The investigation of air loads in flight from measurements of strain in the structure

Abstract

Strain measurements in flight involve considerably more work than on ground tests and should be restricted to problems which cannot be solvedby ground tests. Limited experience available suggests that for most flight work the overall bending and shear actions at each of about five sections of a major component are all that is required. These can be determined by suitable selection of positions of gauges, with no more than four to eight measuring stations at each section. It is advisable to check any particular installation by ground tests using known loads.