Date of Award

8-2014

Access Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Department

Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

William Engblom, Ph. D.

First Committee Member

Hever Moncayo, Ph.D.

Second Committee Member

Anastaios Lyrintzis, Ph.D.

Abstract

The objective of this project is to do a flight assessment of a Phoenix K8B radio controlled glider to see what process is needed to verify its glide slope and stability characteristics. The flight test analysis, plus a computational fluid dynamics analysis, and an industry-like component build-up aerodynamic analysis were done to provide comparable estimates for the aircraft glide slope. A stability and control derivative analysis was also completed and compared using SURFACES, USAF Datcom, and MIT AVL software. The glide slope estimate and stability and control derivatives obtained from flight test data showed considerable range and uncertainty. Potential sources of noisy test data and model flaws are discussed in detail. Improvements to the flight test capability are suggested

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