Overview of the D90 Active Flow Control Demonstrator Project

An overview of the development of the tailless D90 UAS aircraft that was used as an active flow control flight demonstrator is presented. The program began in 2016 to support NATO AVT-239 investigations into novel control effectors for tailless aircraft. The D90 was a derivative of the Lockheed Martin ICE-101 design that aimed to measure the control authority available from different types of active flow flight control effectors. Wind tunnel and flight tests provided the baseline aerodynamic and control data required to fly the tailless vehicle. Stability issues with the original ICE-101 design required some design modifications that resulted in the jet-powered D90 aircraft. Trailing-edge Coanda valve and apex-mounted slot jets were used as the AFC control effectors. The data from wind tunnel tests and flight tests produced an active flow control database and a 6-DoF flight dynamics model for flight simulation. The design loop was closed by building a flight simulator to tune flight control gains and predict maneuvers that could be achieved with active flow control on the D90. Flight tests validated the maneuver predictions by comparing the actual trajectories to the predicted ones.