The objective of this project is to do a flight assessment of a Phoenix K8B radio controlled glider to see what process is needed to verify its glide slope and stability characteristics. The flight test analysis, plus a computational fluid dynamics analysis, and an industry-like component build-up aerodynamic analysis were done to provide comparable estimates for the aircraft glide slope. A stability and control derivative analysis was also completed and compared using SURFACES, USAF Datcom, and MIT AVL software. The glide slope estimate and stability and control derivatives obtained from flight test data showed considerable range and uncertainty. Potential sources of noisy test data and model flaws are discussed in detail. Improvements to the flight test capability are suggested
","abstract_html":"<p>The objective of this project is to do a flight assessment of a Phoenix K8B radio controlled glider to see what process is needed to verify its glide slope and stability characteristics. The flight test analysis, plus a computational fluid dynamics analysis, and an industry-like component build-up aerodynamic analysis were done to provide comparable estimates for the aircraft glide slope. A stability and control derivative analysis was also completed and compared using SURFACES, USAF Datcom, and MIT AVL software. The glide slope estimate and stability and control derivatives obtained from flight test data showed considerable range and uncertainty. Potential sources of noisy test data and model flaws are discussed in detail. Improvements to the flight test capability are suggested</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Civinskas, Alvydas Anthony"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:08Z","subjects":["flight assessment","gliders","Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/41","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Civinskas, Alvydas Anthony"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["flight assessment","gliders","Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/41"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The objective of this project is to do a flight assessment of a Phoenix K8B radio controlled glider to see what process is needed to verify its glide slope and stability characteristics. The flight test analysis, plus a computational fluid dynamics analysis, and an industry-like component build-up aerodynamic analysis were done to provide comparable estimates for the aircraft glide slope. A stability and control derivative analysis was also completed and compared using SURFACES, USAF Datcom, and MIT AVL software. The glide slope estimate and stability and control derivatives obtained from flight test data showed considerable range and uncertainty. Potential sources of noisy test data and model flaws are discussed in detail. Improvements to the flight test capability are suggested
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluation and Flight Assessment of a Scale Glider"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Civinskas, Alvydas Anthony"],"dc:description.abstract":["The objective of this project is to do a flight assessment of a Phoenix K8B radio controlled glider to see what process is needed to verify its glide slope and stability characteristics. The flight test analysis, plus a computational fluid dynamics analysis, and an industry-like component build-up aerodynamic analysis were done to provide comparable estimates for the aircraft glide slope. A stability and control derivative analysis was also completed and compared using SURFACES, USAF Datcom, and MIT AVL software. The glide slope estimate and stability and control derivatives obtained from flight test data showed considerable range and uncertainty. Potential sources of noisy test data and model flaws are discussed in detail. Improvements to the flight test capability are suggested
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/41"],"dc:subject":["flight assessment","gliders","Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["Evaluation and Flight Assessment of a Scale Glider"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:08Z"}