Abstract:

ESDU TM 217 discusses the effect of gusts on a transport aircraft during flight. This Technical Memorandum can be used in conjunction with ESDU 69023, "Average gust frequencies. Subsonic transport aircraft". This Technical Memorandum examines the difference between gust loads and manoeuvre loads, the damage that may be caused to the aircraft structure due to fatigue by a gust, the importance of the flight profile (or gust) alleviation factor, and the load factors when the aircraft experiences a gust. Several models have been developed to describe the interaction of the aircraft with a gust. The two most widely used models are the discrete gust method and the continuous gust method, which uses the power spectral density technique; both the these method are used in the airworthiness requirements for transport aircraft. The statistical discrete gust method is also covered in this Technical Memorandum.