Flying Qualities - Historical Development

Historical Development

Bryan showed that the stability characteristics of airplanes could be separated into longitudinal and lateral groups with the corresponding motions called modes of motion. These modes of motion were either aperiodic, which means that the airplane steadily approaches or diverges from a trimmed condition, or oscillatory, which means that the airplane oscillates about the trim condition. The longitudinal modes of a statically stable airplane following a disturbance were shown to consist of a long-period oscillation called the phugoid oscillation, usually with a period in seconds about one-quarter of the airspeed in miles per hour and a short-period oscillation with a period of only a few seconds. The lateral motion had three modes of motion: an aperiodic mode called the spiral mode that could be a divergence or subsidence, a heavily damped aperiodic mode called the roll subsidence, and a short-period oscillation, usually poorly damped, called the Dutch roll mode.

Some early airplane designers attempted to make airplanes that were dynamically stable, but it was found that the requirements for stability conflicted with those for satisfactory flying qualities. Meanwhile, no information was available to guide the designer as to just what characteristics should be incorporated to provide satisfactory flying qualities.

By the 1930s, there was a general feeling that airplanes should be dynamically stable, but some aeronautical engineers were starting to recognize the conflict between the requirements for stability and flying qualities. To resolve this question, Edward Warner, who was working as a consultant to the Douglas Aircraft Company on the design of the DC-4, a large four-engine transport airplane, made the first effort in the United States to write a set of requirements for satisfactory flying qualities. Dr. Warner, a member of the main committee of the NACA, also requested that a flight study be made to determine the flying qualities of an airplane along the lines of the suggested requirements. This study was conducted by Hartley A. Soulé of Langley. Entitled Preliminary Investigation of the Flying Qualities of Airplanes, Soulé's report showed several areas in which the suggested requirements needed revision and showed the need for more research on other types of airplanes. As a result, a program was started by Robert R. Gilruth with Melvin N. Gough as the chief test pilot.