penetration. Recent studies demonstrated that Toxoplasma gondii can invade the host cell in the absence of several core components of the invasion machinery, such as the motor protein myosin A (MyoA), the microneme proteins MIC2 and AMA1 and actin, indicating the presence of alternative invasion mechanisms. Here the roles of MyoA, MLC1, GAP45 and Act1, core components of the gliding machinery, are re-dissected in detail. Although important roles of these components for gliding motility and host cell invasion are verified, mutant parasites remain invasive and do not show a block of gliding motility, suggesting that other mechanisms must be in place to enable the parasite to move and invade the host cell. A novel, hypothetical model for parasite gliding motility and invasion is presented based on osmotic forces generated in the cytosol of the parasite that are converted into motility. PMID:24632839

Aerobic power and flight capacity in birds: a phylogenetic test of the heart-size hypothesis.

PubMed

Nespolo, Roberto F; González-Lagos, César; Solano-Iguaran, Jaiber J; Elfwing, Magnus; Garitano-Zavala, Alvaro; Mañosa, Santiago; Alonso, Juan Carlos; Altimiras, Jordi

2018-01-09

Flight capacity is one of the most important innovations in animal evolution; it only evolved in insects, birds, mammals and the extinct pterodactyls. Given that powered flight represents a demanding aerobic activity, an efficient cardiovascular system is essential for the continuous delivery of oxygen to the pectoral muscles during flight. It is well known that the limiting step in the circulation is stroke volume (the volume of blood pumped from the ventricle to the body during each beat), which is determined by the size of the ventricle. Thus, the fresh mass of the heart represents a simple and repeatable anatomical measure of the aerobic power of an animal. Although several authors have compared heart masses across bird species, a phylogenetic comparative analysis is still lacking. By compiling heart sizes for 915 species and applying several statistical procedures controlling for body size and/or testing for adaptive trends in the dataset (e.g. model selection approaches, phylogenetic generalized linear models), we found that (residuals of) heart size is consistently associated with four categories of flight capacity. In general, our results indicate that species exhibiting continuous hovering flight (i.e. hummingbirds) have substantially larger hearts than other groups, species that use flapping flight and gliding show intermediate values, and that species categorized as poor flyers show the smallest values. Our study reveals that on a broad scale, routine flight modes seem to have shaped the energetic requirements of birds sufficiently to be anatomically detected at the comparative level. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Songbird - AN Innovative Uas Combining the Advantages of Fixed Wing and Multi Rotor Uas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thamm, F.-P.; Brieger, N.; Neitzke, K.-P.; Meyer, M.; Jansen, R.; Mönninghof, M.

2015-08-01

This paper describes a family of innovative fixed wing UAS with can vertical take off and land - the SONGBIRD family. With nominal payloads starting from 0.5 kg they can take off and land safely like a multi-rotor UAV, removing the need for an airstrip for the critical phases of operation. A specially designed flight controller allows stable flight at every point of the transition phase between VTOL and fixed wing mode. Because of this smooth process with a all time stable flight, very expensive payload like hyperspectral sensors or advanced optical cameras can be used. Due to their design all airplanes of the SONGBIRD family have excellent horizontal flight properties, a maximum speed of over 110 km/h, good gliding properties and long flight times of up to 1 h. Missions were flown in wind speeds up to 18 m/s. At every time of the flight it is possible to interrupt the mission and hover over a point of interest for detail investigations. The complete flight, including take-off and landing can be performed by autopilot. Designed for daily use in professional environments, SONGBIRDs are built out of glass-fibre and carbon composites for a long service life. For safe operations comprehensive security features are implemented, for example redundant flight controllers and sensors, advanced power management system and mature fail safe procedures. The aircraft can be dismantled into small parts for transportation. SONGBIRDS are available for different pay loads, from 500 g to 2 kg. The SONGBIRD family are interesting tools combining the advantages of multi-copter and fixed wing UAS.

Reduced dislocation density in Ga xIn 1–xP compositionally graded buffer layers through engineered glide plane switch

DOE PAGES

Schulte, Kevin L.; France, Ryan M.; McMahon, William E.; ...

2016-11-17

In this work we develop control over dislocation glide dynamics in Ga xIn 1-xP compositionally graded buffer layers (CGBs) through control of CuPt ordering on the group-III sublattice. The ordered structure is metastable in the bulk, so any glissile dislocation that disrupts the ordered pattern will release stored energy, and experience an increased glide force. Here we show how this connection between atomic ordering and dislocation glide force can be exploited to control the threading dislocation density (TDD) in Ga xIn 1-xP CGBs. When ordered Ga xIn 1-xP is graded from the GaAs lattice constant to InP, the order parametermore » ..eta.. decreases as x decreases, and dislocation glide switches from one set of glide planes to the other. This glide plane switch (GPS) is accompanied by the nucleation of dislocations on the new glide plane, which typically leads to increased TDD. We develop control of the GPS position within a Ga xIn 1-xP CGB through manipulation of deposition temperature, surfactant concentration, and strain-grading rate. We demonstrate a two-stage Ga xIn 1-xP CGB from GaAs to InP with sufficiently low TDD for high performance devices, such as the 4-junction inverted metamorphic multi-junction solar cell, achieved through careful control the GPS position. Here, experimental results are analyzed within the context of a model that considers the force balance on dislocations on the two competing glide planes as a function of the degree of ordering.« less

Time-Lapse Video Microscopy of Gliding Motility in Toxoplasma gondii Reveals a Novel, Biphasic Mechanism of Cell LocomotionV⃞

PubMed Central

Håkansson, Sebastian; Morisaki, Hiroshi; Heuser, John; Sibley, L. David

1999-01-01

Toxoplasma gondii is a member of the phylum Apicomplexa, a diverse group of intracellular parasites that share a unique form of gliding motility. Gliding is substrate dependent and occurs without apparent changes in cell shape and in the absence of traditional locomotory organelles. Here, we demonstrate that gliding is characterized by three distinct forms of motility: circular gliding, upright twirling, and helical rotation. Circular gliding commences while the crescent-shaped parasite lies on its right side, from where it moves in a counterclockwise manner at a rate of ∼1.5 μm/s. Twirling occurs when the parasite rights itself vertically, remaining attached to the substrate by its posterior end and spinning clockwise. Helical gliding is similar to twirling except that it occurs while the parasite is positioned horizontally, resulting in forward movement that follows the path of a corkscrew. The parasite begins lying on its left side (where the convex side is defined as dorsal) and initiates a clockwise revolution along the long axis of the crescent-shaped body. Time-lapse video analyses indicated that helical gliding is a biphasic process. During the first 180o of the turn, the parasite moves forward one body length at a rate of ∼1–3 μm/s. In the second phase, the parasite flips onto its left side, in the process undergoing little net forward motion. All three forms of motility were disrupted by inhibitors of actin filaments (cytochalasin D) and myosin ATPase (butanedione monoxime), indicating that they rely on an actinomyosin motor in the parasite. Gliding motility likely provides the force for active penetration of the host cell and may participate in dissemination within the host and thus is of both fundamental and practical interest. PMID:10564254

Perceptual Distortions in Pitch and Time Reveal Active Prediction and Support for an Auditory Pitch-Motion Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Henry, Molly J.; McAuley, J. Devin

2013-01-01

A number of accounts of human auditory perception assume that listeners use prior stimulus context to generate predictions about future stimulation. Here, we tested an auditory pitch-motion hypothesis that was developed from this perspective. Listeners judged either the time change (i.e., duration) or pitch change of a comparison frequency glide relative to a standard (referent) glide. Under a constant-velocity assumption, listeners were hypothesized to use the pitch velocity (Δf/Δt) of the standard glide to generate predictions about the pitch velocity of the comparison glide, leading to perceptual distortions along the to-be-judged dimension when the velocities of the two glides differed. These predictions were borne out in the pattern of relative points of subjective equality by a significant three-way interaction between the velocities of the two glides and task. In general, listeners’ judgments along the task-relevant dimension (pitch or time) were affected by expectations generated by the constant-velocity standard, but in an opposite manner for the two stimulus dimensions. When the comparison glide velocity was faster than the standard, listeners overestimated time change, but underestimated pitch change, whereas when the comparison glide velocity was slower than the standard, listeners underestimated time change, but overestimated pitch change. Perceptual distortions were least evident when the velocities of the standard and comparison glides were matched. Fits of an imputed velocity model further revealed increasingly larger distortions at faster velocities. The present findings provide support for the auditory pitch-motion hypothesis and add to a larger body of work revealing a role for active prediction in human auditory perception. PMID:23936462

Perceptual distortions in pitch and time reveal active prediction and support for an auditory pitch-motion hypothesis.

PubMed

Henry, Molly J; McAuley, J Devin

2013-01-01

A number of accounts of human auditory perception assume that listeners use prior stimulus context to generate predictions about future stimulation. Here, we tested an auditory pitch-motion hypothesis that was developed from this perspective. Listeners judged either the time change (i.e., duration) or pitch change of a comparison frequency glide relative to a standard (referent) glide. Under a constant-velocity assumption, listeners were hypothesized to use the pitch velocity (Δf/Δt) of the standard glide to generate predictions about the pitch velocity of the comparison glide, leading to perceptual distortions along the to-be-judged dimension when the velocities of the two glides differed. These predictions were borne out in the pattern of relative points of subjective equality by a significant three-way interaction between the velocities of the two glides and task. In general, listeners' judgments along the task-relevant dimension (pitch or time) were affected by expectations generated by the constant-velocity standard, but in an opposite manner for the two stimulus dimensions. When the comparison glide velocity was faster than the standard, listeners overestimated time change, but underestimated pitch change, whereas when the comparison glide velocity was slower than the standard, listeners underestimated time change, but overestimated pitch change. Perceptual distortions were least evident when the velocities of the standard and comparison glides were matched. Fits of an imputed velocity model further revealed increasingly larger distortions at faster velocities. The present findings provide support for the auditory pitch-motion hypothesis and add to a larger body of work revealing a role for active prediction in human auditory perception.

Marked colour divergence in the gliding membranes of a tropical lizard mirrors population differences in the colour of falling leaves.

PubMed

Klomp, D A; Stuart-Fox, D; Das, I; Ord, T J

2014-12-01

Populations of the Bornean gliding lizard, Draco cornutus, differ markedly in the colour of their gliding membranes. They also differ in local vegetation type (mangrove forest versus lowland rainforest) and consequently, the colour of falling leaves (red and brown/black in mangrove versus green, brown and black in rainforest). We show that the gliding membranes of these lizards closely match the colours of freshly fallen leaves in the local habitat as they appear to the visual system of birds (their probable predators). Furthermore, gliding membranes more closely resembled colours of local fallen leaves than standing foliage or fallen leaves in the other population's habitat. This suggests that the two populations have diverged in gliding membrane coloration to match the colours of their local falling leaves, and that mimicking falling leaves is an adaptation that functions to reduce predation by birds. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Effects of Glide Path on the Centering Ability and Preparation Time of Two Reciprocating Instruments

PubMed Central

Coelho, Marcelo Santos; Fontana, Carlos Eduardo; Kato, Augusto Shoji; de Martin, Alexandre Sigrist; da Silveira Bueno, Carlos Eduardo

2016-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of establishing glide path on the centering ability and preparation time of two single-file reciprocating systems in mesial root canals of mandibular molars. Methods and Materials: Sixty extracted mandibular molars with curvatures of 25-39 degrees and separate foramina for the mesiobuccal and mesiolingual canals, were divided into four groups (n=15); WaveOne+glide path; WaveOne; Reciproc+glide path and Reciproc. Non-patent canals were excluded and only one canal in each tooth was instrumented. A manual glide path was established in first and third groups with #10, 15 and 20 hand K-files. Preparation was performed with reciprocating in-and-out motion, with a 3-4 mm amplitude and slight apical pressure. Initial and final radiographs were taken to analyze the amount of dentin removed in the instrumented canals. The radiographs were superimposed with an image editing software and examined to assess discrepancies at 3-, 6- and 9-mm distances from the apex. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Preparation in groups without glide paths was swifter than the other groups (P=0.001). However, no difference was observed regarding centering ability. Conclusion: Establishing a glide path increased the total instrumentation time for preparing curved canals with WaveOne and Reciproc instruments. Glide path had no influence on the centering ability of these systems. PMID:26843875

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schulte, Kevin L.; France, Ryan M.; McMahon, William E.

In this work we develop control over dislocation glide dynamics in Ga xIn 1-xP compositionally graded buffer layers (CGBs) through control of CuPt ordering on the group-III sublattice. The ordered structure is metastable in the bulk, so any glissile dislocation that disrupts the ordered pattern will release stored energy, and experience an increased glide force. Here we show how this connection between atomic ordering and dislocation glide force can be exploited to control the threading dislocation density (TDD) in Ga xIn 1-xP CGBs. When ordered Ga xIn 1-xP is graded from the GaAs lattice constant to InP, the order parametermore » ..eta.. decreases as x decreases, and dislocation glide switches from one set of glide planes to the other. This glide plane switch (GPS) is accompanied by the nucleation of dislocations on the new glide plane, which typically leads to increased TDD. We develop control of the GPS position within a Ga xIn 1-xP CGB through manipulation of deposition temperature, surfactant concentration, and strain-grading rate. We demonstrate a two-stage Ga xIn 1-xP CGB from GaAs to InP with sufficiently low TDD for high performance devices, such as the 4-junction inverted metamorphic multi-junction solar cell, achieved through careful control the GPS position. Here, experimental results are analyzed within the context of a model that considers the force balance on dislocations on the two competing glide planes as a function of the degree of ordering.« less

Tracking Control and System Development for Laser-Driven Micro-Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kajiwara, Itsuro; Hoshino, Kentaro; Hara, Shinji; Shiokata, Daisuke; Yabe, Takashi

The purpose of this paper is to design a control system for an integrated laser propulsion/tracking system to achieve continuous motion and control of laser-driven micro-vehicles. Laser propulsion is significant in achieving miniature and light micro-vehicles. A laser-driven micro-airplane has been studied using a paper airplane and YAG laser, resulting in successful gliding of the airplane. High-performance laser tracking control is required to achieve continuous flight. This paper presents a control design strategy based on the generalized Kalman-Yakubovic-Popov lemma to achieve this requirement. Experiments have been carried out to evaluate the performance of the integrated laser propulsion/tracking system.

14 CFR 171.265 - Glide path performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... impressed on the microwave carrier of the radiated glide slope signal in the form of a unique summation of... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) NAVIGATIONAL FACILITIES NON-FEDERAL NAVIGATION FACILITIES Interim Standard Microwave... assumption that the aircraft is heading directly toward the facility. (a) The glide slope antenna system must...

14 CFR 171.265 - Glide path performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... impressed on the microwave carrier of the radiated glide slope signal in the form of a unique summation of... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) NAVIGATIONAL FACILITIES NON-FEDERAL NAVIGATION FACILITIES Interim Standard Microwave... assumption that the aircraft is heading directly toward the facility. (a) The glide slope antenna system must...

14 CFR 171.265 - Glide path performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... impressed on the microwave carrier of the radiated glide slope signal in the form of a unique summation of... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) NAVIGATIONAL FACILITIES NON-FEDERAL NAVIGATION FACILITIES Interim Standard Microwave... assumption that the aircraft is heading directly toward the facility. (a) The glide slope antenna system must...

14 CFR 171.265 - Glide path performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... impressed on the microwave carrier of the radiated glide slope signal in the form of a unique summation of... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) NAVIGATIONAL FACILITIES NON-FEDERAL NAVIGATION FACILITIES Interim Standard Microwave... assumption that the aircraft is heading directly toward the facility. (a) The glide slope antenna system must...

14 CFR 23.71 - Glide: Single-engine airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Glide: Single-engine airplanes. 23.71 Section 23.71 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AIRCRAFT... Glide: Single-engine airplanes. The maximum horizontal distance traveled in still air, in nautical miles...

14 CFR 23.71 - Glide: Single-engine airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Glide: Single-engine airplanes. 23.71 Section 23.71 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AIRCRAFT... Glide: Single-engine airplanes. The maximum horizontal distance traveled in still air, in nautical miles...

Parameter study of simplified dragonfly airfoil geometry at Reynolds number of 6000.

PubMed

Levy, David-Elie; Seifert, Avraham

2010-10-21

Aerodynamic study of a simplified Dragonfly airfoil in gliding flight at Reynolds numbers below 10,000 is motivated by both pure scientific interest and technological applications. At these Reynolds numbers, the natural insect flight could provide inspiration for technology development of Micro UAV's and more. Insect wings are typically characterized by corrugated airfoils. The present study follows a fundamental flow physics study (Levy and Seifert, 2009), that revealed the importance of flow separation from the first corrugation, the roll-up of the separated shear layer to discrete vortices and their role in promoting flow reattachment to the aft arc, as the leading mechanism enabling high-lift, low drag performance of the Dragonfly gliding flight. This paper describes the effect of systematic airfoil geometry variations on the aerodynamic properties of a simplified Dragonfly airfoil at Reynolds number of 6000. The parameter study includes a detailed analysis of small variations of the nominal geometry, such as corrugation placement or height, rear arc and trailing edge shape. Numerical simulations using the 2D laminar Navier-Stokes equations revealed that the flow accelerating over the first corrugation slope is followed by an unsteady pressure recovery, combined with vortex shedding. The latter allows the reattachment of the flow over the rear arc. Also, the drag values are directly linked to the vortices' magnitude. This parametric study shows that geometric variations which reduce the vortices' amplitude, as reduction of the rear cavity depth or the reduction of the rear arc and trailing edge curvature, will reduce the drag values. Other changes will extend the flow reattachment over the rear arc for a larger mean lift coefficients range; such as the negative deflection of the forward flat plate. These changes consequently reduce the drag values at higher mean lift coefficients. The detailed geometry study enabled the definition of a corrugated airfoil geometry with enhanced aerodynamic properties, such as range and endurance factors, as compared to the nominal airfoil studied in the literature. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Airway management in a bleeding adult following tonsillectomy: a case report.

PubMed

Brar, Manjit Singh

2009-12-01

A 37-year-old morbidly obese man with a history of obstructive sleep apnea underwent elective tonsillectomy. The patient was successfully intubated with an 8.0-mm regular cuffed endotracheal tube. A large video laryngoscope (GlideScope, Verathon Inc, Bothell, Washington) was used for intubation, as airway assessment indicated a potentially difficult airway. The surgery was uneventful, but active bleeding was noticed in the oropharynx after extubation. The patient was reintubated, again with the use of a GlideScope. The bleeding site was cauterized, and the patient was extubated after meeting the criteria for an awake extubation. He was discharged home the following day. Eight days postoperatively, the patient returned to the emergency center with spontaneous bleeding from the oropharynx. He was taken to the operating room and, based on the previous GlideScope use, an attempt was made to intubate the patient with a GlideScope. The attempt failed, as the GlideScope screen was blurred by the presence of blood in the oropharynx, even though the oropharynx was suctioned. Resuctioning and reinsertion of the GlideScope probe did not provide an adequate visual field. After 2 failed attempts, the use of the GlideScope was abandoned. Subsequently, the patient's trachea was successfully intubated with a size 4 Macintosh blade.

StarBooster Demonstrator Cluster Configuration Analysis/Verification Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeTurris, Dianne J.

2003-01-01

In order to study the flight dynamics of the cluster configuration of two first stage boosters and upper-stage, flight-testing of subsonic sub-scale models has been undertaken using two glideback boosters launched on a center upper-stage. Three high power rockets clustered together were built and flown to demonstrate vertical launch, separation and horizontal recovery of the boosters. Although the boosters fly to conventional aircraft landing, the centerstage comes down separately under its own parachute. The goal of the project has been to collect data during separation and flight for comparison with a six degree of freedom simulation. The configuration for the delta wing canard boosters comes from a design by Starcraft Boosters, Inc. The subscale rockets were constructed of foam covered in carbon or fiberglass and were launched with commercially available solid rocket motors. The first set of boosters built were 3-ft tall with a 4-ft tall centerstage, and two additional sets of boosters were made that were each over 5-ft tall with a 7.5 ft centerstage. The rocket cluster is launched vertically, then after motor bum out the boosters are separated and flown to a horizontal landing under radio-control. An on-board data acquisition system recorded data during both the launch and glide phases of flight.

Numerical flow simulation of a reusable sounding rocket during nose-up rotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzuu, Kazuto; Kitamura, Keiichi; Fujimoto, Keiichiro; Shima, Eiji

2010-11-01

Flow around a reusable sounding rocket during nose-up rotation is simulated using unstructured compressible CFD code. While a reusable sounding rocket is expected to reduce the cost of the flight management, it is demanded that this rocket has good performance for wide range of flight conditions from vertical take-off to vertical landing. A rotating body, which corresponds to a vehicle's motion just before vertical landing, is one of flight environments that largely affect its aerodynamic design. Unlike landing of the space shuttle, this vehicle must rotate from gliding position to vertical landing position in nose-up direction. During this rotation, the vehicle generates massive separations in the wake. As a result, induced flow becomes unsteady and could have influence on aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle. In this study, we focus on the analysis of such dynamic characteristics of the rotating vehicle. An employed numerical code is based on a cell-centered finite volume compressible flow solver applied to a moving grid system. The moving grid is introduced for the analysis of rotating motion. Furthermore, in order to estimate an unsteady turbulence, we employed DDES method as a turbulence model. In this simulation, flight velocity is subsonic. Through this simulation, we discuss the effect on aerodynamic characteristics of a vehicle's shape and motion.

Around Marshall

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-01

A team of NASA researchers from Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Dryden Flight Research center have proven that beamed light can be used to power an aircraft, a first-in-the-world accomplishment to the best of their knowledge. Using an experimental custom built radio-controlled model aircraft, the team has demonstrated a system that beams enough light energy from the ground to power the propeller of an aircraft and sustain it in flight. Special photovoltaic arrays on the plane, similar to solar cells, receive the light energy and convert it to electric current to drive the propeller motor. In a series of indoor flights this week at MSFC, a lightweight custom built laser beam was aimed at the airplane `s solar panels. The laser tracks the plane, maintaining power on its cells until the end of the flight when the laser is turned off and the airplane glides to a landing. The laser source demonstration represents the capability to beam more power to a plane so that it can reach higher altitudes and have a greater flight range without having to carry fuel or batteries, enabling an indefinite flight time. The demonstration was a collaborative effort between the Dryden Center at Edward's, California, where the aircraft was designed and built, and MSFC, where integration and testing of the laser and photovoltaic cells was done. Laser power beaming is a promising technology for consideration in new aircraft design and operation, and supports NASA's goals in the development of revolutionary aerospace technologies. Photographed with their invention are (from left to right): David Bushman and Tony Frackowiak, both of Dryden; and MSFC's Robert Burdine.

The change in retentive force of magnetic attachment by abrasion.

PubMed

Huang, Yuanjin; Tawada, Yasuyuki; Hata, Yoshiaki; Watanabe, Fumihiko

2008-07-01

Magnets are frequently applied to removable dentures as retentive attachments. A magnet-retained removable overdenture might be slightly shifted from side to side by eccentric movement in the mouth, and the surface of magnetic attachment may be worn as a result. However, the relationship between the retentive force of magnetic attachment and its surface abrasion has not been reported. The purpose of this research is to investigate this relationship. Ten Mgfit DX 400 magnetic attachments for natural tooth roots were used for this experiment. The magnetic attachments were embedded in autopolymerizing acrylic resin, and ten pairs of specimens were fabricated. A 5-mm repeated gliding motion was applied on each pair of specimens until 30 000, 50 000, or 90 000 cycles had been achieved. The abrasion machine was under 5 kg loading, and the slide speed was 60 times/min. The retentive force of magnetic attachment was measured with a tension gauge at (1) before gliding; (2) after 30 000 gliding cycles; (3)after 50 000 gliding cycles; or (4) after 90 000 gliding cycles. The average change of retentive force of ten magnetic attachments after 30 000, 50 000, and 90 000 gliding cycles was 0.016 N, 0.003 N, and -0.008 N, respectively. The change was statistically analyzed using a paired-sample t test, which showed that the number of gliding cycles did not affect the retentive force of magnetic attachment significantly. The surface of magnetic attachment after gliding was observed by a microscope, and the abrasion of this attachment surface is clearly seen.

[Socio-cultural aspects regarding the perception of quality of life amongst people engaging in extreme (high-risk) sports].

PubMed

Pimentel, Giuliano Gomes de Assis

2008-01-01

Considering the search for adventure activities as a form of improving life quality, the present paper aimed at analyzing the perception of some dimensions of that category among hang-gliding apprentices. A questionnaire was applied to 30 brasilians hang-gliding and paragliding apprentices in order to identify aspects such as, physical activity, preventive behavior, nutrition, stress control and social relationships. Comparing results with the ones found in other adventure sports, it was observed that flyers adopt a competitive and risky behavior, not showing good results in relation to affectionate relationships and physical exercises. On the other hand, all of them are considered as wealthy and more used to dealing with stress. Even not possessing good physical conditioning, individuals practice flight just due to their technical knowledge and the dominium of technology Thus, apprentices use those sport tensions as a form of training the stress control in risky situations. Regarding mental health, activities of active leisure are highly recommended as an escape valve to stress. The group studied showed that besides increasing the tolerance to stress, generated by risky situations, individuals went beyond, once it was observed that the risks of such sport have turned the individuals into more and more insensitive to the professional life pressure.

Glides and Phonological Change in Mombasan Swahili.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, John

1991-01-01

A study of the pronunciation of an adult male Swahili speaker, a native and long-term resident of Mombasa Old Town, supplemented with notes on other adult speakers, suggests a new account of glides and phonological change in this variation of the language. The asymmetrical distribution of the two glide types (palatal and labiovelar) is analyzed…

Dislocation dynamics simulations of interactions between gliding dislocations and radiation induced prismatic loops in zirconium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drouet, Julie; Dupuy, Laurent; Onimus, Fabien; Mompiou, Frédéric; Perusin, Simon; Ambard, Antoine

2014-06-01

The mechanical behavior of Pressurized Water Reactor fuel cladding tubes made of zirconium alloys is strongly affected by neutron irradiation due to the high density of radiation induced dislocation loops. In order to investigate the interaction mechanisms between gliding dislocations and loops in zirconium, a new nodal dislocation dynamics code, adapted to Hexagonal Close Packed metals, has been used. Various configurations have been systematically computed considering different glide planes, basal or prismatic, and different characters, edge or screw, for gliding dislocations with -type Burgers vectors. Simulations show various interaction mechanisms such as (i) absorption of a loop on an edge dislocation leading to the formation of a double super-jog, (ii) creation of a helical turn, on a screw dislocation, that acts as a strong pinning point or (iii) sweeping of a loop by a gliding dislocation. It is shown that the clearing of loops is more favorable when the dislocation glides in the basal plane than in the prismatic plane explaining the easy dislocation channeling in the basal plane observed after neutron irradiation by transmission electron microscopy.

Impact of alloy composition on one-dimensional glide of small dislocation loops in concentrated solid solution alloys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Shi; Bei, Hongbin; Robertson, Ian M.

2017-06-08

One-dimensional glide of loops during ion irradiation at 773 K in a series of Ni-containing concentrated solid solution alloys has been observed directly during experiments conducted inside a transmission electron microscope. It was found that the frequency of the oscillatory motion of the loop, the loop glide velocity as well as the loop jump distance were dependent on the composition of the alloy and the size of the loop. Loop glide was most common for small loops and occurred more frequently in the less complex alloys, being highest in Ni, then NiCo, NiFe and NiCoFeCr. As a result, no measurablemore » loop glide occurred in the NiCoCr, NiCoFeCrMn and NiCoFeCrPd alloys.« less

Uphill walking with a simple exoskeleton: plantarflexion assistance leads to proximal adaptations.

PubMed

Galle, S; Malcolm, P; Derave, W; De Clercq, D

2015-01-01

While level walking with a pneumatic ankle-foot exoskeleton is studied extensively, less is known on uphill walking. The goals of this study were to get a better understanding of the biomechanical adaptations and the influence of actuation timing on metabolic cost during uphill walking with a plantarflexion assisting exoskeleton. Seven female subjects walked on a treadmill with 15% inclination at 1.36 ms(-1) in five conditions (4 min): one condition with an unpowered exoskeleton and four with a powered exoskeleton with onset of pneumatic muscle actuation at 19, 26, 34 and 41% of stride. During uphill walking the metabolic cost was more than 10% lower for all powered conditions compared to the unpowered condition. When actuation onset was in between 26 and 34% of the stride, metabolic cost was suggested to be minimal. While it was expected that exoskeleton assistance would reduce muscular activity of the plantarflexors during push-off, subjects used the additional power to raise the body centre of mass in the beginning of each step to a higher point compared to unpowered walking. This reduced the muscular activity in the m. vastus lateralis and the m. biceps femoris as less effort was necessary to reach the highest body centre of mass position in the single support phase. In conclusion, subjects can use plantarflexion assistance during the push-off to reduce muscular activity in more proximal joints in order to minimize energy cost during uphill locomotion. Kinetic data seem necessary to fully understand this mechanism, which highlights the complexity of human-exoskeleton interaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of a glide path on apical extrusion of debris during canal preparation using single-file systems in curved canals.

PubMed

Topçuoğlu, H S; Düzgün, S; Akpek, F; Topçuoğlu, G; Aktı, A

2016-06-01

To evaluate the effect of a glide path on the amount of apically extruded debris during canal preparation using single-file systems in curved canals. Ninety extracted mandibular molar teeth were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 15 for each group) for canal instrumentation. Endodontic access cavities were prepared in each tooth. In three of the six groups, a glide path was not created whereas a glide path was created using PathFile instruments on the mesial canals of all teeth in the remaining three groups. The mesial canals of the teeth were then instrumented with the following single-file instrument systems: WaveOne, Reciproc and OneShape. Debris extruded apically during instrumentation was collected into pre-weighed Eppendorf tubes. The tubes were then stored in an incubator at 70 °C for 5 days. The weight of the dry extruded debris was established by subtracting the pre-instrumentation and post-instrumentation weight of the Eppendorf tubes for each group. The data obtained were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (anova) and Tukey's post hoc tests. The OneShape file was associated with less debris extrusion than the Reciproc and WaveOne files when canal instrumentation was performed without a glide path (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was found between the Reciproc and WaveOne files (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference amongst the OneShape, Reciproc and WaveOne files when a glide path was created before canal preparation in curved root canals (P > 0.05). All systems extruded significantly less debris in groups with a glide path than in groups without a glide path (P < 0.05). All instruments were associated with apical extrusion of debris. Creating a glide path prior to canal instrumentation reduced the amount of apically extruded debris in curved canals. © 2015 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tiltrotor Vibration Reduction Through Higher Harmonic Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nixon, Mark W.; Kvaternik, Raymond G.; Settle, T. Ben

1997-01-01

The results of a joint NASA/Army/Bell Helicopter Textron wind-tunnel test to assess the potential of higher harmonic control (HHC) for reducing vibrations in tiltrotor aircraft operating in the airplane mode of flight, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a Bell-developed HHC algorithm called MAVSS (Multipoint Adaptive Vibration Suppression System) are presented. The test was conducted in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel using an unpowered 1/5-scale semispan aeroelastic model of the V-22 which was modified to incorporate an HHC system employing both the rotor swashplate and the wing flaperon. The effectiveness of the swashplate and the flaperon acting either singly or in combination in reducing IP and 3P wing vibrations over a wide range of tunnel airspeeds and rotor rotational speeds was demonstrated. The MAVSS algorithm was found to be robust to variations in tunnel airspeed and rotor speed, requiring only occasional on-line recalculations of the system transfer matrix. HHC had only a small (usually beneficial) effect on blade loads but increased pitch link loads by 25%. No degradation in aeroelastic stability was noted for any of the conditions tested.

Effortful Pitch Glide: A Potential New Exercise Evaluated by Dynamic MRI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miloro, Keri Vasquez; Pearson, William G., Jr.; Langmore, Susan E.

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanics of the effortful pitch glide (EPG) with swallowing using dynamic MRI. The EPG is a combination of a pitch glide and a pharyngeal squeeze maneuver for targeting laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles. The authors hypothesized that the EPG would elicit significantly greater structural…

Dynamics, OH distributions and UV emission of a gliding arc at various flow-rates investigated by optical measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jiajian; Sun, Zhiwei; Li, Zhongshan; Ehn, Andreas; Aldén, Marcus; Salewski, Mirko; Leipold, Frank; Kusano, Yukihiro

2014-07-01

We demonstrate a plasma discharge which is generated between two diverging electrodes and extended into a gliding arc in non-equilibrium condition by an air flow at atmospheric pressure. Effects of the air flow rates on the dynamics, ground-state OH distributions and spectral characterization of UV emission of the gliding arc were investigated by optical methods. High-speed photography was utilized to reveal flow-rate dependent dynamics such as ignitions, propagation, short-cutting events, extinctions and conversions of the discharge from glowtype to spark-type. Short-cutting events and ignitions occur more frequently at higher flow rates. The anchor points of the gliding arc are mostly steady at the top of the electrodes at lower flow rates whereas at higher flow rates they glide up along the electrodes most of the time. The afterglow of fully developed gliding arcs is observed to decay over hundreds of microseconds after being electronically short-cut by a newly ignited arc. The extinction time decreases with the increase of the flow rate. The frequency of the conversion of a discharge from glow-type to spark-type increases with the flow rate. Additionally, spatial distributions of ground-state OH were investigated using planar laser-induced fluorescence. The results show that the shape, height, intensity and thickness of ground-state OH distribution vary significantly with air flow rates. Finally, UV emission of the gliding arc is measured using optical emission spectroscopy and it is found that the emission intensity of NO γ (A-X), OH (A-X) and N2 (C-B) increase with the flow rates showing more characteristics of spark-type arcs. The observed phenomena indicate the significance of the interaction between local turbulence and the gliding arc.

Maneuvering control and configuration adaptation of a biologically inspired morphing aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdulrahim, Mujahid

Natural flight as a source of inspiration for aircraft design was prominent with early aircraft but became marginalized as aircraft became larger and faster. With recent interest in small unmanned air vehicles, biological inspiration is a possible technology to enhance mission performance of aircraft that are dimensionally similar to gliding birds. Serial wing joints, loosely modeling the avian skeletal structure, are used in the current study to allow significant reconfiguration of the wing shape. The wings are reconfigured to optimize aerodynamic performance and maneuvering metrics related to specific mission tasks. Wing shapes for each mission are determined and related to the seagulls, falcons, albatrosses, and non-migratory African swallows on which the aircraft are based. Variable wing geometry changes the vehicle dynamics, affording versatility in flight behavior but also requiring appropriate compensation to maintain stability and controllability. Time-varying compensation is in the form of a baseline controller which adapts to both the variable vehicle dynamics and to the changing mission requirements. Wing shape is adapted in flight to minimize a cost function which represents energy, temporal, and spatial efficiency. An optimal control architecture unifies the control and adaptation tasks.

Silicon Carbide Mixers Demonstrated to Improve the Interference Immunity of Radio-Based Aircraft Avionics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.

1998-01-01

Concern over the interference of stray radiofrequency (RF) emissions with key aircraft avionics is evident during takeoff and landing of every commercial flight when the flight attendant requests that all portable electronics be switched off. The operation of key radio-based avionics (such as glide-slope and localizer approach instruments) depends on the ability of front-end RF receivers to detect and amplify desired information signals while rejecting interference from undesired RF sources both inside and outside the aircraft. Incidents where key navigation and approach avionics malfunction because of RF interference clearly represent an increasing threat to flight safety as the radio spectrum becomes more crowded. In an initial feasibility experiment, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the NASA Lewis Research Center recently demonstrated the strategic use of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor components to significantly reduce the susceptibility of an RF receiver circuit to undesired RF interference. A pair of silicon carbide mixer diodes successfully reduced RF interference (intermodulation distortion) in a prototype receiver circuit by a factor of 10 (20 dB) in comparison to a pair of commercial silicon-based mixer diodes.

An approximate, maximum terminal velocity descent to a point

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eisler, G.R.; Hull, D.G.

1987-01-01

No closed form control solution exists for maximizing the terminal velocity of a hypersonic glider at an arbitrary point. As an alternative, this study uses neighboring extremal theory to provide a sampled data feedback law to guide the vehicle to a constrained ground range and altitude. The guidance algorithm is divided into two parts: 1) computation of a nominal, approximate, maximum terminal velocity trajectory to a constrained final altitude and computation of the resulting unconstrained groundrange, and 2) computation of the neighboring extremal control perturbation at the sample value of flight path angle to compensate for changes in the approximatemore » physical model and enable the vehicle to reach the on-board computed groundrange. The trajectories are characterized by glide and dive flight to the target to minimize the time spent in the denser parts of the atmosphere. The proposed on-line scheme successfully brings the final altitude and range constraints together, as well as compensates for differences in flight model, atmosphere, and aerodynamics at the expense of guidance update computation time. Comparison with an independent, parameter optimization solution for the terminal velocity is excellent. 6 refs., 3 figs.« less

Development of Bird-like Micro Aerial Vehicle with Flapping and Feathering Wing Motions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maglasang, Jonathan; Goto, Norihiro; Isogai, Koji

To investigate the feasibility of a highly efficient flapping system capable of avian maneuvers, such as rapid takeoff, hover and gliding, a full scale bird-like (ornithopter) flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle (MAV) shaped and patterned after a typical pigeon (Columba livia) has been designed and constructed. Both numerical and experimental methods have been used in the development of this vehicle. This flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle utilizes both the flapping and feathering motions of an avian wing by employing a novel flapping-feathering mechanism, which has been synthesized and constructed so as to best describe the properly coordinated flapping and feathering wing motions at phase angle difference of 90° in a horizontal steady level flight condition. This design allows high flapping and feathering amplitudes and is configurable for asymmetric wing motions which are desirable in high-speed flapping flight and maneuvering. The preliminary results indicate its viability as a practical and an efficient flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle.

Pilot evaluation of sailplane handling qualities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennett, A. G., Jr.

1978-01-01

The evaluation sailplanes were found generally deficient in the area of cockpit layout. The pilots indicated general dissatisfaction with high pitch sensitivity especially when coupled with inertially induced stick forces. While all sailplanes were judged satisfactory for centering thermals and in the ease of speed control in circling flight, pilot opinions diverged on the maneuvering response, pull-out characteristics from a dive, and on phugoid damping. Lateral-directional control problems were noted mainly during takeoff and landing for most sailplanes with the landing wheel ahead of center of gravity. Pilot opinion of in-flight lateral-directional stability and control was generally satisfactory. Five of the evaluation sailplanes exhibited a very narrow airspeed band in which perceptible stall warning buffet occurred. However, this characteristic was considered not objectionable when stall recovery was easy. The pilots objected to the characteristics of a wide airspeed band of stall warning followed by a stall with yawing and rolling tendency and substantial loss of altitude during the stall. Glide path control for the evaluation sailplanes was found to be generally objectionable.

Simulation comparison of a decoupled longitudinal control system and a velocity vector control wheel steering system during landings in wind shear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimball, G., Jr.

1980-01-01

A simulator comparison of the velocity vector control wheel steering (VCWS) system and a decoupled longitudinal control system is presented. The piloting task was to use the electronic attitude direction indicator (EADI) to capture and maintain a 3 degree glide slope in the presence of wind shear and to complete the landing using the perspective runway included on the EADI. The decoupled control system used constant prefilter and feedback gains to provide steady state decoupling of flight path angle, pitch angle, and forward velocity. The decoupled control system improved the pilots' ability to control airspeed and flight path angle during the final stages of an approach made in severe wind shear. The system also improved their ability to complete safe landings. The pilots preferred the decoupled control system in severe winds and, on a pilot rating scale, rated the approach and landing task with the decoupled control system as much as 3 to 4 increments better than use of the VCWS system.

Quadrupedal locomotor performance in two species of arboreal squirrels: predicting energy savings of gliding

Treesearch

Elizabeth A. Flaherty; Merav Ben-David; Winston P. Smith

2010-01-01

Gliding allows mammals to exploit canopy habitats of old-growth forests possibly as a means to save energy. To assess costs of quadrupedal locomotion for a gliding arboreal mammal, we used open-flow respirometry and a variable-speed treadmill to measure oxygen consumption and to calculate cost of transport, excess exercise oxygen consumption, and excess post-exercise...

Fast optimization of glide vehicle reentry trajectory based on genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Jun; Dong, Ruixing; Yuan, Xuejun; Wang, Chuangwei

2018-02-01

An optimization method of reentry trajectory based on genetic algorithm is presented to meet the need of reentry trajectory optimization for glide vehicle. The dynamic model for the glide vehicle during reentry period is established. Considering the constraints of heat flux, dynamic pressure, overload etc., the optimization of reentry trajectory is investigated by utilizing genetic algorithm. The simulation shows that the method presented by this paper is effective for the optimization of reentry trajectory of glide vehicle. The efficiency and speed of this method is comparative with the references. Optimization results meet all constraints, and the on-line fast optimization is potential by pre-processing the offline samples.

Root canal anatomy preservation of WaveOne reciprocating files with or without glide path.

PubMed

Berutti, Elio; Paolino, Davide Salvatore; Chiandussi, Giorgio; Alovisi, Mario; Cantatore, Giuseppe; Castellucci, Arnaldo; Pasqualini, Damiano

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the influence of glide path on canal curvature and axis modification after instrumentation with WaveOne Primary reciprocating files. Thirty ISO 15, 0.02 taper Endo Training Blocks were used. In group 1, glide path was created with PathFile 1, 2, and 3 at working length, whereas in group 2, glide path was not performed. In both groups, canals were shaped with WaveOne Primary reciprocating files at working length. Preinstrumentation and postinstrumentation digital images were superimposed and processed with Matlab r2010b software to analyze the curvature radius ratio (CRr) and the relative axis error (rAe), representing canal curvature modification. Data were analyzed with 1-way balanced analyses of variance at 2 levels (P < .05). Glide path was found to be extremely significant for both CRr parameter (F = 9.59; df = 1; P = .004) and rAe parameter (F = 13.55; df = 1; P = .001). Canal modifications seem to be significantly reduced when previous glide path is performed by using the new WaveOne nickel-titanium single-file system. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Informative are the Vertical Buoyancy and the Prone Gliding Tests to Assess Young Swimmers’ Hydrostatic and Hydrodynamic Profiles?

PubMed Central

Barbosa, Tiago M.; Costa, Mário J.; Morais, Jorge E; Moreira, Marc; Silva, António J.; Marinho, Daniel A.

2012-01-01

The aim of this research was to develop a path-flow analysis model to highlight the relationships between buoyancy and prone gliding tests and some selected anthropometrical and biomechanical variables. Thirty-eight young male swimmers (12.97 ± 1.05 years old) with several competitive levels were evaluated. It were assessed the body mass, height, fat mass, body surface area, vertical buoyancy, prone gliding after wall push-off, stroke length, stroke frequency and velocity after a maximal 25 [m] swim. The confirmatory model included the body mass, height, fat mass, prone gliding test, stroke length, stroke frequency and velocity. All theoretical paths were verified except for the vertical buoyancy test that did not present any relationship with anthropometrical and biomechanical variables nor with the prone gliding test. The good-of-fit from the confirmatory path-flow model, assessed with the standardized root mean square residuals (SRMR), is considered as being close to the cut-off value, but even so not suitable of the theory (SRMR = 0.11). As a conclusion, vertical buoyancy and prone gliding tests are not the best techniques to assess the swimmer’s hydrostatic and hydrodynamic profile, respectively. PMID:23486528

STS-114 landing at Edwards Air Force Base

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-08-09

STS114-S-046 (9 August 2005) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery, with its crew of seven astronauts onboard, glides to a pre-dawn landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Touchdown occurred at 5:11 a.m. (PDT) August 9, 2005. Astronauts Eileen M. Collins and James M. Kelly, STS-114 commander and pilot, respectively, guided the ship as it made its 17,000 mph descent from space into the morning darkness. The landing concludes a historic 14-day, Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station. Also onboard were astronauts Stephen K. Robinson, Andrew S. W. Thomas, Wendy B. Lawrence, Charles J. Camarda, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all mission specialists.

Landing of the STS-114 orbiter Discovery

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-08-09

STS114-S-044 (9 August 2005) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery, with its crew of seven astronauts onboard, glides to a pre-dawn landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Touchdown occurred at 5:11 a.m. (PDT) August 9, 2005. Astronauts Eileen M. Collins and James M. Kelly, STS-114 commander and pilot, respectively, guided the ship as it made its 17,000 mph descent from space into the morning darkness. The landing concludes a historic 14-day, Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station. Also onboard were astronauts Stephen K. Robinson, Andrew S. W. Thomas, Wendy B. Lawrence, Charles J. Camarda, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all mission specialists.

Landing of the STS-114 orbiter Discovery

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-08-09

STS114-S-042 (9 August 2005) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery, with its crew of seven astronauts onboard, glides to a pre-dawn landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Touchdown occurred at 5:11 a.m. (PDT) August 9, 2005. Astronauts Eileen M. Collins and James M. Kelly, STS-114 commander and pilot, respectively, guided the ship as it made its 17,000 mph descent from space into the morning darkness. The landing concludes a historic 14-day, Return to Flight mission to the international space station. Also onboard were astronauts Stephen K. Robinson, Andrew S. W. Thomas, Wendy B. Lawrence, Charles J. Camarda, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all mission specialists.

Delayed flap approach procedures for noise abatement and fuel conservation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, F. G.; Bull, J. S.; Foster, J. D.; Hegarty, D. M.; Drinkwater, F. J., III

1976-01-01

The NASA/Ames Research Center is currently investigating the delayed flap approach during which pilot actions are determined and prescribed by an onboard digital computer. The onboard digital computer determines the proper timing for the deployment of the landing gear and flaps based on the existing winds and airplane gross weight. Advisory commands are displayed to the pilot. The approach is flown along the conventional ILS glide slope but is initiated at a higher airspeed and in a clean aircraft configuration that allows for low thrust and results in reduced noise and fuel consumption. Topics discussed include operational procedures, pilot acceptability of these procedures, and fuel/noise benefits resulting from flight tests and simulation.

Analysis of X-15 Landing Approach and Flare Characteristics Determined from the First 30 Flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matranga, Gene J.

1961-01-01

The approach and flare maneuvers for the first 30 flights of the X-15 airplane and the various control problems encountered are discussed. The results afford a relatively good cross section of landing conditions that might be experienced with future glide vehicles having low lift-drag ratios. Flight-derived drag data show that preflight predictions based on wind-tunnel tests were, in general, somewhat higher than the values measured in flight. Depending on configuration, the peak lift-drag ratios from flight varied from 3.5 to 4.5 as compared with a predicted range of from 3.0 to 4.2. By employing overhead, spiral-type patterns beginning at altitudes as high as 40,000 feet, the pilots were consistently able to touch down within about +/-1,000 feet of a designated point. A typical flare was initiated at a "comfortable" altitude of about 800 feet and an indicated airspeed of approximately 300 knots., which allowed a margin of excess speed. The flap and gear were extended when the flare was essentially completed, and an average touchdown was accomplished at a speed of about 185 knots indicated airspeed, an angle of attack of about 7 deg, and a rate of descent of about 4 feet per second. In general, the approach and landing characteristics were predicted with good accuracy in extensive preflight simulations. F-104 airplanes which simulated the X-15 landing characteristics were particularly valuable for pilot training.

ILS Glide Slope Performance Prediction. Volume B

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-09-01

figures are identical in both volumes. 󈧔. Abottec A mathematical model for predicting the performance of ILS glide slope arrays in the presence of...irregularities on the performance of ILS Glide Slope antenna systems, a mathematical -electromagnetic scattering computer model has been developed. This work was...Antenna ........... 4-4 9. Test Case Results ..................................... r-3 ix PART I. IEO -j 1.INTRODUCTION IA mathematical model has been

Zero-power receiver

DOEpatents

Brocato, Robert W.

2016-10-04

An unpowered signal receiver and a method for signal reception detects and responds to very weak signals using pyroelectric devices as impedance transformers and/or demodulators. In some embodiments, surface acoustic wave devices (SAW) are also used. Illustrative embodiments include satellite and long distance terrestrial communications applications.

Sleeping on the wing.

PubMed

Rattenborg, Niels C

2017-02-06

Wakefulness enables animals to interface adaptively with the environment. Paradoxically, in insects to humans, the efficacy of wakefulness depends on daily sleep, a mysterious, usually quiescent state of reduced environmental awareness. However, several birds fly non-stop for days, weeks or months without landing, questioning whether and how they sleep. It is commonly assumed that such birds sleep with one cerebral hemisphere at a time (i.e. unihemispherically) and with only the corresponding eye closed, as observed in swimming dolphins. However, the discovery that birds on land can perform adaptively despite sleeping very little raised the possibility that birds forgo sleep during long flights. In the first study to measure the brain state of birds during long flights, great frigatebirds ( Fregata minor ) slept, but only during soaring and gliding flight. Although sleep was more unihemispheric in flight than on land, sleep also occurred with both brain hemispheres, indicating that having at least one hemisphere awake is not required to maintain the aerodynamic control of flight. Nonetheless, soaring frigatebirds appeared to use unihemispheric sleep to watch where they were going while circling in rising air currents. Despite being able to engage in all types of sleep in flight, the birds only slept for 0.7 h d -1 during flights lasting up to 10 days. By contrast, once back on land they slept 12.8 h d -1 . This suggests that the ecological demands for attention usually exceeded that afforded by sleeping unihemispherically. The ability to interface adaptively with the environment despite sleeping very little challenges commonly held views regarding sleep, and therefore serves as a powerful system for examining the functions of sleep and the consequences of its loss.

Sleeping on the wing

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Wakefulness enables animals to interface adaptively with the environment. Paradoxically, in insects to humans, the efficacy of wakefulness depends on daily sleep, a mysterious, usually quiescent state of reduced environmental awareness. However, several birds fly non-stop for days, weeks or months without landing, questioning whether and how they sleep. It is commonly assumed that such birds sleep with one cerebral hemisphere at a time (i.e. unihemispherically) and with only the corresponding eye closed, as observed in swimming dolphins. However, the discovery that birds on land can perform adaptively despite sleeping very little raised the possibility that birds forgo sleep during long flights. In the first study to measure the brain state of birds during long flights, great frigatebirds (Fregata minor) slept, but only during soaring and gliding flight. Although sleep was more unihemispheric in flight than on land, sleep also occurred with both brain hemispheres, indicating that having at least one hemisphere awake is not required to maintain the aerodynamic control of flight. Nonetheless, soaring frigatebirds appeared to use unihemispheric sleep to watch where they were going while circling in rising air currents. Despite being able to engage in all types of sleep in flight, the birds only slept for 0.7 h d−1 during flights lasting up to 10 days. By contrast, once back on land they slept 12.8 h d−1. This suggests that the ecological demands for attention usually exceeded that afforded by sleeping unihemispherically. The ability to interface adaptively with the environment despite sleeping very little challenges commonly held views regarding sleep, and therefore serves as a powerful system for examining the functions of sleep and the consequences of its loss. PMID:28163874

Evolution of avian flight: muscles and constraints on performance

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Competing hypotheses about evolutionary origins of flight are the ‘fundamental wing-stroke’ and ‘directed aerial descent’ hypotheses. Support for the fundamental wing-stroke hypothesis is that extant birds use flapping of their wings to climb even before they are able to fly; there are no reported examples of incrementally increasing use of wing movements in gliding transitioning to flapping. An open question is whether locomotor styles must evolve initially for efficiency or if they might instead arrive due to efficacy. The proximal muscles of the avian wing output work and power for flight, and new research is exploring functions of the distal muscles in relation to dynamic changes in wing shape. It will be useful to test the relative contributions of the muscles of the forearm compared with inertial and aerodynamic loading of the wing upon dynamic morphing. Body size has dramatic effects upon flight performance. New research has revealed that mass-specific muscle power declines with increasing body mass among species. This explains the constraints associated with being large. Hummingbirds are the only species that can sustain hovering. Their ability to generate force, work and power appears to be limited by time for activation and deactivation within their wingbeats of high frequency. Most small birds use flap-bounding flight, and this flight style may offer an energetic advantage over continuous flapping during fast flight or during flight into a headwind. The use of flap-bounding during slow flight remains enigmatic. Flap-bounding birds do not appear to be constrained to use their primary flight muscles in a fixed manner. To improve understanding of the functional significance of flap-bounding, the energetic costs and the relative use of alternative styles by a given species in nature merit study. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’. PMID:27528773

STS-1 landing at Edwards - first orbital mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The first flight of a space shuttle into space and back occurred from April 12 to April 14, 1981. After years of testing of the space shuttle Columbia and training the astronauts in simulators, the orbiter lifted off into space on the 12th, boosted by the seven million pounds of thrust supplied by its solid-propellant rockets and liquid-hydrogen engines. The flight, one of four Orbital Flight Tests of Columbia, served as a two-day demonstration of the first reusable, piloted spacecraft's ability to go into orbit and return safely to Earth. Columbia carried as its main payload a Developmental Flight Instrumentation pallet with instruments to record pressures, temperatures, and levels of acceleration at various points on the vehicle during launch, flight, and landing. One of many cameras aboard--a remote television camera--revealed some of the thermal protection tiles had disengaged during launch. As Columbia reentered the atmosphere from space at Mach 24 (24 times the speed of sound) after 36 orbits, aerodynamic heating built up to over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, causing some concern during the moments when ionized gases disrupted radio communication. But at 188,000 feet and Mach 10, mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen reported that the orbiter was performing as expected. After a series of maneuvers to reduce speed, the mission commander and pilot prepared to land. In flight, Young and Crippen tested the spacecraft's on-board systems, fired the orbital maneuvering system for changing orbits, employed the reaction control system for controlling attitude, and opened and closed the payload doors. Columbia was the first reusable, piloted spacecraft, the first piloted lifting-reentry vehicle, and the first piloted spacecraft without a crew escape system. Energy management for the space shuttles was based on previous experience with the X-15 at NASA's Flight Research Center (which had become the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1976). Landing the shuttles without power--and therefore without the weight penalty of an additional engine and fuel--was based on previous experience at the Flight Research Center with piloted lifting bodies that also landed without power, as had the X-15s. Dryden and Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) had also hosted the approach and landing tests of the shuttle prototype Enterprise in 1977 and had tested the computers used for the shuttles' flight control systems in the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft, which also contributed to the solution of a dangerous pilot induced oscillation that occurred on the final approach and landing test. In this clip Young and Crippen fly the orbiter Columbia to a picture-perfect, unpowered landing on the dry lakebed runway 23 at Edwards AFB, CA, after it's first orbital flight, which ended on April 14.

Enhancing performance during inclined loaded walking with a powered ankle-foot exoskeleton.

PubMed

Galle, Samuel; Malcolm, Philippe; Derave, Wim; De Clercq, Dirk

2014-11-01

A simple ankle-foot exoskeleton that assists plantarflexion during push-off can reduce the metabolic power during walking. This suggests that walking performance during a maximal incremental exercise could be improved with an exoskeleton if the exoskeleton is still efficient during maximal exercise intensities. Therefore, we quantified the walking performance during a maximal incremental exercise test with a powered and unpowered exoskeleton: uphill walking with progressively higher weights. Nine female subjects performed two incremental exercise tests with an exoskeleton: 1 day with (powered condition) and another day without (unpowered condition) plantarflexion assistance. Subjects walked on an inclined treadmill (15%) at 5 km h(-1) and 5% of body weight was added every 3 min until exhaustion. At volitional termination no significant differences were found between the powered and unpowered condition for blood lactate concentration (respectively, 7.93 ± 2.49; 8.14 ± 2.24 mmol L(-1)), heart rate (respectively, 190.00 ± 6.50; 191.78 ± 6.50 bpm), Borg score (respectively, 18.57 ± 0.79; 18.93 ± 0.73) and VO₂ peak (respectively, 40.55 ± 2.78; 40.55 ± 3.05 ml min(-1) kg(-1)). Thus, subjects were able to reach the same (near) maximal effort in both conditions. However, subjects continued the exercise test longer in the powered condition and carried 7.07 ± 3.34 kg more weight because of the assistance of the exoskeleton. Our results show that plantarflexion assistance during push-off can increase walking performance during a maximal exercise test as subjects were able to carry more weight. This emphasizes the importance of acting on the ankle joint in assistive devices and the potential of simple ankle-foot exoskeletons for reducing metabolic power and increasing weight carrying capability, even during maximal intensities.

Dislocation onset and nearly axial glide in carbon nanotubes under torsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, D.-B.; James, R. D.; Dumitricǎ, T.

2009-02-01

The torsional plastic response of single-walled carbon nanotubes is studied with tight-binding objective molecular dynamics. In contrast with plasticity under elongation and bending, a torsionally deformed carbon nanotube can slip along a nearly axial helical path, which introduces a distinct (+1,-1) change in wrapping indexes. The low energy realization occurs without loss in mass via nucleation of a 5-7-7-5 dislocation dipole, followed by glide of 5-7 kinks. The possibility of nearly axial glide is supported by the obtained dependence of the plasticity onset on chirality and handedness and by the presented calculations showing the energetic advantage of the slip path and of the initial glide steps.

A sliding technique to load thin endothelial donor lamella onto Busin glide for Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty

PubMed Central

Kobayashi, Akira; Yokogawa, Hideaki; Sugiyama, Kazuhisa

2012-01-01

We describe a modified technique for loading donor corneal endothelial lamella onto a Busin glide® without causing wrinkles, as part of the procedure of Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty. Briefly, after punching out a composite of the donor-endothelial lamella and a microkeratome-dissected cap, several drops of dispersive ophthalmic viscosurgical device are placed onto the endothelial surface. The Busin glide surface is then wetted with several drops of balanced salt solution. After the composite is transferred onto the Busin glide, hydrodissection of the potential space between the donor-endothelial lamella and the microkeratome-dissected cap is carefully performed to enable smooth detachment of these two lamellae. Whereas simply dragging the donor-endothelial lamella directly onto the glide can cause wrinkling or folding of the donor lamella, this technique enables smooth detachment of the composite without wrinkle or fold formation, and results in less endothelial cell damage. PMID:22927732

Novel mechanisms power bacterial gliding motility.

PubMed

Nan, Beiyan; Zusman, David R

2016-07-01

For many bacteria, motility is essential for survival, growth, virulence, biofilm formation and intra/interspecies interactions. Since natural environments differ, bacteria have evolved remarkable motility systems to adapt, including swimming in aqueous media, and swarming, twitching and gliding on solid and semi-solid surfaces. Although tremendous advances have been achieved in understanding swimming and swarming motilities powered by flagella, and twitching motility powered by Type IV pili, little is known about gliding motility. Bacterial gliders are a heterogeneous group containing diverse bacteria that utilize surface motilities that do not depend on traditional flagella or pili, but are powered by mechanisms that are less well understood. Recently, advances in our understanding of the molecular machineries for several gliding bacteria revealed the roles of modified ion channels, secretion systems and unique machinery for surface movements. These novel mechanisms provide rich source materials for studying the function and evolution of complex microbial nanomachines. In this review, we summarize recent findings made on the gliding mechanisms of the myxobacteria, flavobacteria and mycoplasmas. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of a Long-Range Gliding Underwater Vehicle Utilizing Java Sun SPOT Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

release; distribution is unlimited DEVELOPMENT OF A LONG-RANGE GLIDING UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLE UTILIZING JAVA SUN SPOT TECHNOLOGY by...TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Development of a Long-Range Gliding Underwater Vehicle Utilizing Java Sun SPOT...vehicle. Further work is needed to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of this design. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 117 14. SUBJECT TERMS Java

Overcoming the stauchwall: Viscoelastic stress redistribution and the start of full-depth gliding snow avalanches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartelt, P.; Feistl, T.; Bühler, Y.; Buser, O.

2012-08-01

When a full-depth tensile crack opens in the mountain snowcover, internal forces are transferred from the fracture crown to the stauchwall. The stauchwall is located at the lower limit of a gliding zone and must carry the weight of the snowcover. The stauchwall can fail, leading to full-depth snow avalanches, or, it can withstand the stress redistribution. The snowcover often finds a new static equilibrium, despite the initial crack. We present a model describing how the snowcover reacts to the sudden transfer of the forces from the crown to the stauchwall. Our goal is to find the conditions for failure and the start of full-depth avalanches. The model balances the inertial forces of the gliding snowcover with the viscoelastic response of the stauchwall. We compute stresses, strain-rates and deformations during the stress redistribution and show that a new equilibrium state is not found directly, but depends on the viscoelastic properties of the snow, which are density and temperature dependent. During the stress redistribution the stauchwall encounters stresses and strain-rates that can be much higher than at the final equilibrium state. Because of the excess strain-rates, the stauchwall can fail in brittle compression before reaching the new equilibrium. Snow viscosity and the length of the gliding snow region are the two critical parameters governing the transition from stable snowpack gliding to avalanche flow. The model reveals why the formation of gliding snow avalanches is height invariant and how technical measures to prevent snowpack glide can be optimized to improve avalanche mitigation.

GLobal Integrated Design Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunkel, Matthew; McGuire, Melissa; Smith, David A.; Gefert, Leon P.

2011-01-01

The GLobal Integrated Design Environment (GLIDE) is a collaborative engineering application built to resolve the design session issues of real-time passing of data between multiple discipline experts in a collaborative environment. Utilizing Web protocols and multiple programming languages, GLIDE allows engineers to use the applications to which they are accustomed in this case, Excel to send and receive datasets via the Internet to a database-driven Web server. Traditionally, a collaborative design session consists of one or more engineers representing each discipline meeting together in a single location. The discipline leads exchange parameters and iterate through their respective processes to converge on an acceptable dataset. In cases in which the engineers are unable to meet, their parameters are passed via e-mail, telephone, facsimile, or even postal mail. The result of this slow process of data exchange would elongate a design session to weeks or even months. While the iterative process remains in place, software can now exchange parameters securely and efficiently, while at the same time allowing for much more information about a design session to be made available. GLIDE is written in a compilation of several programming languages, including REALbasic, PHP, and Microsoft Visual Basic. GLIDE client installers are available to download for both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh systems. The GLIDE client software is compatible with Microsoft Excel 2000 or later on Windows systems, and with Microsoft Excel X or later on Macintosh systems. GLIDE follows the Client-Server paradigm, transferring encrypted and compressed data via standard Web protocols. Currently, the engineers use Excel as a front end to the GLIDE Client, as many of their custom tools run in Excel.