An investigation of the dynamic lateral stability and control of a parawing vehicle

Abstract

Parawing vehicles may have unusual values of many of the mass and aerodynamic factors affecting dynamic lateral stability and control. These unusual characteristics are due in large part to the fact that the center of gravity of parawing vehicles is located far below the parawing, whereas conventional aircraft usually have the vertical center-of-gravity location near the plane of the wings. The present thesis is an analytical investigation of the dynamic lateral stability and control of a typical parawing vehicle. The analysis was made using three-degree-of-freedom, rigid body equations of motion. Stability derivatives used in the calculations were obtained from static and dynamic force tests of a parawing model with rigid leading-edge and keel members. The analysis is treated mainly in terms of the effects of vertical center-of-gravity position, since this was found to be the most significant factor affecting the lateral stability and control of the hypothetical vehicle.