An Examination of the Fatigue Meter Records from the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) Caribou Fleet

Abstract : In the early 1960's the Royal Australian Air Force order ed 25 Caribou I aircraft from the Canadian de Havilland Company. These aircraft came into service in 1964, and at the present time 21 of these aircraft are still on the register. The aircraft were all fitted with M1946 fatigue meters (Mk11), and these meters are, in general, read at the end of each flight. Since the beginning of March 1975 these fatigue meter data have been entered into a computer, and the present report is based on an analysis of the computerised data base extending from 3 March 1975 to 25 August 1984. This period includes data from just over 100 000 hours of flying - a very large data base- so the results have sufficient significance to distinguish between different gust load prediction methods. Of the various types of flying missions, type 4 (Display) is clearly more severe than all other types. At the two highest g levels, the loading frequencies are, respectively, 20 and 30 times the corresponding average frequencies for all types of flying. Australia.