got a avionic question: balancing issue
- Thread starter keithktam
- Start date
The term you are looking for is "Asymmetric Weapons Load". There are plenty of examples of this on the web and attached are a few. Normally (especially with modern FBW systems) the plane will compensate (by fuel transfer, control surface compensation,etc) and the pilot will not have to make any changes.
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It's a good question, you don't sound dumb. Aircraft have a Center of Gravity, or CG. Think of a teeter totter. From the nose to the tail there is a line, somewhere in the middle of that line is the longitudnal CG. It is the point where the aircrafts weight is equal in front of or behind that point. There is an exceptable range in which this point can move forward or backward. Beyond that range the aircraft can not maintain flight. There is a lateral CG as well, from wing tip to wing tip, and an acceptable range. Dispensing weapons will have a balancing effect however the aircraft flight controls will compensate. When a 20-30,000 pound fighter lets go of a munition that only weighs a few hundred pounds, it really isn't going to have that big of an effect on the CG. This also why you normally see weapons released in pairs, one from each side or one at a time.
RubiconNZ
The Wanderer
You can see the rebalancing take place on the recent JSF test flight with a 2000 pound JDAM release.
It is a centreline drop so the balance isn't affected as much but it is interesting to see it the aircraft level off quite quickly.
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaJeA8P67cY"]First F-35A Weapons Release - YouTube[/nomedia]
The drop is at the 1.19 mark.
It is a centreline drop so the balance isn't affected as much but it is interesting to see it the aircraft level off quite quickly.
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaJeA8P67cY"]First F-35A Weapons Release - YouTube[/nomedia]
The drop is at the 1.19 mark.