The X-31 aircraft: Advances in aircraft agility and performance

Abstract The X-31 enhanced fighter maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator has pioneered agile flight in the post-stall flight regime and explored integrated multi-axis thrust vectoring across a broad flight envelope. Its maneuvering achievements include sustained flight up to 70 degrees angle of attack, velocity vector rolls in deep post-stall conditions, and post-stall turns from high entry to exit speeds with ultra low turning/transitional conditions. The concept of post-stall maneuverability was extensively studied in simulations preceding initiation of the X-31 program. These simulations provided a baseline for tactical utility demonstrations and vehicle design requirements. Post-stall maneuverability was not achieved without encountering and mitigating the effects of highly unsteady, asymmetric, vortex-dominated flow-fields associated with post-stall flight. Anomalies in vehicle response to control inputs were observed at high angles of attack, as were differences between simulator and actual flight parameters due to a misrepresentation of the effects of these complex flowfields. Some preliminary force and moment data for the X-31 configuration during dynamic maneuvers are provided to highlight the complex nature of the flowfield. The X-31 aircraft's enabling capabilities, including multi-axis thrust vectoring and integrated flight/propulsion control also provided performance enhancements across the entire flight envelope. In what were known as ‘quasi-tailless’ experiments, conventional aerodynamic control surfaces were used to reduce or eliminate the stabilizing influence of the vertical stabilizer, while the vehicle's multi-axis thrust vectoring capability was used for restabilization. Properly exploited, these technologies can lead to the reduction or elimination of traditional aerodynamic control surfaces, which provides profound improvements in vehicle range, weight, payload, and low observability. This review focuses on some of the principal aerodynamic issues encountered during the course of the X-31 program, the resulting lessons learned, and the derived results concerning the complex aerodynamic effects associated with exploiting this aircraft's unique capabilities. Suggested research and technology development issues which came to light during the X-31 program are also discussed.

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