Cost Benefits of Aerodynamic Data Generation Techniques for Aircraft Stability and Control Analysis using the J2 Universal Tool-Kit

In modern aircraft development, effective stability and control analysis running parallel to the aircraft design is essential to the success of the manufacturer. Numerous aircraft manufacturers have had to spend large amounts of resources and time over the years as their in flight tests show the aircraft to be an unstable design. Even worse case scenarios have resulted in the loss of passengers and crew as aircraft have not responded safely to a situation.

In order to complete stability and control analysis on an aircraft model, the aircraft’s aerodynamic data is necessary. This paper investigates a series of methods currently available, in the generation of aerodynamic data and how that data relates to actual aircraft stability and control. Furthermore, the integration of the aerodynamic data will be demonstrated within the J2 Universal software. Firstly to show how to use the aerodynamic data within a state of the art stability and control design tool, and secondly to show how each method of data generation can affect the accuracy of the stability and control analysis. A summary of methods concludes this paper in the hopes of informing design engineers as to what methods would be most appropriate given a projects particular design phase. This paper aims to encourage a design engineer to maximize their knowledge of their aircraft at every stage of the design process. The methods of generating Aerodynamic data that are investigated include Wind Tunnel testing, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Boundary Element Theory, Strip Theory, DATCOM+ and more traditional geometric methods.