Variable-geometry winged reentry vehicle Patent
Delta winged, manned reentry vehicle capable of horizontal glide landing at low speeds
Phillips, W. H.↗
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A landing approach guidance scheme for unpowered lifting vehicles
Subsonic glide landing approach guidance for unpowered lifting vehicles, using perturbation feedback and approximation of heading and position coordinates
Bryson, A. E., Jr.↗
Longitudinal dynamic stability of a shuttle vehicle
Nonrolling lifting gliding vehicle hypersonic longitudinal dynamic stability, applying analysis to space shuttles
Laitone, E. V.↗
Orbiter entry trajectory control. 2 - Terminal phase entry
Terminal entry trajectory analysis for spiral glide descent of space shuttle to landing site
Weiss, L.↗
The application of spoilers to a small, fixed- wing general aviation aircraft
Light aircraft spoilers to minimize landing risk, discussing spoiler/dive brake area effects on glide path angular control
Ellis, D. R.↗
Compressive creep of Al2O3 single crystals
Compressive creep of aluminum oxide single crystals deformed by dislocation glide and rhombohedral twinning, investigating activation energy and rate controlling mechanism
Bertolotti, R. L.↗
Analytic evaluation of display requirements for approach to landing
A computerized analysis procedure, based on a control theoretic model of the human pilot, is used to evaluate display requirements for longitudinal control in the landing approach. The display employed a digitally generated, perspective runway image with a superimposed artificial horizon for pitch indication. System performance measures are obtained for the approach phase of a light aircraft and a DC-8; predictions are made as to the effects of several display modifications. It is found that augmenting the basic display with glide slope reference bars and a velocity aim point yields adequate performance in calm air. Under moderate turbulence, the augmented display appears to be adequate for a DC-8 approach but not for a light aircraft.
Kleinman, D. L.↗
A flight evaluation of VTOL jet transport under visual and simulated instrument conditions
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.
Holzhauser, C. A.↗
A flight evaluation of a vectored thrust jet V/STOL airplane during simulated instrument approaches using the Kestrel (XV-6A) airplane
An in-flight investigation was made to determine the terminal-area operating problems of a vectored-thrust-jet vertical and short take-off landing (V/STOL) airplane under simulated instrument conditions. Handling-qualities data pertinent to the terminal-area approach and landing task are presented in the text, and additional documentation is included in the appendixes. Problems dealing with the cruise letdown to localizer capture, conversion to powered-lift flight, precise control of the glide slope, approach velocity or deceleration schedule, hover, and landing are discussed.
Morello, S. A.↗
Pilot dynamics for instrument approach tasks: Full panel multiloop and flight director operations
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.
Weir, D. H.↗
Pilot safety for the X-24A lifting body vehicle
The design and operational characteristics of the X-24A are described in detail. Primary emphasis is placed on the safety considerations incorporated in the design and flight test stages. It is pointed out that the inherently high drag of the lifting body configuration together with its relatively low lift/drag ratio, generated considerable concern with respect to the pilot's ability to perform safe landings from gliding flight. The resulting safety procedures taken at each stage of development are discussed.
John Cochrane↗
Flight experiments to determine visibility requirements for approaches and landings.
Some of the effects of horizontal visual restriction on the front cockpit of a T-33 aircraft were studied. These studies are pertinent to the establishment of guidelines that will be used in canopy design for limited visibility situations. Results of the study revealed that runway extension lines are helpful for restricted visibility situations. The superiority of a 300-foot runway over a 200-foot runway was greater than expected from geometric considerations. It was also shown that practice learning has a noticeable effect on performance. Finally, visibility restrictions that force a pilot into shallow glides should be avoided, and the available visibility should be sufficient to provide adequate information so that the pilot can solve the lateral-directional and pitch tasks simultaneously.
Carpenter, R.↗
Flexible wings for transportation.
The possible uses of flexible wings for transportation of passengers and cargo from point to point on earth are discussed along with emergency applications of flexible wings in connection with conventional aircraft. Topics considered include gliding and soaring as a sport, towing of flexible-wing gliders for cargo delivery, powered flight with small aircraft having folding flexible wings, aerial dropping of personnel and cargo on flexible wings instead of parachutes, landing and recovery of rocket payloads by means of flexible wings, and use of flexible wings with ejection seats and as an emergency landing system for conventional aircraft.
Rogallo, F. M.↗
The fine structure of slip lines in disordered Cu3Au.
The fine structure of the slip bands observed on the surface of a deformed Cu3Au single crystal is examined. The separation distance determined between the resolved individual slip lines is used to examine the calculations of other authors relating the passing stress of a dislocation past a dislocation pileup on a nearby parallel glide plane.
Salama, K.↗
Longitudinal dynamic stability of a shuttle vehicle.
Analytical study of the longitudinal dynamic stability of a nonrolling, lifting vehicle gliding at hypersonic speeds. The analysis applies to shuttle vehicles designed for operating up to the rim of a planetary atmosphere. A general nondimensional time transformation is introduced to derive a unified second-order linear differential equation for the angle of attack, valid for all types of reentry of a general type of vehicle. The stability of motion is discussed for two fundamental regimes of flight that are based on widely different assumptions. For near ballistic entry along a straight line trajectory, the equation reduces to a confluent hypergeometric equation, the solution of which can be expressed in terms of Whittaker's function. Using a theorem in the theory of stability of differential equations, criteria for damped oscillations are derived. It is shown that the aerodynamic criteria for stability are the same as for the case of ballistic entry. In addition, for each vehicle configuration, and specified planetary atmosphere, there exists an altitude range where the angle of attack frequency is nearly equal to the orbital frequency causing instability in pitch. This resonance instability is due to the ellipticity of the orbit. Criteria for eccentricity instability are derived.
Vinh, N. X.↗
Flight evaluation of three-dimensional area navigation for jet transport noise abatement.
The NASA, working with American Airlines, has completed the first phase of research to evaluate the operational feasibility of two-segment approaches for noise abatement. For these tests, area navigation was used to establish the upper glide slope and an ILS was used to establish the lower. The flight director was modified to provide command information during the entire approach. Twenty-eight pilots representing the airlines, professional pilot associations, FAA, and NASA participated. With an ILS approach for comparison, the procedure gave a noise reduction of 18 EPNdB at the outer marker and 8 EPNdB 1.1 n. mi. from touchdown.
Denery, D. G.↗
Energy management during the space shuttle transition.
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.
Stengel, R. F.↗
A dynamic response and eye scanning data base useful in the development of theories and methods for the description of control/display relationships
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.
Klein, R.↗