AFRL participates in Supersonic Tailless Air Vehicle testing Published Feb. 26, 2007 By Holly Jordan AFRL Air Vehicles Directorate WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio -- The Air Force Research Laboratory recently provided a full-motion flight simulation environment to test candidate control systems for Northrop Grumman's Supersonic Tailless Air Vehicle concept. The testing, conducted in AFRL's Large Amplitude Multi-mode Aerospace Research Simulator incorporated Northrop Grumman's improved design, which included new wind tunnel data, two additional controllers, ground effects and modified landing gear. During the testing, three of Northrop Grumman's test pilots evaluated the performance of the aircraft during takeoff, landing, subsonic tracking, and supersonic tracking tasks. The pilots used the Cooper-Harper rating scale, a method that assigns quantitative scores against desired and adequate performance criteria, to evaluate the handling qualities of the aircraft during testing. With new modifications, the pilots rated tracking and landing tasks significantly higher over the previous tests conducted in May 2006. The study allowed Northrop Grumman engineers to collect data on over 100 different parameters for more than 300 tests runs. They were also able to look at the effects that auto-throttle played on this concept. The evaluations and data collected during the testing will allow Northrop Grumman to further improve their STAV concept. Northrop Grumman plans to return to the LAMARS testing facility after making further modifications to the design. The STAV concept is an effort to reduce the weight and drag encountered in traditional supersonic aircraft designs. This reduction is achieved by eliminating the tail and replacing the conventional tail control surfaces with more innovative control effectors.