Wing lift simulation method during full scale carrier-based aircraft drop tests

Wing lift simulation during full scale carrier-based aircraft drop tests is to impose a dynamic load on an aircraft's wing under indoor environment, so as to completely simulate the real wing load-bearing of the aircraft under landing condition.Whether or not applying wing lift is reasonable is the key of successful full scale carrier-based aircraft drop tests.Here, the simulation criterion of wing lift for full scale carrier-based aircraft drop tests was given, a simulating wing lift loading method for full scale carrier-based aircraft drop tests was proposed. According to the proposed method, the design principles of a wing lift loading device were presented, the mechanical performances of the wing lift simulator were tested. The method and the device were applied in the full scale aircraft drop tests of a certain aircraft. This method was verified and evaluated from four aspects including applied wing lift values, effect of aircraft attitude, effect of going down speed and landing energy absorption. The test results showed that the proposed method satisfies the simulation criterion of wing lift for full scale carrier-based aircraft drop tests; it can be used to simulate wing lift loading for such tests.