By Rob Coppinger in London
A modified Canadair CT-133 research aircraft will next month collect wake-vortex-flow field data to help develop wake-detection systems. It follows a flight earlier this year behind airliners cruising in Canadian airspace.
In May the Canadian National Research Council Institute for Aerospace Research’s (NRC Research) CT-133 (a Canadian version of the two-seat Lockheed T-33 trainer) flew six trial-instrumentation development and calibration flights, and one wake-vortex flight over the St Lawrence Seaway. That flight between Quebec City and Toronto was behind three aircraft that were cruising en route – an Airbus A310, A319 and a Boeing 767-300.
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| Wakes up to 11nm long were recorded |
During the flights the CT-133 collected air and inertial data 600 times every second, high sampling rates that NRC Research claims are research firsts. “Our goal is to obtain data on the flow phenomena to clarify the risk and highlight the desirability, or the need, to develop wake-vortex turbulence warning instrumentation that can be installed on aircraft,” says NRC Aerospace research officer and test pilot Anthony Brown.
The work follows a 2004 study with a modified research Dassault Falcon 20 that flew behind aircraft cruising at 24,000-39,000ft (7,500-12,000m) with separation distances of 1-30nm (2-56km), and experienced wakes that were 7-11nm long.
Source: Flight International
