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NASA Technical Memorandum 100996

. NASA-TM-I 00996 19880014378

Flight Testing a V/STOL Aircraft

to Identify a Full-Envelope
Aerodynamic Model
l y Ralph E. Bach, Jr.
B. David ~ c ~ a land

May 1988

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
NASA Technical Memorandum 100996

Flight Testing a V/STOL Aircraft

to Identify a Full-Envelope
Aerodynamic Model
B. David McNally
Ralph E. Bach, Jr., Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

May 1988

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California 94035
 FLIGHT TESTING A V/STOL AIRCRAFT TO IDENTIFY A
FULL-ENVELOPE AERODYNAMIC MODEL

B. David McNally' and Ralph E. Bach, ~ r . ~

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

Abstract variations in control and response variables during

flight testing. The VSRA data base consists of a
Flight-test techniques are being used to gen- series of 3-5-min flight-test maneuvers that
erate a data base for identification of a full- together cover the complete flight envelope and
envelope aerodynamic model of a V/STOL fighter include time-histories of all relevant aircraft
aircraft, the YAV-8B Harrier. The flight envelope control and response variables. Concatenated seg-
to be modeled includes hover, transition to conven- ments from several of these maneuvers will be used
tional flight and back to hover, STOL operation, to identify the unknown parameters in each model
and normal cruise. Standard V/STOL procedures such equation. Flight-test planning and the important
as vertical takeoff and landings, and short takeoff aspects of postflight processing necessary to
and landings are used to gather data in the acquire the data base are covered. The modeling of
powered-lift flight regime. Long (3-5-min) maneu- VSRA aerodynamics will be covered in a later
vers which include a variety of input types are report.
used to obtain large-amplitude control and response
excitations. The aircraft is under continuous The basis of a full-envelope aerodynamic model
radar tracking; a laser tracker is used for V/STOL is a set of functions of control and response vari-
operations near the ground. Tracking data are used ables that when multiplied by the identified model
with state-estimation techniques to check data con- parameters, represent aerodynamic force and moment
sistency and to derive unmeasured variables, for coefficients. This set of functions is nonlinear
example, angular accelerations. A propulsion model in the control and response variables, such as
of the YAV-8B's engine and reaction coctrol system nozzle angle, thrust setting, angles of attack and
is used to isolate aerodynamic forces and moments sideslip, and Mach number, but is linear in the
for model identification. Representative V/STOL parameters to be identified.5, 12-14 Regression
flight data are presented. The processing of a methods are well suited for identifying a nonlinear
typical short-takeoff and slow-landing maneuver is model that is linearly parameterized. Further,
illustrated. regression methods are computationally simple and
are therefore well suited to processing large
amounts of data. The straightforward numerical
Introduction requirements of the regression method allow the
analyst to concentrate on structuring an accurate
Ames Research Center is conducting a flight and physically meaningful model. Good results with
research program on guidance, control, and display regression methods, however, are highly dependent
concepts for vertical/short takeoff and landing on the quality of the data records. State-
(V/STOL) aircraft. The goal of the program is to estimation methods are used before modeling to
develop integrated propulsion and flight-control check instrument accuracy and to provide estimates
technology which would allow advanced short-takeoff of unmeasured or poorly measured variables.
and vertical-landing aircraft to operate in very
low visibility conditions. The purpose of this Application of state estimation to aircraft
paper is to describe the flight-test techniques and flight data is possible because the measurements of
major elements of postflight data processing that an aircraft's motion along its flightpath are
are being used to build a data base to identify a related by we1 -known kinematic relationships. As
full-envelope aerodynamic model of the NASA V/STOL Breeman et al.t point out, state estimation makes
Research Aircraft (VSRA). The model will be used use of the redundancy present in inertial and air
to update and improve an existing VSRA simulation, data measurements in order to obtain the best esti-
which will aid in design of advanced guidance, mate of aircraft state variables during a maneu-
control, and display systems for the aircraft.' ver. The first application of state estimation to
postflight data analysis can probably be attributed
The flight-test techniques described in this to Otto Cerlach in the 1960s at the Delft Techno-
paper were developed for the purpose of identifying logical University, the Netherlands. This early
a full-envelope aerodynamic model using regression contribution, called "flightpath reconstruction,"
methods2-6 for parp7:er identification and state- was primarily concerned with accurate determination
estimation methods for data reconstruction. of angle of attack, pitch angle, and vehicle veloc-
The nonlinear model formulation requires large ity during dynamic maneuvers. l5 These "states"
were obtained by integrating functions of measure-
ments from the pitch-rate gyro and normal and lon-
gitudinal accelerometers. The resulting "smoothed"
'Aerospace Engineer, Member AIAA. time-histories were then used as a basis for subse-
t~erospaceEngineer, Member AIAA, IEEE.
quent parameter identification studies. In this
This paper is declared a work of the U.S. Government and country, Wingrove at NASA was an early advocate of
therefore is in the public domain.
P r e s e n t e d a t t h e AIAA 4th F l i g h t Test Conference
San Diego, C a l i f o r n i a , May 18-20, 1988. 1
state estimation for flightpath reconstruction.16 measurement of altitude abovs the ground (1.0 ft
Over the past few years, work in this field has range error; 0.2 mrad azimuth and elevation error
been evolving toward the use of more complete at 30,000 ft range). During flight test, TM data
models, the development of more sophisticated algo- from the VSRA on-board system are downlinked and
rithms, and the treatment of more difficult appli- merged, at the facility, with range, bearing, an3
cations.7 State-estimat.on methods are now used by elevation data from the tracking systems; they are
yany flight-test groups. Application of state then recorded.
estimation to flight data produces a consistent set
of smoothed state time-histories for aerodynamic
model identification. Flight-Test Planning and Maneuver Design
The next section describes the test aircraft, Flight-Test Planning
the data acquisition system, and the flight-test
facility. Flight-test planning and a description The VSRA aerodynamic model must represent the
of the test maneuvers used to cover the flight three body forces and three moments over a flight
envelope are then presented, with the trim points envelope that includes hover, transition to forward
and specific maneuvers flown at each point given in flight and back to hover, as well as STOL operation
tabular format. Preliminary processing, state and normal cruise. Large-amplitude control inputs
estimation, and the calculation of aerodynamic are appropriate since the model being identified
forces and moments are then discussed and, finally, has a full-envelope formulation composed of noniin-
time-histories of representative flight-test rnaneu- ear functions of aircraft control and response
vers are presented. A particular V/STOL maneuver variables. If the objective is to use flight data
is used to illustrate the processing necessary to to identify a linesr perturbation model about some
compute the body-axis aerodynamic forces and trim point then one must be careful not to let the
moments required for aerodynamic model aircraft's control and response variables exceed
identification. the linear bounds during flight test. However, if
the objective is to identify a nonlinear model, as
it is in this study, control and response variables
Test Aircraft and Flight Data Acquisition should have large-amplitude variations to cover the
flight envelope. In most cases the trim point is
The VSRA (Fig. 1) is a YAV-8B, a prototype of defined by one of the variables (2.g.. Mach number,
the currently operational subsonic, vectored- angle of attack) in the nonlinear model equation.
thrust, AV-8B Harrier fighter aircraft; its engine Therefore, any deviations from the trim conditions
nozzles can be rotated from O0 for forward flight during a flight-test maneuver are accounted for
to somewhat greater than 90° for hover and vertical during model identification.
flight. A reaction control system (RCS), in which
compressor air is piped to the extremities of the This relaxed trim requirement led to the idea
aircraft, provides attitude control in hover and of using "integrated" maneuvers that include a
low-speed flight. variety of consecutively executed control inputs.
Maneuvers such as these make efficient use of
The VSRA measurement system is equipped with a flight time, since the aircraft does not have to be
10-bit digital data-acquisition and telemetry (TM) retrimmed between control inputs. Furthermore,
system. A pulse-code modulation (PCM) format is they reduce the complexity of the bookkeeping
used to encode 156 main-frame channels sampled at required during postflight data processing, since
120 Hz, and 160 sub-frame channels sampled at the data base contains fewer (but longer) maneu-
30 Hz. Before encoding, each analog channel is vers. Meaningful and accurate model parameter
passed through a third-order Butterworth anti- estimates require that the maneuvers that make up
aliasing filter with its cutoff frequency set at the data base reflect independent variation of the
one-fifth of the channel sampling rate. After control and response variables that define the
encoding, all flight data are transmitted to a aerodynamic model. Flight-test maneuvers and the
ground station where they are recorded. A partial matrix of nominal trim conditions were designed to
list of on-board measurements, those necessary for meet this requirement.
aerodynamic model identification, is given in
Table 1. Flight testing for VSRA aerodynamic mode?
identification began in September 1987 and contin-
Flight tests of the VSRA were performed at the ued for 3 months. A total of 76 maneuvers were
NASA facility located at Crows Landing, Cali- performed in 13 flights (each flight is marked by s
fornia. The facility control room, which has a
refueling). The VSRA was configured with gun pods
clear view of the runway and hover pad, is equipped
on and wing pylons off. Most maneuvers were
with five eight-channel strip-chart recorders and performed with the stability augmentation system
three color monitors for real-time display of the
(SAS) off to obtain the natural open-loop dynamic
TM data. Two on-site radar systems are available response of the aircraft to the control inputs. As
to provide continuous tracking of the test air- Maine and Iliff point out, automatic feedback sys-
craft's position. A laser tracker, bore sighted on tems (e.g., SAS) may make it difficult to excite
one of the radar antennas, was used during V/STOL the dynamics of the system, create linear
operation in order to obtain a more accurate dependencies between model ?s
t
: Flight-test
cards, such as the one shown in Fig. 2, which gave would have touched down during a normal slow land-
the control inputs at their relative position on a ing. During OGE procedures, the aircraft never
ground track, were used to define most of the descends below 100 ft above ground level.
maneuvers described in this section. The flight-
test cards fit on the pilot's knee board. Jet Velocity Ratio-Angle of Attack Manuever

V/STOL Maneuvers In the transition region, the aerodynamic

model is strongly dependent on angle of attack
One characteristic that sets the VSRA apart (AOA) and equivalent jet velocity ratio (VEJ!. 1
from conventional aircraft is that it exhibits VEJ is inversely proportional to thrust-induced
significant thrust-induced aerodynamic effects when aerodynamics, and is defined as the square root of
the nozzles are not in the full-aft position. the ratio of free-stream dynamic pressure to engine
These effects are largest during transition from jet exhaust dynamic pressure:
hover to conventional flight (and back to hover),
and during low-speed flight. Standard V/STOL pro- ) 1 /2
VEJ = (qo/q
cedures, such as vertical takeoff and transition to jet
conventional flight, transition to hover a::d verti- The "VEJ-AOA" manuver outlined in Fig. 3 was devel-
cal landing, short takeoff and transition to con- oped to generate large independent variation of VEJ
ventional flight, and slow landings were used to and AOA at various nozzle and flap settings. The
provide data for identification of thrust-induced nominal trim points, lisced in Table 2, are defined
aerodynamics. by nozzle, flap, and angle of attack. Most of
these maneuvers were performed with "STOL Flap"
A short-takeoff and slow-landing (STO-SL)
maneuver, is outlined on the flight-test card shown
in Fig. 2. In this maneuver, the ground roll
begins with nozzles at 10'. At nozzle rotation
''
mode engaged so f aps were scheduled as a function
of nozzle angle. It should be noted that the
flaps cannot be selected independently of the noz-
zles beyond 25O flap deflection.
speed Vr the nozzles are rotated to an angle 0,
(in the example for this paper, Vr = 50 KIAS and STOL flaps are normally engaged during V/STOL
er = 55O). Shortly after liftoff, the nozzles are operation. During the first segment of the maneu-
rotated to the full aft position. For the slow- ver, thrust is slowly added, while using pitch
landing portion, nozzles are rotated to 40° just control to hold angle of attack nearly constant,
before the final turn, &nd during the final until the maximum continuous thrust setting is
approach are further rotated to 60°. Three STO-SL reached. Then thrust is slowly reduced, again
maneuvers (outlined in Fig. 2) were performed dur- holding angle of attack, until the pitch-authority
ing flight testing. limit is reached. Since qjet is proportional to
thrust, this segment effects a large change in
A vertical-takeoff and vertical-landing qjet at a nearly constant angle of attack. At the
(VTO-VL) maneuver, similar to the STO-SL maneuver end of the first segment the aircraft is at a high
shown in Fig. 2, also provides data in the powered- altitude and low airspeed. During the second seg-
lift flight regime. Just before takeoff, the noz- ment the pilot reduces thrust to idle and pushes
zles are set to 81° (hover stop). Full throttle is the aircraft over into a dive to 400 knots. If
added and the aircraft lifts vertically off the flaps are extended, they are retracted to 25O so as
ground. When the aircraft is no longer in ground not to violate airspeed-flap deflection limits;
effect (above about 50 ft), the nozzles are slowly nozzles remain fixed at the trim setting. This
rotated aft for transition to conventional forward segment effects a large change in qo at a low
flight. As the aircraft gains aerodynamic lift value of qjet. At the end of the naneuver the
during the transition, thrust is reduced as nominal trim condition and heading are restored.
required. This maneuver has downwind and base legs Seventeen VEJ-AOA maneuvers were performed.
similar to those of the STO-SL maneuver. At about
1 n. mi. from the touchdown point during the final Longitudinal Maneuver
approach, the nozzles are rotated from 40° to 81°
and thrust is then used to control rate of descent The longitudinal maneuver (Fig. 4 ) excites
and angle of attack. At an airspeed of about large changes in longitudinal variables (angle of
50 knots a pitch flare is used to further reduce attack and pitch rate) from several nominal trim
airspeed and bring the aircraft to a steady hover points. The trim points, listed in Table 3, are
at about 50-100 ft above the touchdown point. defined by either Mach number or angle of attack at
Before landing, the pilot initiates a series of constant nozzle angle and flap deflection. Thrust
pitch, roll, and yaw doublets to measure reaction- is held constant while the stabilator is varied to
control-system effectiveness in hover. Two VTO-VL obtain changes in angle of attack and pitch rate.
maneuvers were performed. During the trim segment the aircraft is held in
trim for 10 or 15 sec.
V/STOL procedures were also performed out of
ground effect ( W E ) in order to aid separation of The first control inputs are pulses designed
ground-effect aerodynamics. During an OGE slow- to generate maximum positive and negative pitch
landing approach, the aircraft transitions to rates. The next input is a frequency sweep; the
up-and-away flight at the airspeed at which it pilot moves the stick fore and aft in a sinusoidal
motion of smoothly increasing frequency. The available, but one effective (and time-consuming)
-
starting frequency is well below the aircraft's method is to pass each record through a "moving
short-period frequency and the ending frequency is window." Points that fall outside the window are
high enough so that pitch response is significantly considered wild, and are tagged but not removed.
attenuated. The magnitude of the input is large
enough to obtain the desired dynamic excitation. When all wild points in a record have been
Following the 180° turn, the pilot regains the trim tagged, the record is passed through a zero phase-
Mach number by diving to gain airspeed. Then the shift low-pass digital filter1' to obtain a time-
"AOA ladder" is used to obtain large variations in history free of wild points. The filter provides a
angle of attack by ramping AOA to a maximum value least-squares fit to the "good" points in the data
in an oscillatory fashion (see Fig. 5 ) . During the record. The algorithm consists of backward-filter,
AOA ladder the aircraft gains altitude and loses forward-smoother passes that yield a frequency
airspeed, and the pilot again regains the trim Mach response equivalent to cascaded second-order
number by diving. Next the "wind-up" turn results Butterworth filters with equal but opposite phase
in a steady ramp in angle of attack. The technique shift characteristics. After filtering, the data
is to roll the aircraft to an appropriate angle rate can be reduced to a submultiple of the main-
(about 40° for the maneuver shown in Fig. 5) and frame sampling frequency. The filter cutoff fre-
then slowly pull back on the stick until the angle quency is set at one-half the final data rate
of attack or normal acceleration limit, whichever desired. That data rate was chosen to be 20 Hz for
comes first, is reached. In order to hold Mach all VSRA maneuvers.
number constant the aircraft descends during the
wind-up turn. To end the maneuver, thrust is added Each channel processed from a maneuver raw-
data file is stored in a processed flight-data file
to return to the nominal trim point. It should be
emphasized that a considerable variatic.1 in Mach set up for that maneuver. An interactive program
number may be experienced during the maneuver. called DSPDAT (Display DATa), also running on the
Twenty-six of these longitudinal maneuvers were VAX-8650, is used to select processed data channels
performed. for plotting in either x-y or strip-chard for-
mat. An x-y cross-plot, for example, might dis-
play equivalent jet velocity ratio br Mach-number
Lateral Maneuver
plotted against angle of attack. Such plots offer
The lateral maneuver (Fig. 6) was designed to a convenient way to evaluate how well the flight
excite large changes in lateral axis variables envelope has been covered during a maneuver. It is
(angle of sideslip, yaw rate, and roll rate). The unlikely that a single maneuver will provide enough
trim points for the lateral maneuvers are also variation in aircraft control and response varia-
listed in Table 3. The trim segment is followed by bles to identify all model terms; the analyst may
wings-level sideslips to maximum left and right also use DSPDAT to create or access a "map" file,
sideslip angle. The next input excites the Dutch which contains addresses of time segments selected
roll mode using a rudder doublet immediately fol- from several processed maneuvers. This file can
lowed by an aileron doublet. After the turn, the later be used to concatenate the selected segments
pilot regains the trim Mach number using altitude, to create a long record suitable for model
as with the longitudinal maneuver. A wings-level identification.
rudder frequency sweep and a rudder-fixed aileron
frequency sweep provide additional lateral-axis
excitation. The pilot uses aileron control to hold State Estimation
the wings-level condition during the sideslip and
the rudder sweep portions of the maneuver. An The next step in the processing of each maneu-
initial roli angle of 40° was chosen for the ver is to apply SMACK'^-^' (SMoothing for Aircraft
aileron sweep. Thrust is added at the end of the Kinematics), a state-estimation program developed
maneuver to return to the nominal trim point. at Ames Research Center, to check data consistency
Thirteen of these lateral maneuvers were performed and derive unmeasured variables. SMACK runs on a
Cray-XMP computer. State estimation in this paper
refers to a process that solves a state model,
Preliminary Processing
Following real-time acquisition of data during
flight test, each recorded maneuver, with instru- such that h(x) in the measurement model
ment calibrations added, is converted to engineer-
ing units and made available to researchers as a
raw flight-data file. An interactive program
called PRODAT (PROcess DATa) is used to read the suitably matches the data record over a time inter-
raw flight-data file, identify wild points, and val (to,tf), usually in a least-squares error
filter data records. Data are then stored in a s e n ~ e . ~ In
, ~Eq.
~ (2), x is the state vector
"processed" file of selected channels at a submul- and w is a vector that represents unknown forcing
tiple of the main-frame sample rate. PRODAT runs functions (derivatives of unmeasured variables,
on a VAX-8650. Processing begins by removing wild e.g., angular accelerations). For aircraft prob-
points from the records. Several methods are lems, the state and measurement models together
represent the kinematics of a rigid body for measured in flight. It should be noted that the
describing motion over a flat, nonrotating Earth. propulsion model provides only thrust forces and
In the SMACK formulation, the state model consists moments. Any thrust-induced aerodynamic effects
of Euler angles and position variables and their are to be included in the VSRA aerodynamic model.
derivatives. When flightpath winds are to be iden-
tified, the state model is augmented by wind veloc- Inputs to the ENCAL routine include all the
ities and accelerations. The measurement model air-data, reaction control, engine, and weight
generates time-histories which include on-board measurements listed in Table 1. Outputs to the
variables such as Euler angles, angular rates, and processed flight-data file are the three body-axis
linear accelerations, as well as tracking variables components of engine forces and moments. ENCAL
such as range, bearing, and elevation (see also calculates aircraft weight and inertias, and
Table 1). Any bias or scale-factor errors asso- the variation in center-of-gravity (c.g. ) location
ciated with the state or measurement models are (inertia and c.g. variations are based on manufac-
appended to the state vector and treated as con- turers estimates as a funct on of fuel, water,
stant but unknown parameters. Static pressure and landing gear, and stores). These variables are
airflow measurements are corrected, based on recent added to the processed-data file. It should be
VSRA flight tests, before they are input to the emphasized that the aerodynamic model to be identi-
state estimation program.23 fied from flight data can only be as accurate as
the engine, weight and inertia, and c.g. variation
Solution of the state-estimation problem con- models. A newly instrumented Pegasus engine will
sists of determining the x and w(t) that minimize be installed on the VSRA in the spring of 1988
the squared-error performance measure, (Ref. 24). Plans are being developed to validate
the engine and inertia models based on data from
the next set of flight tests.
Total VSRA force and moment time-histories are
obtained from the SMACK-derived estimates of accel-
erations and angular rates, and from ENCAL-derived
estimates of weight and inertias. The body-axis
forces are given by

subject to the dynamic constraint of Eq. (2). In

Eq. (41, xo is an a priori estimate of xo; Po, Q,
and R are weighting matrices. Note that the first where m is vehicle mass, and ax, ay, and a, are
term of Eq. (4) serves as a "penalty" function and the body linear accelerations. The moments are
tends to bias the estimate of x toward its calculated from
a priori value.
Long (3-5 min) maneuvers with large variations
in the dynamic variables are well suited to analy-
sis using state-estimation techniques. Each maneu-
ver covers a nearly oval ground track within 5 min
while under continuous radar track. The oval
course allows the aircraft to stay at close range
(within 10 miles for most cases) in order to mini-
mize radar inaccuracies. Large heading changes
(180° to 360°) facilitate identification of beta were I, Iyy, I, and I, are vehicle moments
vane scale factors and ambient winds. The turns in of inertia; at, %, and an are the body angular
the oval track provide the state-estimation algo- accelerations; and p, q, and r are the body angu-
rithm with adequate variation in roll and heading lar rates.
during longitudinal axis maneuvers.

Example Maneuvers
Force and Moment Calculations
Figure 5 shows the variation in stabilator
The aerodynamic forces and moments acting on angle, pitch rate, and angle of attack during a
the VSRA during flight test are determined as the longitudinal maneuver with nozzles at 60" and flaps
difference between the total forces and moments, at 60°. The trim airspeed and altitude for this
and engine forces and moments. Here the term maneuver were 85 knots (indicated) and 10,000 ft,
"engine" includes the reaction control system, as respectively. The trim angle of attack was lo0.
well as the main nozzles. The engine forces and This maneuver contains large-amplitude inputs which
moments are calculated by a program (VAX-8650) result in large variations in angle of attack and
called ENCAL (ENgine CALculations). ENCAL uses a pitch rate. Note the correlation with the maneuver
nominal propulsion model of the VSRA's Pegasus description in Fig. 4.
engine (YF402-RR-404) (Ref. 18). Fan dynamics are
not included in this version, since fan speed is
 Figure 7 shows the variation in engine rpm, Concluding Remarks
true airspeed, and angle of attack during the first
segment of a VEJ-AOA maneuver with nozzles at 60° The flight-test techniques used to generate a
and flaps at 60°. The trim angle of attack is data base suitable for identifying an aerodynamic
about go. A cross-plot showing jet velocity ratio model of a V/STOL aircraft using a regression pro-
versus angle of attack for the time segment of cedure have been described. Test maneuvers were
Fig. 7 is shown in Fig. 8. The cross-plot shows designed to provide large changes in control and
relatively large variation in VEJ (0.13 to 0.8) response variables around nominal trim points. The
over a 3" angle-of-attack range (7.7O to 10.TO). technique of state estimation was used to combine
During normal flight operations the VSRA experi- radar tracking measurements and on-board inertial
ences jet velocity ratios ranging from 0 to about and air data measurements to obtain the best esti-
1.2. mates of the aircraft kinematic variables. The
state-estimation procedure produced a consistent
Figure 9 shows the variation in nozzle angle, data set that includes estimates of the unmeasured
flap setting, rpm, and control-surface positions angular accelerations and flightpath winds. The
during a STO-SL maneuver. Notice that the ailerons availability of an engine model made it possible to
are set to a 15" down neutral position (i.e., isolate engine effects and determine aerodynamic
drooped) during takeoff and landing.18 In this forces and moments.
maneuver, which contains abrupt changes in nozzle
and flap angles, the aircraft transitions to normal The completed VSRA data base consists of the
flight after takeoff, performs a go-around, and set of individual 3-5-min flight-test maneuvers
then transitions back to a STOL configuration for a that covers the required flight envelope. The
slow landing. This maneuver will serve to illus- nominal trim points used to generate the data base
trate the results of the state-estimation procedure have been presented along with data from represen-
and the force and moment calculations. tative flight-test maneuvers. A typical V/STOL
maneuver from the data base has been used to illus-
The aircraft dynamic response to the control trate the state-estimation procedure and the meth-
inputs is analyzed by the state-estimation proce- ods used to isolate the aerodynamic forces and
dure, which determines integrator initial condi- moments. Long (15-30-min) records, consisting of
tions, selected instrument bias and scale-factor concatenated time segments from several maneuvers,
errors, and forcing-function time-histories that can be created and used to identify parameters in
provide the best fits to the radar track and each model section. Work on developing the VSRA
on-board measurements shown in Table 1. The body aerodynamic model from the data base is now in
angular accelerations, true airspeed, and flight- progress.
path winds are estimated. During a preliminary
solution, a large error was noticed in the fit of
longitudinal acceleration during the takeoff por- Acknowledgment
tion of the maneuver. The longitudinal acceler-
ometer had saturated at 0.6 g's, and its output in The authors thank in; Hagen, Vafa Kordestani,
that interval had to be "blanked." Fortunately, Suzi Kovacevich, Tom Schultz, and Phil Smith for
the good tracking data provided the redundancy their contributions to the work reported in this
necessary to yield an estimate of longitudinal paper.
acceleration during the interval. Results of the
SMACK analysis required for calculating forces and
moments are shown in Fig. 10. References

The large activity in the angular acceleration '~nderson,L. C. and Bunnell, J. W., "AV-8B
estimates in Fig. lob is related to the reduced Simulation Model Engineering Specification (Ver-
damping of the aircraft with the SAS turned off. sion 2.2),lt Systems Control Technology, Inc., Palo
This requires that the pilot provide more compensa- Alto, CA, Nov. 1985.
tion to stabilize the aircraft. The control-
surface movements in these test data are well cor- '~lein, V. and Batterson, J. G., "Determina-
related with the angular rate oscillations. A tion of Airplane Model Structure from Flight Data
similar maneuver flown with the SAS on shows sig- Using Splines and Stepwise Regression," NASA
nificantly smaller control-surface movements and TP-2126, 1983.
angular rate oscillations. 3~raper,N. R. and Smith, H., Applied Regres-
In a final step, the aerodynamic forces and sion Analysis (Chap. 6), John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
moments are calculated as the difference of total New York, 1981.
and engine forces and moments as outlined in the '~lein, V. and Batterson, J. G., "Aerodynamic
previous section. These are the time-histories Parameters Estimated from Flight and Wind-Tunnel
that must be adequately represented by the VSRA Data," AIAA Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 23, No. 4,
aerodynamic model. Results of the ENCAL calcula- Apr. 1986, pp. 306-312.
tions for the maneuver are shown in Fig. 1 1 ; corre-
sponding aerodynamic variables are shown in
Fig. 12.
 5~nderson,L. C. and Hansen, R. S., qtReviewof l5~erlach,0. H., "Determination of Perfor-
AV-8B Aerodynamic Model Identification," Systems mance, Stability and Control Characteristics from
Control Technology, Palo Alto, CA, Oct. 1987. Measurements in Nonsteady Maneuvers," AGARD CP-17,
Pt. 1, 1966, pp. 499-523.
'Elreeman, J. H., Erkelens, L. J. J., and
Nieuwpoort, A. M. H., "Determination of Performance 16wingrove, R. C., "Quasilinearization Tech-
and Stability Characteristics from Dynamic nique for Estimating Aircraft States from Flight
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1984.
17Maine, R, E. and Iliff, K. W., "Application
7Bach, R. E., Jr. and Wingrove, R. C., "Appli- of Parameter Estimation to Aircraft Stability and
cations of State Estimation in Aircraft Flight-Data Control--The Output-Error Approach," NASA RP-1168,
Analy~is,~'AIAA Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 22, 1986.
No. 7, July 1985, pp. 547-554.
1 8 n ~ ~Simulation
~ - 8 ~ and Modelling, Vol. 1,
8~talford,H. L. and Ramachandran, S., "Appli- Aircraft Description and Program Summary,t1NASA
cation of the Estimation-Before-Modelling (EBM) CR- 170397, 1983.
System Identification Method to the High Angle-of-
AttachBideslip Flight of T-2C Jet Trainer Air- 19~ach,R. E., Jr., "State Estimation Applica-
craft," NADC-76097-30, June 1978. tions in Aircraft Flight-Data Analysis (A User's
Guide for SMACK)," to be published, June 1488.
9~lein,V. and Schiess, J. R., "Compatibility
Check of Measured Aircraft Responses Using Kine- 20~ach, R. E., Jr., "Variational Algorithms
matic Equations and an Extended Kalman Filter," for Nonlinear Smoothing Applications," NASA
NASA TN D-8514, 1977. TH-73211, 1977.
1°~ansen, R. S., "DEKFIS User's Guide-- 21~ach,R. E., Jr., "A Variational Technique
Discrete Extended Kalman Filter/Smoother Program for Smoothing Flight-Test and Accident Data," AIAA
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NASA CR-159081, 1979. pp. 546-552.
llsri-~a~antha, M. and Stengel, R. F., "Data 22Bach, R. E., Jr. and McNally, B. D., "A
Acquisition System and Methodology for High Angle Flight-Test Methodology for Identification of an
of Attack Parameter Estimation," SAE Paper Aerodynamic Model for a V/STOL Aircraft," NASA
No. 830719, 1983. TM-100067, 1988.
12~c~ally,B. D., "Full-Envelope Aerodynamic 23~ranklin,J . A., "VSRA Air Data Ca1:bra-
Modelling of the Harrier Aircraft," NASA TM-88376, tion," Internal Memorandum, NASA Ames, Oct. 1987.
1986.
24tt~egasusEngine 8735 Bleed Flow Calibration
1 3 ~ eBoor, C., "A Practical Guide to Splines," at Patuxent River," Rolls-Royce Inc., Atlanta, GA,
Applied Mathematical Sciences, Vol. 27, Springer- ATLR 0703, Dec. 1987.
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14~nderson,L. C., "AV-8B System Identifica-
tion Results: Lateral-Directional Model, Ground
Effects, and High Angle-of-Attack Model," Systems
Control Technology, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, June 1986.
 Table 1 Variable list for aerodynamic model Table 2 Nominal trim conditions
data base for jet velocity ratio-angle
of attack maneuver

Variable Measured Estimated

Nozzle, deg Flap, deg AOA, deg
Euler angles Onboard SMACK
Angular rates Onboard SMACK 2 (full-aft) 5 5
Angular accelerations SMACK 10
Linear accelerations Onboard SMACK 15
Positions relative to Earth Radar SMACK 25 (STOL)~ 5
Velocities relative to Earth SMACK 25 (STOL) 5
Airflow angles Onboard SMACK 10
Static pressure Onboard 15
Total pressure Onboard SMACK
Total temperature Onboard

True airspeed SMACK

Flightpath winds SMACK
Flap setting Onboard
Aileron deflections Onboard
Stabilator deflection Onboard 54 (STOL) 5
10
Rudder deflection Onboard 15
Engine nozzle angle Onboard
Engine fan speed Onboard 60 61 (STOL) 5
Compressor pressure Onboard 10
Fuel and water weights Onboard

RCS roll-valve positions Onboard a~~~~ STOL flap mode engaged;

RCS pitch-valve positions Onboard flaps scheduled as function of
RCS yaw-valve position Onboard nozzle angle. 18
Engine and RCS body forces ENCAL
Engine and RCS moments ENCAL

Gross weight and inertias ENCAL

Note: SMACK is the state estimation program; ENCAL

is the propulsion model of the VSRA engine.
 Table 3 Nominal trim conditions for longitudinal and lateral
maneuvers

Nozzle, deg Flap, deg Speed AOA, deg Maneuver(s)

2 (full-aft) 5 0.3 M -- 1 Long., 1 lat.

0.4 M -- 1 Long.
0.5 M -- 1 Long., 1 lat.
0.7 M -- 2 Long., 2 lat.
-- 12 1 on^.^
15 0.3 M -- 1 Long., 1 lat.
0.5 M -- 1 Long., 1 lat.
25 0.3 M -- 1 Long., 1 lat.
-- 12 1 ~ong.~

1 Long., 1 lat.
1 on^.^
1 on^.^
1 on^.^
1 Long.
1 Long., 1 lat.
1 ~ong.~
1 ~ong.~

5 -- 9 1 Long .a
-- 12 1 on^.^
15 -- 6 1 Long.
25 -- 10 1 Long., 1 lat.
-- 12 1 ~ong.~
48 (STOL)~ 130 KIAS -- 1 Long., 2 lat.

1 Long., 1 lat.
1 on^.^

a~~~ on.
b~~~~ STOL fla mode engaged; flaps scheduled as function of
nozzle angle.?8

Fig. 1 V/STOL Research Aircraft and NASA facility

at Crows Landing, California.
 + IDLE POWER DIVE TURN
TO V=400 KIAS r RECOVER

SHORT TAKEOFF
FLIGHT TEST CARD

Aircraft: VSRA (NASA 704)

- SLOW LANDING
Flight: 744
I
+ RETRACT FLAPS
1'"' 50 KIAS gL PITCH A1 JTHORITY
lJ!du
Experimenters: McNallylBach D a t e : 1 1 11 2 / 8 7 ADD POWER TO
Pilot: Gerdes fYlamam
-@ TRIM SEGMENT

-) RETURN TO TRlM -) START RUN

TRANSITION +
NOZZLESTO AFT -,
REDUCEPOWER . tAOAo

4 DOWNWIND -4' GROUNDROU.

FLAPS 5" FLAPS STOL (25")
NOZZLES 10"
FULL POWER

> 4. JUST PRIOR TO Fig. 3 D e s c r i p t i o n o f j e t v e l o c i t y r a t i o - a n g l e o f

LANDING CHECK TOUCHDOWN a t t a c k maneuver f o r f l i g h t - t e s t card.
-
GEAR DOWN
FLAPS STOL -
AOA 10 12"
POWER 60%
NOZZLES 40"
b-

I
4 TURN BASE

NOZZLES 60"
C
+ISTART RUN
+ STOP RUN
THROllLE DESCENT
AOA 10 -12"

I
-b STABILATOR
I RETURNTO h, ,V,

PULSES - MAX
F i g . 2 F l i g h t - t e s t card f o r s h o r t - t a k e o f f and slow
landing maneuver. PITCH RATE WINDUP

eNMo
-b STABILATOR HOLD MACH,
FRM. SWEEP

+ LEVELTURN

Fig. 4 D e s c r i p t i o n o f l o n g i t u d i n a l maneuver f o r
f l i g h t - t e s t card.
 I-
V)
-10 -
1 FREQUENCY SWEEP
4 h- MAX. PITCH RATE PULSES
25 -1 , I A

TURN
HI
AOA LADDER

-50 ! I I I 5 \I I

0 50 100 150 200 250 0 20 40 60 80

TIME, sec TIME, sec

Fig. 5 Variation in stabilator, angle of attack, Fig. 7 Variation in engine rpm, jet velocity
and pitch rate, during longitudinal maneuver: ratio, and angle of attack during first segment of
nozzles 60°, flaps 60°, Vo = 85 KIAS, and jet velocity ratio angle of attack maneuver: noz-
ho = 10,000 ft. zles 60°, flaps 60°, AOA = lo0, ho = 7,000 ft.

Mo ( "0 Yo)

4
-) START RUN
-) STOP RUN

TRIM SEGMENT
+ ADD POWER
RETURN TO ho ,Vo
-EFT/RIGHT
RUDDER TO X G = P

MAX SIDESLIP -) AILERON FREQ. SWEEP

WINGS LEVEL START W/40° ROLL
RUDDER FIXED
- I 41'
51
'2 ,,

+ Mo
.-e"."I s5r.
3UDDEWAILERON
.-E '5-
-'LETS + RUDDER F R M SWEEP = /
WINGS LEVEL
:-
.41
.EVEL TURN
CONSTANT
+ Mo
STICK FIXED
W

' :;I
.1 -
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
AOA, deg

Fig. 6 Description of lateral maneuver for flight- Fig. 8 Cross-3lot showing jet velocity ratio
test card. versus angle of attack during first segment of jet
velocity ratio angle of attack maneuver.
 RUDDER. LEFT AILERON, STABILATOR, RPM, FLAP. NOZZLE.
deg den deg % MAX deg deg
I 4 -.. 4
N 0 m 0
X 0 X 0
L.l 0 0 o 0
m 0
O0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 -

YAW. PITCH. ROLL, VERTICAL, LATERAL, LONGITUDINAL,

deglsec2 deglsec2 deglsec2 G 's G 's G's
ul
0 0

.7 w
r 3 m
0 n u
3 .7
Vl(0 r
Z E
1 rr
0 - 1 m
- r c n
w
v 3 0
3 n.3
m P.
C 3 w
I-m 0
w 0
7w E3 ?m z
o m 7
O C W
m e . 7
w m r.
m 7 0
7 . 3
w VI
CT
r. w 3
0 - 0
3 7
. r-
(0 I
- V1
3 7
m o
w 7
7 rr
I
 -2000 1 I I I I -5000 40 I I I
0 50 100 150 200 50 100 150 200
TIME, sec TIME, sec

Fig. 1 1 Body-axis forces and moments due to engine Fig. 12 Body-axis forces and moments due to aero-
and reaction control system thrust for short- dynamics for short-takeoff and slow-landing maneu-
takeoff and slow-landing maneuver. a) Forces. ver. a) Forces. b) Moments.
b) Moments.
 Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.

NASA TM-100996
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date

Flight Testing a V/STOL Aircraft to Identify a

Full-Envelope Aerodynamic Model
I
7. Authoris) 8. Performing Organization Report No.

B. David McNally and Ralph E. Bach, Jr.

10. Work Unit No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 505-66-41

11. Contract or Grant No.
I 1 I
I Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA 94035
13. Type
.. of Report and Period Covered I
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
I
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546-0001

15. Supplementary Notes

c
1
Technical Memorandum
14. Sponsoring Agency Code

Point of Contact: B. David McNally, Ames Research Center, MS 210-9

Moffett Field, CA 94035 (415) 694-5440 or FTS 464-5440

1 16. Abstract 1
Flight-test techniques are being used to generate a data base for identifi-
cation of a full-envelope aerodynamic model of a V/STOL fighter aircraft, the
YAV-8B Harrier. The flight envelope to be modeled includes hover, transition.to
conventional flight and back to hover, STOL operation, and normal cruise. Stan-
dard V/STOL procedures such as vertical takeoff and landings, and short takeoff
and landings are used to gather data in the powered-lift flight regime. Long
(3-5 min) maneuvers which include a variety of input types are used to obtain .
large-amplitude control and response excitations. The aircraft is under continu-
ous radar tracking; a laser tracker is used for V/STOL operations near the
ground. Tracking data are used with state-estimation techniques to check data
consistency and to derive unmeasured variables, for example, angular accelera-
tions. A propulsion model of the YAV-8Bts engine and reaction control system is
used to isolate aerodynamic forces and moments for model identification. Repre-
sentative V/STOL flight data are presented. The processing of a typical short-
takeoff and slow-landing maneuver is illustrated.

17. Key Words (Suggested by Authorls)) 18. Distribution Statement

Flight testing Unclassified-Unlimited
Data consistency analysis
Aerodynamic modeling
V/STOL aircraft
YAV-8B Subject Category - 05
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 120. Security Classif. (of this page) 121. No. of pages 1 22. Price
I
1
Unclassified I Unclassified 1 15 I A02 II
NASA FORM 1626 OCT Bs For sale by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161