Handling Qualities of a Blended Wing Body Aircraft

The blended wing body (BWB) is a tailless aircraft with the potential to use 27% less fuel than a conventional aircraft with the same passenger capacity and range. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the handling qualities of the BWB, using piloted-handling trials in a moving-base simulator. The secondary purpose was to determine the eect of simulator motion on handling-quality ratings. De Castro conducted piloted-handling trials in a xed-base simulator. The current study uses much of the data from de Castro’s work. Novel elements in the current study, apart from the use of simulator motion, include modied lateral-ight-con trol-system gains, modied engine moments, and the ground-eect model. Three pilots rated the longitudinal and lateral handling qualities as Level 1 or 2, depending on the task. Simulator motion did not have a signicant eect on the ratings.

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