Exploratory flight loads investigation of the p-2v aircraft in aerial firefighting operations

An exploratory analysis has been performed on a small number of flights of the P-2V aircraft operating in the firefighting mode as opposed to the anti-submarine and search-andrescue operations for which it was designed. The data consists of 38 flights from the 2005 and 2007 fire seasons, for the same aircraft, totaling approximately 35 flight hours. Each flight has been divided into two ground and five flight phases and analyzed separately, with emphasis on the loads and atmospheric turbulence experienced by the aircraft. Some aircraft usage data has also been extracted and shown. Aircraft usage information in terms of operating altitudes and airspeeds, as well as maximum loads and V-n diagrams, have been examined for each flight phase. Flight loads for each phase have been separated into gusts and maneuvers using the “Two-Second Rule” and have been normalized per 1000 hours and per nautical mile. Atmospheric gust velocities for each phase have also been extracted and presented in both forms. Finally, the resultant gust and maneuver flight loads have been compared with standard design gust loads and Mil-8866 maneuver loads. A number of general trends have been observed by comparing the phases before and after the release of retardant. It has been shown that the release of retardant weight would significantly decrease wing loading and thus both the cruise speed and response to atmospheric turbulence. This has been demonstrated as being caused by weight by showing the levels of atmospheric turbulence to be the same before and after the drop. The effect of the changing weight on loads has also been examined in detail. The decrease in the weight of the aircraft during the taxi after the drop has been shown to increase the frequency of all loads as well as their severity compared to taxi loads prior to the drop. A similar