Use of Piloted Simulation for Evaluation of Abrupt-Wing-Stall Characteristics

A piloted simulation architecture is presented for evaluating uncommanded wing drop due to asymmetric abrupt wing stall for a given aircraft configuration. The architecture incorporates a newly proposed aerodynamic modeling technique that characterizes the wing drop motion as being triggered by aerodynamic stall, modeled by a nonzero basic rolling moment coefficient, and sustained by reduced or propelling roll, modeled via the roll damping derivative. The determination of such derivatives/coefficients from either analytical or experimental methods is not addressed, and the successful identification of such terms, on which any piloted simulation evaluation hinges, remains a topic of research. Models with varying nonzero basic rolling moment coefficients and varying roll damping were inserted into the aerodynamic model and then evaluated by a pilot familiar with wing drop. The pilot assessed the varying models, assigning handling qualities ratings to predeveloped tasks aimed at diagnosing the severity (or absence) of any wing stall characteristics. Tasks included wind-up turns and a closed-loop tracking task in which the pilot tracked a target while flying a drop-prone simulation. The pilot was able to distinguish between satisfactory and unsatisfactory aerodynamic configurations. Pilot ratings and comments, as determined by the lateral aerodynamic model, were generally consistent with the expected handling qualities from flight test.