Influence Of Aircraft Angle Of Attack On High G Cockpit Design PDF Download

The effects of aircraft angle of attack and flight path acceleration during high G fighter maneuvering on the position of the resultant G relative to the pilot are examined by means of a computer simulated dogfight engagement. It is demonstrated that a transient shifting in position of the resultant G relative to an aircraft vertical reference is correlated with variations in flight path acceleration, which occur due to pilot actuation of controls with attendant changes in flight path characteristics. Although time intervals during high G turns are noted wherein high values for aircraft angle of attack coincide with high values for the position of resultant G forward of aircraft vertical, these cases generally occur at subsonic (M equal to or less than 0.7) airspeeds and for the 'best' case for which the maximum power throttle setting is elected. For high G turns at transonic and supersonic speeds, the associated angle of attack is substantially reduced, as is the maximum inclination of resultant G forward of vertical for the best case of maximum power setting. Application of speed brakes or selection of an intermediate power setting has the effect of shifting the G-vector aft. It is concluded that the arbitrary addition of a large angle equal to the aircraft angle of attack to the ejection seat back angle to provide added pilot protection against high G forces is not warranted. (Author).