Flight control system development and flight test experience with the F-111 mission adaptive wing aircraft

Abstract

Abst ractThe wing on the NASA F-l11 transonic aircraft technology airplane was modified to provide flexible leading and trailing edge flaps. This wing is known as thE! mission adaptive wing (MA~I) because aerodynamic efficiency can be maintained at all speeds. Unlike a conventional wing, the MAW has no spoilers. e)(ternal flap hinges, or fair'ings to break the smooth contour. The leading edge flaps and three-segment trailing edge flaps are controll ed by a fI!dundant fly-by-wi re control system that features iI dual digital primary system architecture providing roll and symmetric commands to the MAW control surfaces. A segregated analog backup system is provided in the event of a primary !.ystem fa i 1 ure. Thi s paper di scusses the design, development, testing, qualification, and fl ight test experience of the MAW primary and backup fl i ght control systems.

Parametric structural modelling of fish bone active camber morphing aerofoils

“…One of the first designs that targeted variable camber without surface discontinuities was presented in the NASA's F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing Aircraft, where a variable camber wing is implemented to optimise aerodynamic performance at different flight scenarios (Larson, 1986). Another variable camber concept is the DARPA Smart Wing (Kudva, 2004), where a centre laminate with honeycomb core and silicone skin give the trailing edge the flexibility needed to create changes in camber (Figure 1).…”

Structural Modelling of Compliance-Based Morphing Structures under Transverse Shear Loading

“…One of the first "modern" morphing concepts was the NASA's F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing [15], which implemented a sliding and bending skins over internal linkage mechanisms to achieve smooth leading and trailing edge camber deflections. Other highlighted concepts are the DARPA Smart Wing, where a combination of a plate structure with honeycomb and silicone is used [16]; the Flexys Flexfoil TM , which can achieve a ±10°transverse trailing edge deflection, as well as twist; the DLR Belt-Rib concept [17] and the Fish Bone Active Camber (FishBAC) device [18], which is the subject of study in this work.…”

Wind Tunnel Comparison of Flapped and FishBAC Camber Variation for Lift Control

“…In terms of camber morphing prototypes found in the literature, some of the highlighted concepts are the F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing, based on a series of several hinged flaps [13]; the Flexys Flexfoil, capable of achieving ±10 • of out-of-plane deflection; DARPA Smart Wing, which combined a plate structure with a honeycomb core [14]; the DLR Belt-Rib concept [15] and the Fish Bone Active Camber (FishBAC) morphing trailing edge device, which is subject of study of this wind tunnel experiment ( Fig. 1) [16].…”