22nd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Harrogate, UK, 28 August - 1st September, 2000
Paper ICAS 2000-7.4.4

MULTI DISCIPLINARY DESIGN OF A HIGH ASPECT RATIO GRAVITY CONTROL HANG GLIDER WITH AEROELASTICALLY ENHANCED MANEUVARABILITY

G. M. Massaro
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, section Airplane Design & Systems Integration, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

Keywords: multi disciplinary design, high aspect ratio, hang glider , aeroelastically enhanced maneuvarability

In this paper the preliminary design of a new concept hang glider with a rigid wing is presented. This design uses flexibility in the wing structure to comply with manoeuvrability requirements using pilot weight-shift as the single means of control. The structural flexibility is realised by introducing a separate central wing part with a relatively low torsional stiffness compared to the outer wing parts. The main manoeuvrability requirement consists of a minimum roll speed requirement. The influence of the torsional stiffness of the centre-section of the wing and the pilot-wing connection on the roll performance is analysed using CFD 3D panelling code (FASD) and basic engineering mechanics. The influence on the aero elastic behaviour of the hang glider is also analysed using Finite Element Aero elastic Analyses (NASTRAN). Results show that decreasing the torsional stiffness of the centre-section of the wing improves the roll performance. Decreasing the torsional stiffness also decreases the divergence speed. Flutter is not a significant problem within the low speed range of the hang glider. The pilot-wing connection determines the stiffness range for the centre-section of the wing and the roll performance.

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