Flight Load Measurements and Analysis

KNOWLEDGE of loads on major structural parts of an airplane while in flight is needed for complete utilization of the airplane's strength and capabilities. Some in-flight measuring techniques and equipment for reducing the data thus obtained are discussed in this paper.

Instrumentation and calibration of strain gages for measuring in-flight air loads are described in detail. Wing bending-moment measurements obtained on a Navy PV-2 airplane are used to illustrate data reduction procedure.