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The purpose of this paper is to present a mathematical model of one very flexible transport category airplane whose structural dynamics was modeled with the strain-based formulation. This model can be used for the analysis of couplings between the flight dynamics and structural dynamics.

The model was developed with the use of Hamiltonian mechanics and strain-based formulation. Nonlinear flight dynamics, nonlinear structural dynamics and inertial couplings are considered.

The mathematical model allows the analysis of effects of high structural deformations on airplane flight dynamics.

The mathematical model has more than 60 degrees of freedom. The computational burden is too high, if compared to the traditional rigid body flight dynamics simulations.

The mathematical model presented in this work allows a detailed analysis of the couplings between flight dynamics and structural dynamics in very flexible airplanes. The better comprehension of these couplings will contribute to the development of flexible airplanes.

This work presents the application of nonlinear flight dynamics-nonlinear structural dynamics-strain-based formulation (NFNS_s) methodology to model the flight dynamics of one very flexible transport category airplane. This paper addresses also the way as the analysis of results obtained in nonlinear simulations can be made. Comparisons of the NFNS_s and nonlinear flight dynamics-linear structural dynamics methodologies are presented in this work.

While computational methods are prevalent in aircraft conceptual design, recent advances in mechatronics and manufacturing are lowering the cost of practical experiments. Focussing on a relatively simple property, the lift curve, this study aims to increase understanding of how basic aerodynamic characteristics of a complex stealth configuration can be estimated experimentally using low-cost equipment, rapid prototyping methods and remotely piloted aircraft.

Lift curve estimates are obtained from a wind tunnel test of a three-dimensional-printed, 3.8%-scale model of a generic fighter and from flight testing a 14%-scale demonstrator using both a simple and a more advanced identification technique based on neural networks. These results are compared to a computational fluid dynamics study, a panel method and a straightforward, theoretical approach based on radical geometry simplifications.

Besides a good agreement in the linear region, discrepancies at high angles of attack reveal the shortcomings of each method. The remotely piloted model manages to provide consistent results beyond the physical limitations of the wind tunnel although it seems limited by instrumentation capabilities and unmodelled thrust effects.

Physical models can, even though low-cost experiments, expand the capabilities of other aerodynamic tools and contribute to reducing uncertainty when other estimations diverge.

This study highlights the limitations of commonly used aerodynamic methods and shows how low-cost prototyping and testing can complement or validate other estimations in the early study of a complex configuration.