Download or read book Modeling Aerial Refueling Operations written by Allen B. McCoy and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aerial Refueling (AR) is the act of offloading fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another aircraft (the receiver) in mid flight. Meetings between tanker and receiver aircraft are referred to as AR events and are scheduled to: escort one or more receivers across a large body of water; refuel one or more receivers; or train receiver pilots, tanker pilots, and boom operators. In order to efficiently execute the Aerial Refueling Mission, the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the United States Air Force (USAF) depends on computer models to help it make tanker basing decisions, plan tanker sorties, schedule aircraft, develop new organizational doctrines, and influence policy. We have worked on three projects that have helped AMC improve its modeling and decision making capabilities. Optimal Flight Planning: Currently Air Mobility simulation and optimization software packages depend on algorithms which iterate over three dimensional fuel flow tables to compute aircraft fuel consumption under changing flight conditions. When a high degree of fidelity is required, these algorithms use a large amount of memory and CPU time. We have modeled the rate of aircraft fuel consumption with respect to AC Gross Weight, Altitude and Airspeed. When implemented, this formula will decrease the amount of memory and CPU time needed to compute sortie fuel costs and cargo capacity values. We have also shown how this formula can be used in optimal control problems to find minimum costs flight plans. Tanker Basing Demand Mismatch Index: Since 1992, AMC has relied on a Tanker Basing/AR Demand Mismatch Index which aggregates tanker capacity and AR demand data into six regions. This index was criticized because there were large gradients along regional boundaries. Meanwhile tankers frequently cross regional boundaries to satisfy the demand for AR support. In response we developed continuous functions to score locations with respect to their proximity to demand for AR support as well as their isolation from existing tanker bases. Optimal Scheduling: Because most of the tanker resources are controlled by individual Air National Guard Units there is little to no central authority coordinating tanker and receiver training schedules. We have been able to show that significant flying hour savings could be achieved if National Guard tanker units were to yield some of their scheduling autonomy to a central authority which was charged with the responsibility of matching tanker training requirements to receiver training requirements.
Download or read book Range Unlimited written by Bill Holder and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2000 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Range Unlimited covers the developmental history of aerial refueling, including the United States and other countries, as well as modern advancements and technologies. Also covered are the current aerial refueling model types and configurations used in the world today, as well as a look at what refueling techniques may be applied in the 21st century and beyond.
Download or read book AERIAL REFUELING THE FIRST CENTURY written by UGO VICENZI and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2019-02-27 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents history, methods, airplanes and operators in the area of Aerial Refueling, it shows an historical analysis from the first attempts in the aeronautical circuses, up to the affirmation as a military necessity after World War II and the subsequent expansion in many air forces Contents: - Development from the first attempts of 1929 to the first flight around the world without a stop - Detailed presentation of the various methods attempted in history, with drawings and photographs, - Description of types of aircraft in service performing in-flight refueling - Presentation of Air Forces, Units, their history, the strategic reasons that have developed the need for a fleet of tankers for the current 34 air forces, the future ones, as well as commercial operators - Presentation of of some unusual aircraft refueling attempts and vision on in-flight refueling systems in the - Fully illustrated with over 700 color images and drawings - 200 pages
Download or read book Dynamic Coupling of the KC 135 Tanker and Boom for Modeling and Simulation written by Austin L. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) research requires precision modeling and simulation of the refueling process between a KC-135 tanker aircraft and an unmanned aircraft. In order to meet this requirement, both steady-state and dynamic interactions between the tanker aircraft, the refueling boom, and the receiver aircraft must be accurately represented. Boom orientation and motion is known to change the trim of the tanker aircraft, which in turn influences the formation flying and station keeping tasks involved in current Air Force AAR concepts of operation. This paper describes the development of the coupled equations of motion for the refueling boom, which model its motion and its dynamic interactions with the tanker. For the purposes of this investigation, and to validate the boom model dynamics, the coupled boom model is first implemented as a boom-only simulation. The coupled model is compared to two existing boom-only models: one of which has been used for aerial refueling improvement studies, and the other is currently being used for boom operator training. Steady-state and dynamic responses to control inputs to the boom are calculated by the coupled boom model, then compared to those calculated using the existing models.
Download or read book Operation Desert Storm written by DIANE Publishing Company and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Assesses the future of the air refueling tanker force in light of Operation Desert Storm and the significant change in the international security environment. Desert Storm had underscored the relevance of a 1990 initiative intended both to (1) enhance the efficiency of the tanker force during conventional combat and (2) standardize the refueling systems of U.S. fighter aircraft. This report focuses on additional actions that the Desert Storm experience suggest could further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aerial refueling operations. Tables.
Download or read book Modeling of Air to air Refueling for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Air-to-air refueling is important to the military for enabling aircraft to remain in the air for long periods of time, reducing the need for forward bases, and allowing aircraft to stay on mission for longer intervals. Although this has been available for traditional military aircraft for several decades, it has not been implemented for the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). This thesis uses a panel method, VSAERO, to examine the effects that a large tanker aircraft will have on a small unmanned aerial vehicle during a refueling process. The primary cause of conditions behind the tanker aircraft is the wake generated by the wingtip vortices of the aircraft. The planes used for this analysis were an Airbus A320 as the tanker, and a General Atomic MQ-9 as the receiver. The techniques used were to examine literature on aerial refueling, and analyze the aerodynamic characteristics of the UAV. The most important properties that were examined were the rolling moment, pitching moment, and lift. These characteristics were used to determine the feasibility of the UAV being able to withstand the conditions behind the A320. Through the analysis of the MQ-9’s aerodynamic characteristics when in ideal conditions, along with its maximum rolling moment, and those same characteristics when flying behind the tanker, it was determined that the MQ-9 would be able to maintain position behind an A320 in order to complete the aerial refueling process.
Download or read book The TanKer Aerial Refueling Model for Analysis KARMA written by Dahlia Anne Goldfeld and published by . This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report describes the algorithms used in the tanKer Air Refueling Model for Analysis (KARMA) and explains how to run the model. KARMA simulates the extent to which a tanker force can aerially refuel combat aircraft in a denied environment.
Download or read book Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of Hose paradrogue Assembly for Mid air Operations written by Husain Ahmad and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present work is dynamic modeling of hose-and-drogue assembly for mid-air operations. This hose-and-drogue assembly is typically used in aerial refueling. A governing system dynamic model is developed, which describes the motion of hose-drogue assembly under prescribed motion of a tanker. The hose is modeled by a series of ball-and-socket joints connected by rigid links which are subjected to gravitational and aerodynamic forces that take into account the effect of the tanker wake as well as atmospheric turbulence. A comparison between system responses with and without the effect of the tanker wake is presented. The static hose-paradrogue trail positions for the operational flight envelop of the aerial refueling are investigated, and compared to the flight test results previously reported. The effect of the paradrogue drag on the hose-drogue system is studied as it may be altered in-flight through the drogue strut angle changes. Tensions responses along the hose are investigated. Finally, dynamic responses to changing the paradrogue strut angle and the tanker speed are studied.
Download or read book United States Marine Corps Aerial Refueling Requirements Analysis written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States Marine Corps (USMC) currently operates a fleet of KC130 aerial refueling tanker aircraft. This paper uses queuing and simulation models to examine the USMC KC130 tanker requirement, contrasts the results and explores the budgetary implications of alternative fleet requirements. This analysis finds that queuing models don't account for some of the complexities of aerial refueling operations. Therefore, queuing models may miscalculate the KC130 requirement. Simulation models give a more accurate depiction of actual KC130 requirement. Further, by incorrectly specifying the requirement the USMC could be faced with significant operational and budgetary implications.
Download or read book Automated Aerial Refueling Research written by Jacob Hinchman and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Briefing reports on multi-vehicle wind tunnel tests conducted by Bihrle to obtain interaction data between a KC-135 tanker and a UAV receiver. The data will be used to develop a refueling simulation to evaluate controllability and preliminary automated designs for UAV refueling. The briefing discusses use of this data with a combination of automatic refueling and collision avoidance. This is very preliminary data on interactions. It has military application for advanced UAV refueling.
Download or read book Aerial Refueling written by United States. Federal Aviation Agency and published by . This book was released on 1965 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Control and Simulation of Relative Motion for Aerial Refueling in Racetrack Maneuver written by Eunyoung Kim and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis addresses the problem of controlling the receiver aircraft to achieve a successful aerial refueling. For the performance verification of the controller, a new set of nonlinear, 6-DOF, rigid body equations of motion for the receiver aircraft has been used. The equations are written in terms of state variables that are relative to the reference frame that is attached to, translates and rotates with the tanker aircraft. Furthermore, the nonlinear equations contain the wind effect terms and their time derivatives to represent the aerodynamic coupling involved between the two aircraft. These wind terms are obtained using an averaging technique that computes the effective induced wind components and wind gradients in the receiver aircraft's body frame. Dynamics of the engine and the actuators are also included in the study. A position-tracking controller has been designed using "gain scheduling" technique based on a combination of integral control and optimal LQR design. The scheduling is utilized to satisfy the performance requirement of the controller during the whole "racetrack" maneuver of the tanker in a standard aerial refueling operation. The nominal flight conditions that are used for the linearization of the nonlinear equations of motion are (i) straight wing-level ight and (ii) steady turn. The position tracking controller can be used for (i) flying from observation position to the refueling position, (ii) station keeping for the actual fuel transfer during the whole racetrack maneuver of the tanker and (iii) flying away from the refueling position once the fuel transfer is completed. The performance of the controller is evaluated in a high fidelity simulation environment, which, employing the new sets of equations of motion, includes the relative motion of the receiver and the tanker and the aerodynamic coupling due to the trailing vortex of the tanker. The simulation and control design are applied to a tailless fighter aircraft with innovative control effectors and thrust vectoring capability.
Download or read book Aerial Refueling Initiative written by U S Government Accountability Office (G and published by BiblioGov. This book was released on 2013-07 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the performance of the air refueling tanker force during Operation Desert Storm. GAO found that: (1) in late 1990, the Air Force initiated a tactical air refueling standardization package; (2) the cost to modify 3,000 F-15 and F-16 fighters and 250 tankers could be offset by the retirement of 26 KC-135 tankers; (3) the tactical air refueling initiative is intended to increase efficiency, effectiveness, interoperability, and safety during multiservice air operations; (4) the Air Force has significantly downsized and restructured the refueling initiative; (5) the assumptions used in an air staff multipoint utility study were not well founded and understated the benefits of twin off-load points; (6) the technical and operational concerns about retrofitting fighters with probes have been exaggerated; (7) the Air Force is satisfied with its refueling system and is unwilling to commit its resources to a different refueling system; (8) Desert Storm air refueling operations confirmed the advantages of multipoint refueling and pointed out additional benefits during air space-constrained operations; (9) retrofitting 15 KC-10 aircraft with twin off-load points may not be cost-effective if the Air Force does not add probes to its fighter aircraft; and (10) the Air Force is proposing to address Navy air refueling requirements by adding multipoint refueling capabilities to 75 KC-135 tankers.
Download or read book Automated Aerial Refueling Delivery Order 0020 DC 8 Simulation Model written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this project was to provide a preliminary air refueling tanker aircraft model in the D-Six desktop simulation environment capable of flying a racetrack pattern and a small number of simple maneuvers. The aircraft used is a relatively simple DC-8 model, pictured in the simulation as a KC-135. This model will enable research to be conducted on automated aerial refueling algorithms by engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Download or read book Multipoint Aerial Refueling written by Paul S. Killingsworth and published by RAND Corporation. This book was released on 1996 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The work is part of a larger effort undertaken by RAND at the request of the Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces, to review and evaluate current allocations among the Armed Forces of roles, missions, and functions and to make recommendations for changes in the current definition and distribution of those roles, missions and functions.
Download or read book Simulation of the Dynamically Coupled KC 135 Tanker and Refueling Boom written by Jeremy J. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Approximate Dynamic Programming and Aerial Refueling written by Dennis C. Panos and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
