VAAC Harrier trials
VAAC Harrier trials Keywords:DERA, Military
DERA's VAAC (Vectored thrust Aircraft Advanced flight Control) Harrier (Plate 8) recently completed the second phase in the Follow-on Research Programme (FRP)sponsored by the American/UK Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme. This saw ship-based work with HMS Invincible offering a realistic environment at sea to test aircraft control concepts applicable to the STOVL (short take off vertical landing) variant of JSF.
Plate 8DERA's VAAC Harrier completes ship-based JSP research with HMS Invincible
The first, land-based, evaluation phase last year built on the results of previous trials and familiarised new pilots with the advanced control concepts of the VAAC Harrier and resolved known deficiencies. The key objective of the second phase was to assess the compatibility of advanced recovery modes,including novel techniques such as translational rate command, in the demanding and realistic operational environment encountered on the moving deck of a ship. Two main control modes were tested with two variants of the hover positioning sub-mode.
The shipboard operations were used to confirm the few concerns with some of the control modes that had already been raised and also allowed comparisons to be made to identify potential preferences.
