Seeking out Stability

It took the better part of a century of aeronautical research and development to put a fleet of safe, stable general aviation airplanes at pilots' disposal. The Wright brothers' 1903 Flyer-forbearer of them all-is a fascinating place to begin any discussion of stability and control in modern general aviation aircraft. The Flyer launched a revolution, but it was nowhere near market-ready, and the Wrights knew this.

The U.S. Air Force's Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base gave its students an opportunity to "fly" the 1903 Wright aircraft by computer. A replica of the Flyer had been built by the Los Angeles Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Extensive wind tunnel testing at the California Institute of Technology yielded data on its aerodynamic performance, which the school converted into computer models for flight simulators.