EFFECT OF UNSTABLE MODERN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT DESIGN ON MASS CONTROL (AN EXAMPLE OF THE EUROFIGHTER AIRCRAFT)

摘要

The Mass Property Engineer's role in the classical aircraft design process is to provide reliable mass property information to the engineering organization in order to enable the optimization of the aircraft layout and performance. In the course of the design process, the role of Mass Properties engineers are normally focused on weight control, reducing the weight growth occurring during product realization. Unstable modern fighter aircraft require mass data for their computerized flight control system. As a consequence of this requirement, the mass engineer's field of activity is extended to monitor the aircraft mass also during the in-service operation. This paper will describe what data is required by the flight control system, how these data is generated and the implications of this on the weights engineers' community at the example of the aerodynamically highly unstable Eurofighter. It will also identify the parameters, which ultimately determine the accuracy of the required data. It is concluded that the resulting mass data generation process is a compromise between the requirements of aircraft performance, in-service operation and the associated costs.