On Development of Autonomous HAHO Parafoil System for Targeted Payload Return

Benton, Joshua; Yakimenko, Oleg A.

doi:10.2514/6.2013-1312

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…While working with FOCA we were also in contact with FINAVIA in Finland, who allowed us to do test flights with the RGR at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) Arctic Research Center, Sodankylä. The permission included day and night flights up to 30 000 m. The Sodankylä facility is an aerological sounding station in operation since 1949 and has recently become a GRUAN station (Bodeker et al, 2015).…”

Section: Rgr Test Flightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With strong evidence of climate change and a refined knowledge that atmospheric composition in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) plays an important role regarding radiative effects in Earth's climate system (Forster and Shine, 2002;Solomon et al, 2010), upper-air climate observations have been given more attention in recent years. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN) is designed to produce long-term, climate-quality records of essential climate variables in the troposphere and stratosphere at 20-30 globally distributed sites (Trenberth et al, 2002;GCOS-112, 2007;Seidel et al, 2009;Bodeker et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Answer to anonymous referee # 1:

Philipona¹

2016

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Upper-air balloon soundings for weather predictions have been made since the beginning of the 20th century. New radiosonde instruments for in situ humidity-, radiationand gas-profile measurements in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere, were introduced in recent years for atmospheric research and climate monitoring, but such instruments are often expensive and it is desired they be reused on multiple flights. Recovering instruments that freely descend with parachutes is time consuming, sometimes difficult and even dangerous. Here, we introduce the return glider radiosonde (RGR), which enables flying and retrieving valuable in situ upper-air instruments. The RGR is lifted with weather balloons similar to traditional radiosondes to a preset altitude, at which time a release mechanism cuts the tether string, and a built-in autopilot flies the glider autonomously back to the launch site or a desired preprogrammed location. Once the RGR reaches the landing coordinates it circles down and releases a parachute 100 m above ground for landing. The motivation for this project was to measure radiation profiles throughout the atmosphere with the same instrument multiple times and with a rapid turnaround time. The paper describes technical aspects of the return glider radiosonde and the built-in radiation instruments and shows test flights up to 24 km altitude that are analyzed in terms of flight performance and maximal distances covered. Several successive flights measuring radiation profiles demonstrate the reliability and the operational readiness of the RGR, allowing new ways for atmospheric in situ research and monitoring with payloads up to several kg depending on the specific size of the glider.

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Section: Rgr Test Flightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Answer to anonymous referee # 1:

Philipona¹

2016

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“…In a previous study, a drop test of a parafoil-type vehicle using a high-altitude balloon was carried out at approximately 30 km height in the Earth. In the experiment, although the parafoil of the vehicle was successfully deployed, it failed to conduct the gliding flight [3]. For achievement of successful flight in thin atmosphere, it is needed to understand the aerodynamic characteristics and the flight mechanism of the parafoil-type vehicle in more detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Rigging Angle on Longitudinal Direction Motion of Parafoil-Type Vehicle: Basic Stability Analysis and Wind Tunnel Test

Moriyoshi

Yamada

Nishida

2020

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

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The paraglider, a flexible flying vehicle, consists of a parafoil with flexible wings, suspension lines, and a suspended payload. At this time, the suspension lines have several parameters to be designed. Above all, a parameter called Rigging Angle (RA) is sensitive to the aerodynamic characteristics of a paraglider during flight. In this study, the effect of RA is clarified using the two-dimensional stability analysis and a wind tunnel test. The mechanisms about the parafoil-type vehicle stability are clarified through the experimental and analytical approaches as follows. The RA has an allowable range for a stable flight. When the RA is set out of the range, the parafoil cannot fly stably. Furthermore, the behavior of the parafoil wing in the case of lower RA than the allowable range is different from the case of higher RA. The parafoil collapses from the leading edge of the canopy and cannot glide in the case of lower RA.

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“…This low air pressure is the major problem for this technique since a parafoil system relies on the dynamic pressure during flight to keep its shape, inflating the parafoil once released from the balloon. A group from NASA Ames Research Center has made numerous experiments with high altitude parafoil guiding systems with mixed results (Benton and Yakimenko, 2013).…”

Section: Parafoil Guiding Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Return glider radiosonde for in situ upper-air research measurements

Kräuchi

Philipona

2016

Atmos. Meas. Tech.

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Abstract. Upper-air balloon soundings for weather predictions have been made since the beginning of the 20th century. New radiosonde instruments for in situ humidity-, radiationand gas-profile measurements in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere, were introduced in recent years for atmospheric research and climate monitoring, but such instruments are often expensive and it is desired they be reused on multiple flights. Recovering instruments that freely descend with parachutes is time consuming, sometimes difficult and even dangerous. Here, we introduce the return glider radiosonde (RGR), which enables flying and retrieving valuable in situ upper-air instruments. The RGR is lifted with weather balloons similar to traditional radiosondes to a preset altitude, at which time a release mechanism cuts the tether string, and a built-in autopilot flies the glider autonomously back to the launch site or a desired preprogrammed location. Once the RGR reaches the landing coordinates it circles down and releases a parachute 100 m above ground for landing. The motivation for this project was to measure radiation profiles throughout the atmosphere with the same instrument multiple times and with a rapid turn-around time. The paper describes technical aspects of the return glider radiosonde and the built-in radiation instruments and shows test flights up to 24 km altitude that are analyzed in terms of flight performance and maximal distances covered. Several successive flights measuring radiation profiles demonstrate the reliability and the operational readiness of the RGR, allowing new ways for atmospheric in situ research and monitoring with payloads up to several kg depending on the specific size of the glider.

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On Development of Autonomous HAHO Parafoil System for Targeted Payload Return

Cited by 10 publications

References 10 publications

Answer to anonymous referee # 1:

Answer to anonymous referee # 1:

The Effect of Rigging Angle on Longitudinal Direction Motion of Parafoil-Type Vehicle: Basic Stability Analysis and Wind Tunnel Test

Return glider radiosonde for in situ upper-air research measurements

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