MIL-F-83300

FLYING QUALITIES OF PILOTED V/STOL AIRCRAFT

Year: 1970

Abstract: This specification contains the requirements for the flying qualities of U.S. military piloted vertical and short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft operating at speeds less than Vcon.
The requirements of this specification shall be applied to assure that no limitations on flight safety or on the capability to perform intended missions will result from deficiencies in flying qualities. The flying qualities for all V/STOL aircraft proposed or contracted for shall be in accordance with the provisions of this specification unless specific deviations are authorized by the procuring activity. Guidance on application of these requirements can be found in the Background Information and User Guide (BIUG) referenced in 6.7. Additional or alternate special requirements may be specified by the procuring activity. For example, if the form of a requirement should not fit a particular vehicle configuration or control mechanization, the procuring activity may at its discretion agree to a modified requirement that will maintain an equivalent degree of acceptability. The requirements of MIL-F-8785 shall apply for operation at speeds in excess of Vcon.
Requirements are not written specifically for operations in or out of ground effect. The height above ground where compliance must be demonstrated is dictated by the requirements for the particular Flight Phase (1.4) of the operational mission under consideration.
It is assumed that IFR capability is inherent in all military aircraft operational missions, and therefore the detailed requirements are intended to reflect this assumption. Exceptions to this general assumption are noted in specific requirements.
For the purpose of this specification, an aircraft shall be placed in one of the following Classes: 
Class I     Small, light aircraft such as                Light utility               Primary trainer               Light observation

Class II    Medium weight, low-to-medium maneuverability aircraft such as                Utility               Search and rescue               Medium transport/cargo/tanker               Early warning/electronic countermeasures/airborne                 command, control, or communications relay               Antisubmarine               Assault transport               Reconnaissance               Tactical bomber               Heavy attack               Trainer for Class II.  Class III   Large, heavy, low-to-medium maneuverability aircraft such as                Heavy transport/cargo/tanker               Heavy bomber               Patrol/early warning/electronic countermeasures/airborne                 command, control, or communications relay               Heavy search and rescue               Trainer for Class III.  Class IV    High-maneuverability aircraft such as                Fighter/interceptor               Attack               Tactical reconnaissance               Observation               Combat search and rescue               Trainer for Class IV.


The procuring activity will assign an aircraft to one of these Classes, and the requirements for that Class shall apply. When no Class is specified in a requirement, the requirement shall apply to all Classes. When operational missions so dictate, an aircraft of one Class may be required by the procuring activity to meet selected requirements ordinarily specified for aircraft of another Class.
The Flight Phases have been combined into three Categories which are referred to in the requirement statements. These Flight Phases shall be considered in the context of total missions so that there will be no gap between successive Phases of any flight. In certain cases, requirements are directed at specific Flight Phases identified in the requirement. When no Flight Phase or Category is stated in a requirement, that requirement shall apply to all three Categories. Flight Phases descriptive of most military aircraft missions are:
Nonterminal Flight Phases:
Category A Those nonterminal Flight Phases that require rapid maneuvering, precision tracking, or precise flight-path control. Included in this Category are:
a. Air-to-air combat (CO)
b. Ground attack (GA)
c. Weapon delivery/launch (WD)
d. Aerial recovery (AR)
e. Reconnaissance (RC)
f. In-flight refueling (receiver) (RR)
g. Terrain following (TF)
h. Antisubmarine search (AS)
i. Close formation flying (FF)
j. Precision hover (PH)
Category B Those nonterminal Flight Phases that are normally accomplished using gradual maneuvers and without precision tracking, although accurate flight-path control may be required. Included in this Category are:
a. Climb (CL)
b. Cruise (CR)
c. Loiter (LO)
d. In-flight refueling (tanker) (RT)
e. Descent (D)
f. Emergency descent (ED)
g. Emergency deceleration (DE)
h. Aerial delivery (AD)
i. Hover (H)
j. Nonterminal transition (NT)
Terminal Flight Phases:
Category C Terminal Flight Phases that are normally accomplished using gradual maneuvers and usually require accurate flight-path control. Included in this Category are:
a. Vertical takeoff (VT)
b. Short takeoff (ST)
c. Approach (PA)
d. Wave-off/go-around (WO)
e. Vertical landing (VL)
f. Short landing (SL)
g. Terminal transition (TT)
When necessary, recategorization or addition of Flight Phases or delineation of requirements for special situations will be accomplished by the procuring activity.
Where possible, the requirements of section 3 have been stated in terms of three values of the stability or control parameter specified. Each value is a minimum condition to meet one of three Levels of acceptability related to the ability to complete the operational missions for which the aircraft is designed. The Levels are:
Level 1: Flying qualities clearly adequate for the mission Flight Phase.
Level 2: Flying qualities adequate to accomplish the mission Flight Phase, but some increase in pilot workload or degradation in mission effectiveness, or both, exists.
Level 3: Flying qualities such that the aircraft can be controlled safely, but pilot workload is excessive or mission effectiveness is inadequate, or both. Category A Flight Phases can be terminated safely, and Category B and C Flight Phases can be completed.
Intended Use: This specification contains the flying qualities requirements for military piloted V/STOL aircraft operating at speeds up to Vcon and shall form one of the bases for determination, by the procuring activity, of aircraft acceptability. The specification shall serve as design requirements and as criteria for use in stability and control calculations, analysis of wind-tunnel test results, flying qualities simulation tests, and flight testing and evaluation. To the extent possible, this specification should be met by providing an inherently good basic airframe. Where that is not feasible, or where inordinate penalties would result, a mechanism is provided herein to assure that the flight safety, flying qualities and reliability aspects of dependence on stability augmentation and other forms of system complication will be considered fully.
  • Show Full MetaData
  • Statistics