Challenges in high-alpha vehicle dynamics

The evolution of aerospace vehicles towards ever-increasing maneuverability, including flight at high angles of attack and vehicle motions of large amplitudes and high angular rates, has led to the need for prediction of vehicle aerodynamics that are dominated by unsteady separated flow effects. The existing data base is reviewed to determine to what degree the following critical issues are understood: 1. Cause and effect of asymmetric forebody flow separation with associated vortices. 2. Cause of slender wing rock. 3. Effect of vehicle motion on dynamic airfoil stall. 4. Extrapolation from subscale tests to full-scale free flight. To extend the present knowledge to include the coupling existing between novel aerodynamic controls and the vehicle dynamics is the challenge facing designers of future agile aircraft operating at high angles of attack.