STOL ride control feasibility study.

Abstract

A study to determine the feasibility of developing a ride smoothing control system for a passenger STOL aircraft has been performed for NASA. The de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter was selected for the feasibility study, since it is the only STOL aircraft presently certificated and in use by a number of United States air carriers. The study indicated that a ride control system that significantly reduces vertical and lateral accelerations can be practically implemented on the Twin Otter with minimum airplane performance degradation. The system uses symmetrical ailerons, elevator, rudder and spoiler control surfaces, with accelerometers and rate gyros as motion sensors.