High lift INflight VAlidation (HINVA) - Overview about the 1st Flight Test Campaign

Kurzfassung

The present contribution provides an overview about low speed high lift flight tests on an Airbus A320 embedded in the joint LuFo IV research project HINVA. The overall project objective is to significantly enhance the accuracy and reliability of the prediction of maximum lift for commercial aircraft. The flight test campaign described in the paper is the first one of two campaigns, scheduled within the project HINVA. DLR’s Airbus A320-232 D-ATRA is the target flight test aircraft configuration. According to the overall objective, most of the flight tests have been conducted with the high lift devices deployed to landing setting. For the A320 aircraft version under consideration, which is equipped with IAE V2500 engines, this corresponds to a slat and flap setting of s = 27° and f = 40°, respectively. In order to analyze a significantly different low speed flight regime and stall behavior, also the clean configuration has been flight-tested, but to a lesser extent. The test schedule covers a mix of stalls and stabilized conditions in flight altitudes between 8,000 ft. and 19,000 ft. The first flight test campaign took place in the summer of 2012 at Airbus in Toulouse after the final working party for the equipment of the flight test instrumentation (FTI). The focus of the FTI for the first test campaign has been laid on surface measurements. During the 8 sorties of the test campaign, static and dynamic pressures have been recorded in five spanwise sections on the high lift wing and its elements, as well as in two sections of the horizontal stabilizer. Wing and flap deformation is measured by a multiple camera system observing markers and utilizing the image pattern correlation technique. In two sections of the high lift wing, laminar to turbulent transition is detected by hot film sensors. The stall behavior is monitored by flow visualization using the same cameras system installed in the cabin, and flow cones on the upper surface of the wing and inboard parts of pylon and nacelle. After a brief introduction to the project, the aircraft configuration and the flight test schedule are outlined. The flight test instrumentation and the set-up on the specific aircraft are briefly described. Along with the description of the flight test instrumentation, selected results of the single measurement techniques are presented.