Wind tunnel for aerial vehicle certification

Abstract

Wind tunnels may include gimbaled stings that enable aerial vehicles to be evaluated therein with respect to testing requirements established by regulatory bodies in one or more jurisdictions, such as the FAA in the United States. The gimbaled stings may be component parts of bowl assemblies that may rotate the aerial vehicles to predetermined yaw angles, pitch angles or roll angles, in order to conduct testing evolutions demonstrating that the aerial vehicles satisfy one or more of regulatory requirements. The gimbaled stings may position and reposition the aerial vehicles, as necessary, in accordance with the one or more regulatory requirements. The aerial vehicles may also operate control surfaces (e.g., flaps or rudders) during the testing evolutions, and different loading conditions or centers of gravity may be simulated by translating the aerial vehicles on the gimbaled stings in one or more directions.