Assessment of aileron tab installation influence on light sport aircraft flutter characteristics

Abstract

This article deals with the aileron flutter of the light sport aircraft. It gives an assessment of the influence of the retrofitting of the tab with regard to the aircraft aileron flutter characteristics. The necessary actuation system stiffness and the aileron flapping frequency to ensure stability at maximal speed of the aircraft are evaluated. The study was motivated by the M-7 aircraft accident in the western Bohemia in 2006. The finite element model was prepared by the optimization (gradient-based methods) utilizing the geometry and the test results to obtain the unknown structural parameters (stiffness, inertia). The design variables were mass and stiffness characteristics, initial values of design variables were set according geometry. The design responses (constrains and objective functions) were formulated in order to match ground vibration tests and other known data.