Problem: Clear air turbulence contributes significantly to turbulence injuries. An investigation is required to determine if aircraft control systems can be used to smooth the ride in these encounters.

Approach: AeroTech, in simulations, used airborne lidars to sense turbulence and feed the results to the aircraft’s automatic control system.

Results: Simulations indicate a 35 to 50% reduction in experienced loads can be achieved with appropriate control techniques.

AeroTech Contributions: Aircraft and control system simulations, weather modeling, lidar scanning strategy assessment, and overall system simulation and assessment.

Partners: Coherent Technologies, Lockheed Missiles and Space Corp., NASA, Old Dominion University