General Aviation Landing Research at Princeton University

An in-flight simulator especially configured for landing research has been developed by Princeton University under NASA sponsorship. A thrust and drag control system utilizing a reversing propeller is incorporated, along with up-and-down deflecting flaps for lift modulation. Special consideration was given to safety features, including redundancy in some control channels. The flight work accomplished during the past year featured a generalized investigation of the effects of lift and drag response to pitch and throttle controls for several approach conditions. Experiments in progress are: exploring the effects of speed, ground proximity, and utility of direct lift controls.