23rd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 8-13 September, 2002, Toronto, Canada
Paper ICAS 2002-5.6.1 (I.L.)

APPLICATION OF ESTOL FLIGHT CONTROL TECH-NOLOGY TO UCAV DESIGN

A. Knoll, B. Fischer
EADS, Germany

Keywords: flight control, estol, control laws

During the X-31 Vector program the ESTOL technology (Extreme Short Takeoff and Landing) has been developed and will be flight tested. This technique uses very high angles of attack during takeoff and landing to improve the performance. ESTOL might also offer the possibility to improve the air-field performance of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV). This report investigates the suitability of ESTOL for UCAV. Possible performance improvements are demon-strated with a potential UCAV design. The influence of the basic configuration is shown, as well as the integration into the basic con-trol law structure.

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