The relationship between upward accelerations and mean associated downward accelerations experienced by aircraft in manoeuvring flight

Abstract

When assessing the fatigue life of an aircraft structure it is necessary to know the frequency of occurrence of upward accelerations and the magnitude of the downward acceleration to be associated with those upward accelerations. Analysis of V-g records from a variety of types of fighter, training and light-bomber aircraft shows that the mean downward acceleration associated with an upward acceleration can be represented by part of a conic, whose characteristics depend on the type of aircraft, until the upward acceleration exceeds a certain value, when the downward acceleration becomes constant.