TsAGI Researches Short-Haul Aircraft
30 June 2021
TsAGI (a part of NRC “Zhukovsky Institute”) continues the tests of short-haul regional aircraft with operating power plant.
The project work is carried out within ‘Safe Aircraft’ R&D under the state contract with Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
At the first stage, TsAGI designed and manufactured a small-scaled aircraft model; its wingspan is 1 m 20 cm and the fuselage length is 1 m 10 cm. The model has a power plant with propeller 17 cm in diameter, and with modern small-scale avionics for automatic control of electric motors and control surfaces (altitude controls, ailerons and spoilers).
At the next step, TsAGI tested the model in the T-103 wind tunnel. During the test, the scientists studied influence of the propellers on the aircraft’s standard air performance at takeoff-and-landing configuration and at cruise configuration, with angles of attack ranging from −2 to 40 degrees.
‘It is the first time that we have tested such a small-scaled aircraft model with operating propulsion. The power of the electric engines enabled the propellers’ thrust necessary for obtaining those similarity ratios which match the flight modes of a real aircraft. This allowed us to reveal the degree of influence of propeller flow on the aircraft’s performance,’ said Sergey Svergun, Leading Engineer (Department for Aircraft Dynamics and Control Systems, TsAGI).
Afterwards, TsAGI is planning integrated tests of the model aircraft with EM facility to study unsteady aerodynamics at separated states of flow.
The aircraft will be used for transporting both passengers and cargos. It will be capable of transporting over 50 passengers for