Closed-loop motion characteristic requirements of receiver aircraft for probe and drogue aerial refueling

To address the lack of flying qualities criteria for probe and drogue aerial refueling in conventional military flying qualities standards, this paper proposes new requirements for the closed-loop motion characteristic parameters of a receiver aircraft. By applying mission-oriented flying qualities evaluation approach, various closed-loop motion characteristics of the receiver aircraft are evaluated with a pilot-in-the-loop ground-based flight simulator. A comparison of the evaluation results with several conventional flying qualities criteria indicates that the closed-loop motion characteristic parameters used in the conventional flying qualities criteria cannot effectively reflect the motion characteristic requirements of the probe and drogue aerial refueling task. Based on analyses of the evaluation results and the characteristics of the probe and drogue aerial refueling task, quantitative requirements for longitudinal and lateral closed-loop motion characteristic parameters are proposed. The conclusions can be used to predict flying qualities and in the design of flight control laws for the probe and drogue aerial refueling mode.