Undergraduate Contribution to Dynamically Scaled General Aviation Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

摘要

General Aviation Upset and Stall Aircraft Recovery (GA-USTAR) is a project being conducted by the Applied Aerodynamics Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. GA-USTAR aims to construct a 1/5th dynamically-scaled Cessna 182 model to validate upset and stall flight simulations for general aviation aircraft. Dynamic scaling is the process by which a scale model of an aircraft can be modified to match the flight characteristics of the full-scale through scaling of mass and other properties. This paper details the contributions of undergraduate research assistants in the development of the GA-USTAR project and the subsequent educational value of undergraduate research. The undergraduate contributions discussed in this paper include the building of a stock Top Flite Cessna 182 Sky lane model for baseline testing, determination of modifications necessary to dynamically scale the model to match the mass properties of the full-scale, creation of a weighted CAD model of the scale model, as well as initial flight testing. Through participation, the undergraduate research assistants gained valuable skills, experience, and insight applicable in both academia and industry that they would not have otherwise obtained through the undergraduate curriculum.