Problem

Clear air turbulence contributes significantly to turbulence injuries. An investigation is required to determine if aircraft control systems can be used to smooth the ride in these encounters.

Approach

AeroTech, in simulations, used airborne lidars to sense turbulence and feed the results to the aircraft’s automatic control system.

Results

Simulations indicate a 35% to 50% reduction in experienced loads can be achieved with appropriate control techniques.

AeroTech Contributions

Aircraft and control system simulations, weather modeling, lidar scanning strategy assessment, and overall system simulation and assessment.

Partners

• Coherent Technologies,
• Lockheed Missiles and Space Corp.,
• NASA, and
• Old Dominion University