WIND AND TURBULENCE MEASURING SYSTEM OF THE NAE AIRBORNE V/STOL STIMULATOR.

Although it is incidental to its primary function, the motion sensing system of the Airborne Simulator provides the necessary information for an onboard, real-time wind and turbulence calculation. The system has been refined for this task, including in the normal simulation computation cycle the additional calculations required to derive the three velocity components of the local airmass relative to an earth-fixed reference system. The resulting real-time wind information can be provided to the pilot as part of his task-information display, and can be recorded for off-line processing and analysis. The ability of the Airborne Simulator to measure and record the characteristics of the atmospheric disturbances through which it flies can be used to provide fundamental data on the behavior of the earth's boundary layer. The low speed manueverability of the simulator allows it to conduct atmospheric survey flights within relatively confined areas and at very low altitudes.