Flutter Testing!

March 24, 2010 at 2:59 am | Posted in 1 | Leave a comment

The 787 is now fully involved in flutter testing. In light of this new event taking place in the 787′s flight test program, I wanted to talk briefly about aerodynamic flutter. Aerodynamic flutter is basically aircraft vibrations caused by flight loads imparted on the aircraft. Flutter is not something that is good for an aircraft, especially since it can lead to fatigue and ultimate failure! Check out this great video on a piper PA-30 flutter test. Notice how the oscillations in the horizontal tail grow throughout the test. Now imagine looking at your window and seeing the same thing happen on a commercial aircraft wing. Clearly, these tests are very important.