Divergence/flutter suppression system for a forward swept-wing configuration with wing-mounted stores

The conceptual design of an active control system has been developed for a forward swept wing configuration with stores to prevent the destiffening of the primary wing bending mode with increasing airspeed, thereby suppressing the inherent aeroelastic instability (divergence/body freedom flutter). The architecture includes wing mounted and fuselage-mounted accelerometers to detect relative wing motion and an outboard wing flaperon to control this motion By virtually eliminating the instability, the design enables the aircraft to carry significant wing-mounted stores while retaining the clean wing flight envelope On the Control Configured Vehicle (CCV) configuration studied (26% unstable), the system is a simple add on to the existing flight control system and, based on a preliminary assessment, does not compromise longitudinal flying qualities.