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Approximately 120 hours of wind tunnel testing were accomplished to determine the drag contributions of various external protuberances on the AC-130H Gunship and to recommend modifications to achieve optimal drag reduction potential. Also, the operational impact of the recommended configuration was quantified using a performance modeling code. The overall objective of this effort was to establish a solid foundation via experimental and computational ground efforts to support flight test of drag reduction modifications to an aircraft. Thirteen basic AC-130H protuberances were evaluated to determine their incremental drag. A recommended reduced-drag configuration was developed which provided a drag reduction potential of 58.2 counts.

An experimental wind tunnel investigation and computational performance evaluation was conducted which focused on reducing the incremental drag resulting from external modifications to the fuselage of the AC- 130U Gunship. The objective of this effort was to establish a solid foundation via experimental and computational ground efforts to support flight test of drag reduction modifications to an aircraft. Currently, additive drag resulting from AC- 13 0U modifications decreases the range of the aircraft, increases the infrared heat signature of the engine exhaust due to the need for higher power settings, and has an adverse impact on takeoff and engine out performance. Specifically, the program consisted of six major thrusts: 1. Wind tunnel testing of a 1/48 scale model of the AC-130U fuselage to determine the drag on eight specific protuberances. 2. Design and testing of fairing modifications in 1/48 scale on three of the high drag protuberances. 3.

The inclusion of flight simulation into the undergraduate aeronautical engineering curriculum has been a major goal at the U.S. Air Force Academy during the past ten years. Specifically, flight simulation has been used in four flight mechanics/design courses with excellent results. Junior and senior-level aeronautical engineering students are provided the opportunity to “fly” and evaluate a variety of aircraft configurations and flight situations. This paper reviews simulation projects that are used in each of the four courses and highlights lessons learned over the past ten years. The integration of flight simulation into these courses has been very effective as an educational tool and has become a strength of our “hand-on” program.