Evaluation of glider handling qualities

• Main Authors: Hagsved, David, Johansson, Martin
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: KTH, Flygdynamik 2015
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-180468

This thesis was performed with the purpose of investigate what influence different control system characteristics have on pilots' perception of handling qualities. Two gliders were investigated and compared, the JS1 [1] and the ASH26 [2]. Both are high performance gliders with similar type of configuration and aerodynamic performance, but with slightly different handling qualities. The stick force transfer functions in roll axis were calculated, the rate of angular change for a certain control input was measured and the subjective experience of the pilots were acquired through a pilot survey from flight tests. The pilots' experiences were then linked to how the gliders reacted on control input and control system design. It was found that the most important feature of the control system was control harmony, meaning that the responses in each control axis of the glider are in correspondence with each other. Also, the relationship between the stick force and response was much more important than the actual force itself.