AIAA - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Scope
Introduction Wind tunnel testing is a critical component in the development of aerodynamic vehicles and associated technologies. While the time and expense of wind tunnel testing is significant@ it is an essential risk reduction tool before progressing air vehicles and technologies to the more expensive@ technically risky flight tests. Decisions made during the evolution and execution of wind tunnel test programs can have farreaching performance@ financial@ and schedule implications throughout the life cycle of an air vehicle. Efforts are being made across all air vehicle development activities to reduce technical risk@ cost@ and cycle time. Since wind tunnel test programs are critical to those development activities@ any successful reductions in wind tunnel risk@ cost@ or cycle time can have significant positive impacts on the overall air vehicle program. To accomplish a successful program@ managers of wind tunnel test programs must carefully balance the testing needs (objectives)@ schedules@ and cost of the test program. Activities such as developing test requirements@ test articles@ test preparation@ testing@ and analysis require significant resource investments and must be carefully managed to accomplish technical goals with minimum resource expenditure. This volume describes the broader aspects of test program development@ implementation@ and management. It provides managers with a set of tools (key activities) to help navigate and develop a balanced@ successful test program.