Technical project control and supervision, flight vehicle system identification, and flight testing of the high-altitude atmospheric research aircraft G 850 Strato 2C. This world-unique largest carbon-fiber aircraft with a pressurized cabin and two three-stage turbocharged piston engines attained a maximum altitude of 18500m (world record for manned piston-engined aircraft). Feasibility tests of a Russian emergency pressure suit for long endurance high altitude operations were undertaken in the ATTAS System Simulator (cooperation with Grob, IABG, and various DLR institutes).
Signing of Memorandum of Agreement with Eurocopter provided the first milestone for development of a new Active Control Technology / Flying Helicopter Simulator (ACT/FHS), later dubbed HESTOR, which was launched two years later.
German-Russian Workshop on In-flight Simulation. Flight Research Institute Gromov and DLR Institute of Flight Systems made a public display and flight demonstration of their airborne simulators Tu 154M and VFW 614 ATTAS at the Hanover Airport. The Tu 154 M was used for simulating and flight testing the guidance and control system of the Russian Buran spaceplane. In-flight thrust reversing was used to match Buran´s low lift-to-drag ratio. ATTAS was also used as reference vehicle for the design specification of the European Hermes Training Aircraft (HTA).
NATO Helicopter Industries NH90 configuration measurements in DNW. Subsequent flight testing revealed no major changes to the NH90 empennage. It is the first time in Europe that diligent wind tunnel tests of complete rotorcraft models were used for development risk and cost reduction of large scale helicopter projects (cooperation with Eurocopter and NLR).
ATTAS flight evaluation and validation of advanced control laws dubbed SAFIR (Small Airliner Flight Control Laws Investigation and Refinement). Flying qualities including flight envelope protection functions were rated to be outstanding. Special customer-oriented computer interfaces for hardware-in-the-loop integration were provided by DLR. Results are of direct relevance to the VFW 614 ATD (Aerospace Technologies Demonstrator) EFCS (Electronic Flight Control System) flight test program planned by Dasa-DA (cooperation with Dasa-DA).
Autonomous hovering tracking flight above moving ground target demonstrated for the first time with Bo 105 ATTHeS. High-bandwidth model following flight control for active and effective decoupling of higher-order rotor dynamics is a prerequisite for computer-controlled precision flight. Hands-off tracking flight was achieved by sensor vision and pattern recognition technologies.
ATTAS in-flight simulation of an A3XX-type very large transport aircraft. Flight control laws based on model following control architectures flight tested and demonstrated (cooperation with Airbus Industrie).
Higher-Harmonic Control Aeroacoustic Rotor Tests (HART) with modified ROTOS test rig in DNW. For the first time unsteady rotor pressure data were gathered under active rotor control test conditions. Minimum vibration and noise control laws explored. Physics of blade-vortex interactions (BVI) studied. TEDAS technology again indispensable for on-line data acquisition and spectral analysis of enormous data quantities. Unique database for aeroacoustic prediction codes (cooperation with US Army, NASA, DLR Institutes of Design Aerodynamics, Aeroelasticity, and Fluid Mechanics, and ONERA).