The ACT/FHS 'Flying Helicopter Simulator' of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is based on a standard Eurocopter EC 135 type helicopter, which has been extensively modified for use as a research and test aircraft.
DLR (CC-BY 3.0).
The HALO (High Altitude and LOng Range) research aircraft is based on the ultra-long-range G 550 business jet produced by Gulfstream Aerospace. With a range of more than 8000 kilometres, measurements on the scale of continents are possible; the research aircraft can reach all regions, from the poles to the tropics, and remote areas of the Pacific Ocean.
The HALO (High Altitude and LOng Range) research aircraft is based on the ultra-long-range G 550 business jet produced by Gulfstream Aerospace. With a range of more than 8000 kilometres, measurements on the scale of continents are possible; the research aircraft can reach all regions, from the poles to the tropics and remote areas of the Pacific Ocean. Its maximum flight altitude of about 15 kilometres also allows for measurements in the lower stratosphere, outside the tropics.
The Falcon is the only research aircraft in Europe that is legally able to fly at high altitudes and over long distances in volcanic ash clouds.
The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland emitted large quantities of ash and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere during its eruptions in March and April 2010. This photograph was acquired on 1 May 2010 during a measurement flight by the DLR Falcon research aircraft.
Researchers around the world are working on the development of laminar flow wings. Among other features, these are substantially smoother than current wings and therefore produce less drag. The largely undisturbed, turbulence-free airflow is what gives these high-tech wings their name. In future, they may substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions from air transport. However, insect contamination disturbing the laminar flow would eliminate these reductions.
DLR/Marek Kruszewski (CC-BY 3.0).
The DLR ATRA research aircraft flies at around 15 metres above the airport grounds with its landing gear retracted.
Flight test engineer Adrian Müller monitored the flight trial from the ATRA measuring system.
Behind the DC-8, the scientists on board the DLR Falcon measured the exhaust gas composition.
In the morning, the DLR Falcon is towed onto the apron at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, before a research flight. The Falcon was housed in the same hangar as the SOFIA airborne observatory during the research mission with NASA.
DLR researchers focus on measurements of the biofuel exhaust emissions of soot and sulphur particles, as well as the size and shape of the ice crystals in the condensation trails.
After a research flight, the Falcon is towed past the SOFIA airborne observatory on the way to its parking position.
The DLR Falcon flies with its measuring inlets in the upper part of an engine exhaust gas plume.
The Airbus A320-232 'D-ATRA' (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) is the largest member of the DLR research fleet.
DLR/Evi Blink (CC-BY 3.0).
The DLR research aircraft ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) and Falcon started their joint flight tests from the Braunschweig research airport.
The DLR Falcon can fly higher than most commercial aircraft and is extremely robust and agile.
As part of the ML-CIRRUS mission, HALO will complete a total of 12 measurement flights by the end of April 2014. Between now and 2018, a further eight major scientific missions are scheduled for HALO, and these will either be funded by the DLR or supported by them as a partner.
Blade tip vortices are visible as dark lines during a full rotation of the main rotor. The engine exhaust flows are perceptible as a noisy area trailing the helicopter. The tail rotor's vortex system is also visible (black, circular lines on the tail rotor). The helicopter is currently performing a rocking manoeuvre.
The Göttingen-based researchers employed a novel technique to visualise the rotor blade vortices, using the loose scree littering the quarry as a background for their measurement method.
DLR BO 105 research helicopter in flight above the lake at the base of the quarry.
The helicopter was in vertical ascent just as the images were shot. The vortices are seen as dark lines, with a maximum of one full rotation being visible. The helicopter engine exhaust flow is also visible as a noisy region behind the helicopter.
The HALO high-altitude research aircraft (High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft): starting in late 2008, this modified business jet, a Gulfstream G 550, will join the DLR aircraft fleet in data-gathering flights around the globe.
HALO is 31 metres long - 1.6 metres account for the nose probe. It has a height of 7.9 metres and a wingspan of 28.5 metres.
Aero-Art Frank Herzog..
The Airbus A320-232 D-ATRA, DLR's largest fleet member, has been in operation since the end of 2008.
The smallest aircraft of DLR's Oberpfaffenhofen flight facility is a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, registration D-FDLR. The single-engine turboprop aircraft is mainly used by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for remote sensing. It is especially well suited for camera flights, such as those with the HRSC (High Resolution Stereo Camera), operated by DLR and also used in space missions.
The application portfolio of ATTAS is very wide-ranging. With its measurement and test equipment, ATTAS is used for numerous test duties, such as testing future air traffic control procedures and low-noise approaches, for example. Research into wake vortices is also carried out with ATTAS; these are air turbulences that occur as a result of the lift produced on the wings.
The Falcon 20E in flight. The DLR research aircraft can carry up to 1100 kilograms of scientific instrumentation payload. The instruments are installed inside and below the cabin, as well as under the wings. They include a flow measuring device, the nose boom, air intakes and under-wing pods. Among other things, they include a flow measuring device, the so-called nose boom and antennas which can be mounted on the exterior of the aircraft.
ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) is a modern and flexible flight test platform which sets a new benchmark for flying test beds in European aerospace research - and not just because of its size.
The HALO project was made possible by the Max Planck Society, members of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and various other scientific institutes in the atmospheric research sector. In total, 31 research institutes are involved in the project.
Aero-Art Frank Herzog.
DLR's Airbus A320 aircraft "D-ATRA" (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft). The latest and largest member of the fleet, deployed in October 2008, serves as the VFW 614 ATTAS (Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft System).
The image shows containers, the so-called meteopods, which have been mounted under the wing of the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. They contain instruments for measuring meteorological data.
The DLR research aircraft has a length of 16.56 metres (18.7 feet with nose boom), is 4.86 metres in height and has a wingspan of 16.97 metres.
The ATTAS research aircraft (Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft System) has been flying for the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for 20 years. "It may be an old aircraft, but it has state-of-the-art technology. It enables us to try things that a modern Airbus 380 simply would not be able to," says DLR staff member Hayung Becker. By using computer simulations, ATTAS can simulate the flight performance of other, larger, aircraft.
Wake vortices are air swirls generated by an aircraft's wings, especially when flying at low speeds during take-off and landing.The aim of the experiments is to make smaller separation distances possible between aircraft approaching or taking off in succession, through a more precise calculation of the evolution and decay of the wake vortices.
The DLR research aircraft started operations in 1976 and has been used in numerous scientific research missions.
The twin-engine turboprop Dornier Do 228-212 (registration D-CFFU) is primarily used for remote-sensing missions by the German Aerospace Center's (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Oberpfaffenhofen flight facility
Cockpit of the ATTAS research platform (Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft System). The image shows the mechanical control column and instruments (on the right-hand side) as well as the sidestick and the programmable displays (on the left-hand side).
Its optical and electronic control system enables the FHS to simulate the flight performance of other helicopters, using fly-by-light and fly-by-wire control.
The ACT/FHS 'Flying Helicopter Simulator' of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) at a flight in 2009.
Ian Phillis from the Empire Test Pilot School (left) and Waldemar Krebs from DLR, ready for flight.
The cockpit has been modified to provide crew stations for a safety pilot (on the left) and an evaluation pilot (on the right). The mechanical steering system has been replaced by an electrical and optical (fly-by-wire/fly-by-light) primary control system, which meets the strictest safety standards. In addition to that, a mechanical emergency control system is also available.
The 'chameleon aircraft' ATTAS celebrated its 25th birthday in October 2010.
The tasks for which the BO 105 helicopter is deployed include testing and measuring avionics systems and analysing helicopter properties.
The modified IFR cockpit (Instrument Flight Rules) of the BO 105 makes it easier to fly under difficult weather conditions, the so-called Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC).
DLR's DR 400 D-EDVE aeroplane is primarily used by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a towplane for gliders and as a pilot training and transport aircraft.
The Cessna C208B Grand Caravan (registration D-FDLR) was converted into a flying auditorium by the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) Oberpfaffenhofen flight facility.
The DO 228-212 is primarily used for remote sensing, but also for marine and atmospheric research.
The aircraft was developed jointly in the 1960s by DLR and the Leichtflugtechnik-Union (LFU) consortium. The maiden flight took place in 1968. The LFU 205 in service in Brunswick is the prototype of this aircraft and was manufactured as a one-off.
DLR (CC-BY 3.0).
The German Aerospace Center's (DLR) DG 300-17 measures the speed polar of other gliders. The results of these measurements make it possible to increase the cruise speed of non-powered aircraft.