Royal Aircraft Establishment Research Articles

Frazer‐Nash Prototype RPV Launcher Undergoes RAE Trials

A novel form of Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) launcher has been developed by Frazer‐Nash Ltd, a member of the Frazer‐Nash Group, and is currently undergoing trials at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough.

Flight Instrumentation

RESEARCH that was to lead to the application of electronic displays to the flight decks of transport aircraft may be said to have begun seriously in the 1970's with the main centre of UK activity being in the advanced flight deck simulator at British Aerospace, Weybridge. Initially, work on monochrome cathode ray tube (CRT) displays was undertaken and these were in fact, flown for a short while in the trials aircraft. This was soon followed by colour coding however, and two large colour CRT displays were to be developed by Smiths Industries and installed in the left hand instrument panel of the Royal Aircraft Establishment BAC One‐Eleven aircraft. Together with other instrumentation, the full colour displays were fitted during 1981 with the main programme concentrated on the development and integration of these head down instruments with the rapidly evolving flight management system.

Analytical generation of orbits at the royal aircraft establishment

This paper traces the development of the main computer programs for analytical orbit determination and orbit evolution carried out at the RAE. The principal program, PROP, is still in regular use, having an accuracy of 50 to 100 m for the orbits of close satellites determined over a period of a few days even when the drag is severe. The chief limitation of PROP is the absence of lunisolar perturbations, but these are included in a companion program, PROD, for the evolution of mean elements. Work of recent years has focused on a framework for far more accurate representation and generation of orbits. The method is purely analytical (as in PROP) for short-period perturbations, applied compactly via the use of a special system of spherical coordinates, but employs a degree of numerical integration in the variation of mean elements. The goal is a single program that would eventually supersede the PROP-PROD combination, providing an accuracy of perhaps 1 m.

CRTs in avionics

Report on Colour coded versus monochrome electronic displays, Nato workshop, 27 February-1 March 1984 at Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough

Carbon fibres, manufacture, use and economy

More than a decade has passed since carbon fibre has been introduced into market. At the beginning, carbon fibre was appreciated bacause of its degree of freedom of form and its flexibility compared with solid carbon/graphite block. Main applications were: heat resistant, refractory or ablative materials. In 1959, rayon based carbon fibre with high strength and high modulus properties was introduced under a tradename of Thornel 25 by Union Carbide Corp. USA. Since then carbon fibre has come into the spotlight as a reinforcing material in the composite for structural usage.Then an intensive research work has been carried out to find the more suitable raw materials for carbon fibre (precursor) in UK and in Japan, Dr. Shindo, Osaka Industrial Institute of Japan has succeded in making carbon fibre from acrylic fibre in 1961. The scientists of RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment, U. K.) have invented the manufacturing technology of carbon fibre based on PAN (polyacrylonitrile) in 1964. The mechanical properties of them were far excellent compared with that of rayon based carbon fibre. Since then, PAN has established the position of precursor and still the most important precursor for structural use carbon fibre.On the other hand in order to reduce the cost, a number of extensive work has been done to develop carbon fibre based on petroleum pitch or on coal pitch. Nowadays high performance carbon fibre based on pitch is industrialized by Union Carbide and also general purpose carbon fibre based on pitch has been commercialized by Kureha Chemical Co, Japan.With regards to the applications, high performance PAN based carbon fibre paves the way for reinforced resin structural materials for aerospace applications. With an increasing performance requirements from aerospace industry, carbon fibre is moving to the second phase in terms of its properties to meet these requirements. A new generation type of carbon fibre is now under development by a number of manufacturers.In this paper, the trend of carbon fibre including its characteristics applications and market estimation are reviewed.

Evaluation of digilux-touch-sensing equipment under whole-body random vibration conditions : Royal Aircraft Establishment, Flight Systems Department, Farnborough, Technical Report No TR 81036, 1981

Evaluation of digilux-touch-sensing equipment under whole-body random vibration conditions : Royal Aircraft Establishment, Flight Systems Department, Farnborough, Technical Report No TR 81036, 1981

Calculation of transient thermal stresses in solid rocket propellants

Dirling, R., A Method for Computing Roughwall Heat Transfer Rates on Reentry Nosetips, AIAA Paper 73-763, Palm Springs, Calif., 1973. Schlichting, H., Boundary Layer Theory (translated by J. Kestin), 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960, p. 320. Cansdale, J. and McNaughton, I., Calculation of Surface Temperature and the Accretion Rate in a Mixed Water Droplet/Ice Crystal Cloud, Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Report 77090,1977.

A microcomputer implementation of a turbulence generator for flight simulation

The inclusion of a realistic representation of atmospheric turbulence in ground-based flight simulation is an essential ingredient in providing the pilot with an authentic working environment, in addition to its possible importance in assessing the handling qualities of the particular aircraft being simulated. The Royal Aircraft Establishment Bedford and Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic have collaborated in the development of a model of turbulence suitable for digital simulation. As a FORTRAN subroutine it has been extensively validated and has an established reputation. This paper discusses the principal features of the model and describes the methods used to develop a micro-computer-based implementation designed to run in parallel with the main simulation. The conclusion is that a successful implementation is possible using an inexpensive standard system.

The effect of additional runway lights and autopilot failure on the landing performance of a medium size transport aircraft : Penwill, J.C. Royal Aircraft Establishment, Flight Systems Department, Farnborough, Hants, Technical Memorandum No TM FS 357, Nov 1980; abstr in RAE Library List C

The effect of additional runway lights and autopilot failure on the landing performance of a medium size transport aircraft : Penwill, J.C. Royal Aircraft Establishment, Flight Systems Department, Farnborough, Hants, Technical Memorandum No TM FS 357, Nov 1980; abstr in RAE Library List C

Farnborough Aftermath

There is really no air show quite like Farnborough. No air show in the world that is that has the same background to show off aircraft on the ground and in the air, the materials, navigation and avionics, air launched weapons and such like as is made possible at the home of the Royal Aircraft Establishment.

Stress Measurements in a Ribbon Parachute Canopy

Jocelyn Lawrence, A. and Jackson, P., Comparison of Different Methods of Assessing the Free Oscillatory Characteristics of Systems, British Aeronautical Research Council, C.P. No. 1084, 1970. 11 Woodcock, D.L. and Jocelyn Lawrence, A., Further Comparisons of Different Methods of Assessing the Free Oscillatory Characteristics of Systems, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Tech. Rept. 72188, Sept. 1972. Rodden, W.P., Harder, R.L., and Bellinger, E.D., Aeroelastic Addition to NASTRAN, NASA CR 3094, 1979. Bisplinghoff, R.L., Ashley, H., and Halfman, R.L., Aeroelasticity, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1955. Jones, W.P., Aerodynamic Forces on Wings in Non-Uniform Motion, British Aeronautical Research Council, R&M 2117, 1945. Fung, Y.C., An Introduction to the Theory of Aeroelasticity, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1955, p. 215. Rodden, W.P. and Harder, R.L., Analysis with Active Controls, Paper presented at the MSC/NASTRAN User's Conference, Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1975. Armstrong, E.S., ORACLS—A System for Linear-QuadraticGaussian Law Design, NASA TP-1106, April 1978. Mahesh, J.K., Stone, C.R., Garrard, W.L., and Dunn, H.J., Control Law Synthesis for Flutter Suppression Using Linear Quadratic Gaussian Theory, Journal of Guidance and Control, Vol. 4, July-Aug. 1981, pp. 415-422.

Developments in the use of Knowles miniature microphones to measure conditions inside the ear muffs

The Knowles series of miniature microphones have been used in the Flight Systems Department of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Great Britain, for some years for the investigation of noise and speech levels at the ear inside the ear muff. This paper describes the types of microphone that have been used and the power units developed to enable them to feed a variety of measuring and recording equipment. This equipment has many other uses where a miniature microphone is required and the sound pressure level does not exceed 140 dB re 20 μPa. The equipment described has logged thousands of flying hours in RAF aircraft.

Achievement of aerial flight: an engineering assessment

The main runway on the aerodrome at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, Hampshire, occupies land that at the turn of the century was always known as Laffan's Plain.From this plain in 1908, S. F. Cody had made the first aeroplane flight in the British Isles. Four years later two subalterns of the Royal Flying Corps, a Corps that had been fathered by the Corps of Royal Engineers, were walking across this same land. As they walked, the officers discussed the choice of a motto for the Royal Flying Corps, for its Commanding Officer had sent out a general call for proposals. One of the subalterns, J. S. Yule, proposed a Latin tag that had been used by Sir Rider Haggard in his book People of the Mist. That proposal was, ‘Per Ardua ad Astra’, the motto of the Royal Flying Corps and later of the Royal Air Force. It has a supreme advantage among mottoes that all Latinists seem to agree that it cannot be translated! But at least most interpret it as ‘Through struggles to the stars’; and that is the theme of this paper.

Colour displays in military aircraft : Corps, R.J., and Laycock, J. Royal Aircraft Establishment, Flight Systems Department, Farnborough, Technical Memorandum No TM FS 271, Oct 1979,; abstr in Royal Aircraft Establishment, Library List C

Colour displays in military aircraft : Corps, R.J., and Laycock, J. Royal Aircraft Establishment, Flight Systems Department, Farnborough, Technical Memorandum No TM FS 271, Oct 1979,; abstr in Royal Aircraft Establishment, Library List C

Royal aircraft establishment technical memo FS 292 : M. E. Johnston 1979. The effect of reclined seating on the transmission of linear vibration to the head. (23 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, 12 references)

Royal aircraft establishment technical memo FS 292 : M. E. Johnston 1979. The effect of reclined seating on the transmission of linear vibration to the head. (23 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, 12 references)

A preliminary investigation of the effect of 2–20 Hz whole-body vibration on spoken numbers : M. E. Johnson 1978 Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Memo FS 152. (35 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, 12 references)

A preliminary investigation of the effect of 2–20 Hz whole-body vibration on spoken numbers : M. E. Johnson 1978 Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Memo FS 152. (35 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, 12 references)

I.G.C.P. project no. 143—Remote sensing and mineral exploration: Current UK activities

The past year or so has seen a marked increase in the amount of image processing equipment available to the geological community in U.K. Most significant has been the inauguration early this year of a National Remote Sensing Centre based at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough which is equipped with a Plessey IDP 3000 interactive processor and Linoscan 204D film writer with computing facilities and ancilliary equipment. Several groups from government, universities and industry are now evaluating the use of the equipment in their mapping, mineral exploration and consultancy programmes. Studies are under way investigating lithological discrimination in a variety of climatic, topographic and geological environments overseas, from flat sand desert to semi-arid mountains and tropical rain forest. Studies are continuing on the relations between botanical anomalies around ore deposits and their remote sensing expression on air photography and satellite imagery. Also continuing are studies of the relations between remotely sensed lineaments, fracture patterns and mineralisation.

Morien Bedford Morgan, 20 December 1912 - 4 April 1978

Morien Bedford Morgan was born on 20 December 1912 at Bridgend, Glamorganshire, S. Wales. He died suddenly on 4 April 1978 at the Master’s Lodge of Downing College, Cambridge, where he had been Master since 1972. After a school life involving a few moves for one reason or another, he read engineering at Cambridge University and, in keeping with his natural inclination, learnt to think in fundamental engineering terms. This was one of his great strengths. He was not particularly interested in academic work for its own sake unless he could visualize its being of use in an engineering project, but at the same time he worked hard to bring scientific thought and method into many aspects of engineering application. It was while he was an undergraduate at Cambridge that he became fascinated with aeronautics, and good at it too, since he won the Aeronautics Prize in his year. Partly owing to circumstances, he made one false start in industry after taking his degree, but within a year he had taken a job in the Aerodynamics Department of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (R.A.E.) in Farnborough, Hampshire. There he met Sylvia Axford, to whom he was married in Farnborough on 19 April 1941; there are three daughters, Carol, Deryn and Gwyneth. In aeronautics his enthusiasm was infectious, and for someone with his love of aeroplanes he could not have started his aeronautical career at a better place than in the Aerodynamics Department at the R.A.E. Nor could his career with aeroplanes have been better timed, at least for variety and excitement, than it was, spanning as it did the war years and the periods of rapid development both before, when the need was at last recognized, and after, when jet engines and sweepback were exploited on a large scale.

Effect of facility variations on the acoustic characteristics of three single stream nozzles

The characteristics of the jet noise produced by three single stream referee nozzles have been investigated statically at the NASA-Lewis Research Center outdoor jet acoustic facility. These nozzles were a 712-cm-diam conical convergent, a 10-cm-diem conical convergent, and an 8-lobe daisy nozzle with 712cm equivalent diameter flow area. The same nozzles have been previously tested in other facilities such as the Royal Aircraft Establishment 24-ft acoustic wind tunnel. The test conducted covered pressure ratios from 1.4 to 2.5 at total temperatures of 810°K and ambient. Data were obtained using four different acoustic arena arrangements. Data taken with the different arrangements are compared. The results obtained are also compared with data from other facilities and with a prediction procedure developed elsewhere [i.e., Stone and Montegani (1979).]

Acoustic Tests of Three Single Stream Referee Nozzles at the NASA‐Lewis Research Center Outdoor Jet Acoustic Facility

The characteristics of the jet noise produced by three single stream referee nozzles have been investigated statically at the NASA—Lewis Research Center outdoor jet acoustic facility. These nozzles were a 712‐cm‐diam conical convergent, a 10‐cm‐diam conical convergent, and an 8‐lobe daisy nozzle with 712‐cm equivalent diameter flow area. The same nozzles have been previously tested in other facilities such as the Royal Aircraft Establishment 24 ft acoustic wind tunnel, and the NASA Ames Research Center 40 × 80 wind tunnel. The test conducted covered pressure ratios from 1.4 to 2.5 at total temperatures of 810°K and ambient. Data were obtained using four different acoustic arena arrangements. Data taken with the different arrangements are compared. The results obtained are also compared with data from other facilities and with a prediction procedure developed elsewhere [i.e., Stone and Montegani (1979)].