“Two in one” glider concept for unlimited aerobatics and FES-assisted cross-country flying – Part 2

Purpose Study into the possibilities and ways of modifications of existing PW-6 glider to obtain its versatile version suitable for unlimited aerobatic and cross-country flight, taking into consideration possible lowering the cost of the needed modifications regarding the tooling. This paper aims to show a continuation of such study and is devoted to estimation of the dynamic stability of a different glider configurations created to meet this project requirements. Design/methodology/approach Simulation and Dynamic Stability Analysis package was used to estimate the dynamic stability of both aerobatic and cross-country glider versions. Computations of necessary aerodynamic characteristics, stability and control derivatives were collected using the PANUKL package. Findings Analysis revealed that implemented modifications have not compromised the design from the dynamic stability point of view. The time history for case with and without the gyroscopic effects revealed that those effects can be neglected in dynamic stability analysis of motor gliders. Originality/value On the one hand, the results are mainly of practical importance and can be a guide for designers planning to implement a similar concept. Presented study supplements guidance presented in Part 1 in terms of necessary aspects that need to be considered in the case of conducting a similar work. On the other hand, comparing impact of both winglets and gyroscopic effects on results of dynamic stability.