Flight Measurement of Aerodynamic Coefficients on a Bomb

During the past five years, the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory, the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and the Australian Weapons Research Establishment have been engaged in a joint study of free-fall vehicle dynamics. The goal of this program was to obtain highly detailed wind-tunnel measurements on research shapes and then use these data to carry out computer simulations of vehicle trajectories. These simulations were compared with actual measurements obtained from a full-scale instrumented store in free flight. The program was also concerned with a wind-tunnel and free-flight investigation of novel stabilizers (tails) designed to eliminate various types of dynamic instabilities.

Jonathan H. W. Shannon

Papers

Free-Fail Vehicle Dynamics Observation and Prediction