Think you've seen flutter?

That's pretty darn impressive.

I found a NASA page about the video. It looks like NASA bought a PA-30 a year later for more research.

This 23 second video clip shows the PA-30 Twin Comanche during a tail flutter test

After being purchased in 1967, NASA 808 was used as a testbed for general aviation flight control research. NASA's first project with the aircraft was the determination of its stability and control characteristics in the Langley full-scale wind tunnel. The wind tunnel measurements were then correlated with in-flight measurements of the stability and control characteristics at Dryden. This was the first time full-scale wind tunnel measurements of a general aviation aircraft had been made since the late 1930s. As a result of the studies, several changes were made by the contractor to the aircraft to improve its flying qualities. These changes are manifested in later models of the airplane.
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N7845Y crashed in 1998 (32 years to the day after the video) due to fuel exhaustion during takeoff. :eek:
 
If I looked back and saw that I'm sure I'd see my whole life flash before my eyes soon after. It's enough to see the wings flex on my airplane when I fly through some heavy turbulence.
 
Roger said:
How fast were they going?
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I don't remember exactly, but it was beyond VNE.

There is another (I can't find) that has the PA28 spin tests. They gradually add weight to the tail until the spin goes flat and the pilot jettisons the weight and reaches for the door jettison handle when it starts to recover.
 
NJA_Capt said:
I don't remember exactly, but it was beyond VNE.

There is another (I can't find) that has the PA28 spin tests. They gradually add weight to the tail until the spin goes flat and the pilot jettisons the weight and reaches for the door jettison handle when it starts to recover.
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We had an examiner that claims he rode along during a full Vmc of a light twin with a spin chute from NASA.
 
mojo6911 said:
We had an examiner that claims he rode along during a full Vmc of a light twin with a spin chute from NASA.
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On a similar note, apparently Beech did full-on spin testing of a Baron a few years back. There were a few modes (most of them with differential power, IIRC) that resulted in spins that required a chute to recover.
 
Roger said:
On a similar note, apparently Beech did full-on spin testing of a Baron a few years back. There were a few modes (most of them with differential power, IIRC) that resulted in spins that required a chute to recover.
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Coming fall 2010, the Twin Cirrus....

-mini
 
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