R. Wood et al., ANALYSIS OF AN AIR MOTION SYSTEM ON A LIGHT AIRCRAFT FOR BOUNDARY-LAYER RESEARCH, Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology, 14(4), 1997, pp. 960-968
A system has been developed for use on a light aircraft for the measur
ement of the turbulent wind vector components that does not rely on th
e use of either an inertial navigation system (INS) or Doppler radar.
The system described here uses a five-hole probe to measure the wind v
ector relative to the aircraft. A GPS system, a vertical gyroscope for
aircraft pitch and roll angles, a gyrocompass system, and a strap-dow
n three-axis accelerometer system are used to obtain aircraft motion.
Flight tests and results of an intercomparison with the United Kingdom
Meteorological Office C-130 are presented. Under conditions of straig
ht and level flight, the estimated rms errors are 0.3 m s(-1) for the
vertical wind component and 2 m s(-1) for the horizontal components.