In-Situ Load System for Calibrating and Validating Aerodynamic Properties of Scaled Aircraft in Ground-Based Aerospace Testing Applications

The in-situ load system (ILS) provides the ground-testing community with a comprehensive tool that permits system-level calibration and validation of force measurement systems in a test-like environment. It was developed to improve testing accuracy, repeatability, time in tunnel, and many aspects of the calibration process. The key innovations are that ILS enables a system calibration (rather than independent subsystem and component calibrations) by using the one-force-vector calibration approach and a statistically defensible estimate total force measurement uncertainty. ILS may be applied in any wind tunnel facility, private or government.