Flight Testing: Analysis of the Spin Dynamics of a Single–Engine Low–Wing Aeroplane

As spinning is still involved in around 60% of all aircraft accidents (BFU, 1985 and Belcastro, 2009), this aerodynamic phenomenon is still not fully understood. As U.S. and European Certification Specifications do not require recoveries from fully developed spins of Normal Category aeroplanes, certification test flights will not discover aeroplane mass and centre of gravity combinations which may result in unrecoverable spins. This book aims to contribute to a better understanding of the spin phenomenon through investigating the spin regime for normal, utility and aerobatic aircraft, and to explain what happens to the aircraft in terms of the aerodynamics, flight mechanics and the aircraft stability. The approach used is to vary the main geometric parameters such as the centre of gravity position and the aeroplane’s mass across the flight envelope, and to investigate the subsequent effect on the main spin characteristic parameters such as the angle of attack, pitch angle, sideslip angle, rotational rates, and recovery time. First of all, a literature review sums up the range of technical aspects that affect the problem of spinning. It reviews the experimental measurement techniques used, theoretical methods developed and flight test results obtained by previous researchers.