VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY,

BELAGAVI

VII Sem BE(Mechanical) Seminar Report on

THRUST VECTORING
By
MARTIN JOHNSON, 1MV15ME059
Under the supervision of
Mr. B.M NAGESH
Associate professor, Mechanical engineering

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SIR M VISVESVARAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
BENGALURU
Academic year: 2018-19

1
 SIR M VISVESVARAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
BENGALURU
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. MARTIN JOHNSON, USN : 1MV15ME059, a
student of VIII semester B.E.( Mechanical) in department of Mechanical
Engineering of Sir M Visvesvaraya institute of technology has
successfully presented the seminar on THRUST VECTORING to fulfill
the academic requirement of Seminar(15MES86).

MR. B.M NAGESH Dr KS Shanmukharadhya

Faculty Supervisor HOD Mechanical
department

Evaluators:
Name Signature with Date

1 ________________________ ______________________

2 ________________________ ______________________

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CHAPTERS NO. & NAME PAGE NO.
Abstract 4
Chapter 1: Introduction 5
Chapter 2: Literature review 7
2.1: Thrust vectoring system 7
Chapter 3: The origin of thrust vector 10
Chapter 4: TVC Mechanism with single nozzle 12
Chapter 5: thrust vectoring control in rockets 14
Chapter 6: Features 15
6.1: Structural Approaches to Provide Thrust Vectoring 15

6.2: Tilt Rotor 15

6.3: Tilt wing 16

6.4: Deflected Slipstream 16

6.5: Split Flow Engine 17

6.6: Vectoring Nozzle Types 17

Chapter 7: Testing 19

Chapter 8: Advantages and Disadvantages of thrust vectoring 21

8.1: Advantages of thrust vectoring 21

8.2: Disadvantages of thrust vectoring 23

Chapter 9: Conclusion 25

References 26

3
ABSTRACT
Thrust vectoring is the ability of an aircraft or other vehicle to deflect the angle of thrust away
from the vehicles longitudinal axis. The concept of thrust vectoring is not a new one. The
Germans used graphic control vanes in the exhaust stream of their V-2 ballistic missile in ww2
for directional control. Thrust vectoring in aircraft is a new practice and a concept came under
widespread consideration during the cold war. There are several methods employed to
produce thrust vectoring. Most current production aircraft with thrust vectoring use turbofan
engines with rotating nozzles or turning vanes to deflect the exhaust stream. This method
can deflect thrust to as much as 90 degrees providing a vertical takeoff and landing capability.
However, for vertical thrust the engine has to be more powerful to overcome the weight of
the aircraft, this means the aircraft requires a bigger heavier engine. As a result of the
increased overall weight of the aircraft the maneuverability and agility are reduced in normal
horizontal flight. Another method to produce thrust vectoring is through fluidic thrust vector
control. This is achieved using a static nozzle and a secondary flow between the primary jet
and the nozzle. This method is desirable for its lower weight, mechanical simplicity and lower
radar cross section.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
The thrust vector control history first came from rockets. The evolution of the rocket has
made it an indispensable tool in the exploration of space. The ancient Chinese were the first
to create rockets, but there use was confined to small fire works. Not until the 20th century
did a clear understanding of the principles of rockets emerge, and only then did the
technology of large rockets begin to evolve. Most math and physics used in spaceflight and
rocket was developed in1650-1910. The first space engineer, Konstantian Tsiolkovsky
(Russian, 1857-1935). he is the first to analyze rocket motion using. Newton’s Laws of Motion
and wrote numerous technical papers describing artificial satellites, space stations,
exploration of space, etc. Tsiolkovsky stated that the speed and range of a rocket were limited
only by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases. For his ideas, careful research, and great vision,
Tsiolkovsky has been called the father of modern astronautics. His engineering suggestions
were foresighted and technically accurate that he suggested the use of thrust vectoring in
rockets (aiming the rocket to steer the rocket) and the use of liquid fuels in the propulsions
of rockets (prior to that time, only solid, dry chemical rockets had been built).In addition to
providing a propulsive force to a flying vehicle, a rocket propulsion system can provide
moments to rotate the flying vehicle and thus provide control of the vehicle's attitude and
flight path. By controlling the direction of the thrust vectors through the mechanisms
described later in the chapter, it is possible to control a vehicle's pitch, yaw, and roll motions.
All chemical propulsion systems can be provided with one of several types of thrust vector
control (TVC) mechanisms. Some of these apply either to solid, hybrid, or to liquid propellant
rocket propulsion systems, but most are specific to only one of these propulsion categories.
We will describe two types of thrust vector control concept: (1) for an engine or a motor with
a single nozzle; and (2) for those that have two or more nozzles. Thrust vector control is
effective only while the propulsion system is operating and creating an exhaust jet. For the
flight period, when a rocket propulsion system is not firing and therefore its TVC is
inoperative, a separate mechanism needs to be provided to the flying vehicle for achieving

5
control over its attitude or flight path. Aerodynamic fins (fixed and movable) continue to be
very effective for controlling vehicle flight within the earth's atmosphere, and almost all
weather rockets, antiaircraft missiles, and air-to-surface missiles use them. Even though
aerodynamic control surfaces provide some additional drag, their effectiveness in terms of
vehicle weight, turning moment, and actuating power consumption is difficult to surpass with
any other flight control method. Pitch moments are those that raise or lower the nose of a
vehicle; yaw moments turn the nose sideways; and roll moments are applied about the main
axis of the flying vehicle (Fig. 16-1). Usually, the thrust vector of the main rocket nozzle is in
the direction of the vehicle axis and goes through the vehicle's center of gravity. Thus it is
possible to obtain pitch and yaw control moments by the simple deflection of the main rocket
thrust vector; however, roll control usually requires the use of two or more rotary vanes or
two or more separately hinged propulsion system nozzles. Figure 16-2 explains the pitch
moment obtained by a hinged thrust chamber or nozzle. The side force and the pitch moment
vary as the sine of the effective angle of thrust vector deflection.

Fig 1.1

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1:THRUST VECTORING SYSTEM
Patent Number: 6,105,901
Inventors: Michael S. Ulanoski, Ky., Jagdish S. Sokhey
Appl. No.: 09/055,663
Date of Patent: Aug. 22, 2000
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
One feature of the present invention is to discharge working fluid through an aircraft nozzle
to produce thrust and control thrust vectoring and nozzle throat area with a number of Vanes
mounted there across. Another feature of the present invention is pivotally mounting at least
three Vanes across an aircraft passage to direct flow of discharged working fluid through the
passage. Each of the Vanes is coupled to a control link that is Selectively movable to
correspondingly pivot the Vanes. The link is moveable with at least two degrees of freedom
and has a corresponding two coordinate position. A desired orientation of the Vanes may be
determined as a function of the two coordinate position. Several control links, each pivotally
coupled to a corresponding group of Vanes, may be used. In one configuration, position of
the link along a first path corresponds to a desired thrust vector, and position of the link along
a Second path corresponds to a convergent Vane orientation providing a desired throat area.
Each of the Vanes may have a corresponding linkage arm pivotally connected thereto, with
each linkage arm also being pivotally connected to the control link. Also, the link may be
Selectively moved by an actuator operatively coupled to a controller to pivot the Vanes. In
one configuration, the controller is responsive to a thrust control Signal which corresponds
to a desired pivotal orientation of the Vanes and provides an actuation Signal corresponding
to the thrust control Signal as a function of the two coordinate position. The actuator
responds to this actuation Signal to position the link and correspondingly pivot the Vanes to
the desired pivotal orientation. Still another feature of the present invention is an aircraft
with a passage having an outlet to discharge working fluid to produce thrust with a number
7
of Vanes pivotally mounted across the outlet. The Vanes include at least a first Vane, a Second
Vane mounted adjacent the first Vane, and a third Vane mounted adjacent the Second Vane.
A thrust control linkage includes a control link Spaced apart from the first, Second and third
Vanes. This linkage also includes a first tie rod pivotally coupling the first Vane to the link,
where the first tie rod has a first length corresponding to a first distance between the link and
the first Vane. Also, the linkage includes a Second tie rod pivotally coupling the Second Vane
to the link. The Second tie rod has a second length greater than the first length which
corresponds to a Second distance between the link and the second vane. The linkage further
includes a third tie rod pivotally coupling the third Vane to the link. The third tie rod has a
third length greater than the Second length, the third length corresponding to a third distance
between the link and the third vane. The link is actuator controlled to pivot each of the Vanes.
A further feature is an aircraft with a passage having an outlet discharging working fluid to
produce thrust, and Vanes pivotally mounted across the outlet to direct fluid flow there
through relative to a reference axis. The number of Vanes is at least three and includes a first
Vane configured to pivot about a first axis and a Second Vane configured to pivot about a
Second axis. Each of a number of arms are pivotally coupled to a corresponding one of the
Vanes. There are at least three arms, including a first arm connected to the first Vane at a
first distance from the first axis, and a Second arm pivotally connected to the Second Vane at
a Second distance from the second axis. The first distance differs from the Second distance
by a Selected amount. An actuator controlled link is pivotally coupled to each of the number
of arms to move along a path to controllably pivot each of the Vanes in relation to the
reference axis. The link has a first position to controllably pivot the first vane to a first pivot
angle and the Second Vane to a Second pivot angle. The first pivot angle is greater than the
Second pivot angle as a function of the Selected amount to provide a desired convergent
pattern of the Vanes. Preferably, the Selected amount optimizes thrust efficiency when the
Vanes are converged to regulate exit area of working fluid discharged through the outlet.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to controllably pivot Vanes to vector thrust
and adjust vectoring nozzle throat area. Another object of the present invention is to provide
a common control link movable to adjust both vectoring and throat area. Still another object
of the present invention is to control thrust vectoring and throat area with a number of Vanes
without Substantially increasing weight or Space requirements. Further objects, advantages,
8
features, and aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings and
discussion herein.

Fig 2.1

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CHAPTER 3

THE ORIGIN OF THRUST VECTORING

The vectored thrust story started in the mid 1950s when a Frenchman, Michel Wibault,
proposed a single seat fighter that he called the Gyroptere. Wibault proposed to vector the
thrust of four separate centrifugal blowers driven by a single 8000 HP Bristol Orion engine.
He chose the Bristol engine because it was then the most powerful turbo-shaft engine in
prospect. He was unable to interest the French authorities with this idea, but in 1956 he left
a brochure with the US officer running the Paris office of the Mutual Weapons Development
Programmed Colonel Chapman USAF. As Chapman was working on a engine called the
Orpheus engine with Bristol Aero-Engines. Hence with there collaboration it led to a new
Bristol engine, the Pegasus, having 4 rotating nozzle. By 1959 the Pegasus 1 was running on
a Bristol test-bed and Hawkers were making the P1127 airframe.

In October 1960 Hawkers were ready to fly the first P1127. It was decided to look at the
unknowns of hovering before flying the aircraft conventionally. The engine, by now the
Pegasus 2 of 11,000lb thrust, was installed as shown in fig.2. The main characteristics were a
large bifurcated intake and four swiveling exhaust nozzles interconnected together which
enabled the thrust vector to be moved, as required, from 0 to about 18 degrees forward of
the vertical. The figure shows the engine position in the jet.

FIG 3.1

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Although the Harrier was the first who invented thrust vectored aircraft, for three decades
Yakovlev design Bureau contacted the research-development-test evaluation works
connected with creation of thrust vectored VTOL aircraft. The experimental aircraft Yak-36
permitted to accumulate the valuable experience in that field, and create the unique
research facilities for that new technology in aviation in 1963. Many companies tried to
solve the problems connected with this technology, but only two of the projects were
carried to completion, serial production and operation: English "Harrier" and Russian Yak-
38. In 1987, Russia has developed and tested the World first supersonic thrust vectored
STOVL aircraft Yak-141. Whereas the first supersonic fighters in production that support
thrust vectoring were Mikoyan Mig-29OVT, Sukhoi Su-35 and Sukhoi Su-30MKI. The best
known example of thrust vectoring in an engine is the Rolls- Royce Pegasus engine of the
Hawker-Siddeley Harrier brother to the BS100. (with variants built by McDonnell Douglas).
The technique has been used in various experimental and development planes, some with
vectored thrust in directions other than upwards. Widespread use of thrust vectoring for
maneuverability in a Western fighter aircraft would have to wait for the 21st century, and
the deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fifth-generation jet fighter ( introduced
in 2011), with its afterburning, thrust-vectoring Pratt & Whitney F119 turbofan. Shown
below is a list of aircrafts with thrust vectoring capabilities of different era.

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CHAPTER 4

TVC MECHANISMS WITH A SINGLE NOZZLE

Many different mechanisms have been used successfully. They can be classified into four
categories:
1. Mechanical deflection of the nozzle or thrust chamber.
2. Insertion of heat-resistant movable bodies into the exhaust jet; these experience
aerodynamic forces and cause a deflection of a part of the exhaust gas flow.
3. Injection of fluid into the side of the diverging nozzle section, causing an asymmetrical
distortion of the supersonic exhaust flow.

Fig 4.1

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 Fig 4.2

4. Separate thrust-producing devices that are not part of the main flow through the nozzle.

Each category is described briefly below and in Table 16-1, where the four categories are
separated by horizontal lines. Figure 16-3 illustrates several TVC mechanisms. All of the TVC
schemes shown here have been used in production vehicles. In the hinge or gimbal scheme
(a hinge permits rotation about one axis only, whereas a gimbal is essentially a universal
joint), the whole engine is pivoted on a bearing and thus the thrust vector is rotated. For small
angles this scheme has negligible losses in specific impulse and is used in many vehicles. It
requires a flexible set of propellant piping (bellows) to allow the propellant to flow from the
tanks of the vehicle to the movable engine. The Space Shuttle (Fig. 1-13) has two gimballed
orbit maneuver engines, and three gimballed main engines. Figures 6-1, 6-3, and 8-19 show
gimballed engines. Some Soviet launch vehicles use multiple thrusters and hinges (Fig. 10-10
shows 4 hinges), while many U.S. vehicles use gimbals.Jet vanes are pairs of heat-resistant,
aerodynamic wing-shaped surfaces submerged in the exhaust jet of a fixed rocket nozzle.
They were first used about 55 years ago. They cause extra drag (2 to 5% less Is; drag increases
with larger vane deflections) and erosion of the vane material. Graphite jet vanes were used
in the German V-2 missile in World War II and in the Scud missiles fired by Iraq in 1991.

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CHAPTER 5

THRUST VECTORING CONTROL IN ROCKETS

All chemical propulsion systems can be provided with one of several types of thrust vector
control (TVC) mechanisms. Some of these apply either to solid, hybrid, or to liquid propellant
rocket propulsion systems, but most are specific to only one of these propulsion categories.
Thrust vector control is effective only while the propulsion system is operating and creating
an exhaust jet. For the flight period, when a rocket propulsion system is not firing and
therefore its TVC is inoperative, a separate mechanism needs to be provided to the flying
vehicle for achieving control over its attitude or flight path.

Hence, there are two types of thrust vector control concept:

(1) for an engine or a motor with a single nozzle

(2) for those that have two or more nozzles

FIG 5.1

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CHAPTER 6

FEATURES

6.1: Structural Approaches to Provide Thrust Vectoring

Historically Thrust Vectoring has mainly been used to provide a VTOL or STOL capacity in an
aircraft. The high thrust to weight ratio of jet engines means vertical flight using thrust
vectoring seems to be feasible. To date there are only two operational jet VTOL aircraft, the
British Harrier and the Russian YAK-38. However, providing a VTOL capacity often
disadvantages maneuverability in horizontal flight, consumes large amounts of fuel and is a
detriment to stealth. So recently there have been moves to use thrust vectoring in jet fighters
just for a VSTOL capability or extra maneuverability in horizontal flight. Thrust vectoring for
all these applications can be accomplished by using some of the following methods.

Type 1: Same Propulsion system for Hover and forward flight

Tilt Prop- This type of aircraft tilts the engine and propeller assembly away from the
horizontal to provide vectored thrust.

6.2: Tilt Rotor

This design is similar to tilt prop, except rotors are used instead of propellers. An example of
this type of aircraft is the V-22 Osprey used in military service for its VSTOL and medium
weight lift capability. This aircraft also uses the deflected slipstream method to create lift
when in horizontal flight.

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 FIG 6.1

6.3: Tilt wing

Tilting the entire wing, instead of just the rotor or propeller, provides the benefit of increasing
aerodynamic flow over the lifting and control surfaces during transition, and minimizes the
lift loss due to downwash in hover. Disadvantages, however, are that an additional method
of control such as a tail jet or rotor is required for control in hover, and ailerons change from
roll control in horizontal flight to yaw control in hover. Control is especially difficult in hover
during gusts due to the "barn door effect" of the wings in a vertical position.

FIG 6.2

6.4: Deflected Slipstream

The Propeller or Jet slipstream is deflected downward with the trailing flaps or a specially
designed “bucket”, this vectors the thrust downward. This configuration is only useful for
providing a medium STOL capability and in some experimental aircraft a VTOL capability.

16
Some Military cargo planes use this design to enable shorter takeoffs on short “makeshift”
runways and faster approaches for landing. The C-17 Globemaster III uses this technology to
provide a medium STOL capability.

6.5: Split Flow Engine

A number of VTOL propulsion concepts use a “split flow” engine to provide thrust vectoring.
This involves a modification to a turbofan engine which splits airflow away from the core
airflow and is used to provide a balanced thrust vectoring solution. The Harrier uses this
concept in the Pegasus engine in which the fan air and core air are exhausted separately
through elbow nozzles. This concept is also good for thrust vectoring in horizontal flight. The
problem with this design is that the engine must placed at the cg of the aircraft, this means
the middle section of the aircraft needs to be wider to accommodate the engine. Having a
wider mid section increases supersonic wave drag. This means designing a supersonic aircraft
with thrust vectoring using this design is very difficult. The picture shows separate ducting of
fan and core air.

Main Engine Jet Exhaust Turning Methods

For thrust vectoring to occur the jet exhaust has to be turned somehow. This can be achieved
using mechanical or fluidic means.

Mechanical Thrust Vectoring Methods

Mechanical thrust vectoring is achieved by mechanically deflecting the exhaust flow of an

aircraft using some sort of physical object. This is usually achieved using various nozzles or
vanes.

6.6: Vectoring Nozzle Types

6.6.1: Flaps

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Flaps deflect the engines flow in much the same way as wing flaps deflect the external air
flow see figure 15a This type of system introduces a thrust loss of approximately 3-6% when
vectored to 90 degrees. The vectoring flaps can also be external to the nozzle as a part of the
wing flap.

6.6.2: Bucket

The bucket thrust vectoring mechanism is similar to the commonly used clamshell thrust
reverser see figure 15b. The great advantage to this concept is that all the force is transmitted
through the hinge line of the bucket meaning actuators can be reasonably small. Another
advantage of this system is that the turning surface can be made very efficient. This method
can be used to create 90 degree vectoring with about 2-3% thrust loss.

6.6.3: Rotating

In this type of nozzle (figure 15c) the tailpipe is broken along slanted lines into three pieces
as shown. The three pieces are connected with circular rotating-ring bearings so that the
middle (shaded) piece can be rotated about its longitudinal axis while the other parts remain
un-rotated. This causes the middle and end parts of the nozzle to vector thrust downward.
This vectoring nozzle has a 3-5% thrust loss when vectoring at 90 degrees.

6.6.4: Ventral

The ventral nozzle (figure 15d) is simply a hole in the bottom of the tailpipe leading to a
downward facing nozzle. The normal exhaust opening is blocked by some sort of valve. These
valves can be used easily on aircraft with afterburners because they can be placed upstream
of the afterburner. These ventral nozzles can help solve the balance problem of VTOL aircraft.
The ventral nozzle has a thrust loss of 3-6% when vectored to 90 degrees.

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 FIG 6.3

6.6.5: Elbow Nozzle

This type of nozzle is used on the AV-8 Harrier. The elbow nozzle is simple and lightweight
and doesn’t require much actuating force. A disadvantage of this design is the fact that the
flow is always being turned through a total of 180 degrees, even in forward flight. Because
the flow is always being turned this nozzle type suffers 6-8% thrust loss at all times. All the
other types of vectoring nozzle only impose a thrust loss during vertical flight. Usually a
combination of any of these nozzles has the best effect for a particular aircraft design.

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CHAPTER 7
TESTING
Testing of thrust vector control systems often includes actuation of the system when
assembled on the propulsion system and the vehicle. For example, the Space Shuttle main
engine can be put through some gimbal motions (without rocket firing) prior to a flight. A
typical acceptance test series of the TVC system (prior to the delivery to an engine
manufacturer) may include the determination of input power, accuracy of deflected
positions, angular speeds or accelerations, signal response characteristics, or validation of
overtravel stops. The ability to operate under extreme thermal environment, operation under
various vehicle or propulsion system generated vibrations, temperature cycling, and ignition
shock (high momentary acceleration) would probably be a part of the qualification tests. Side
forces and roll torques are usually relatively small compared to the main thrust and the pitch
or yaw torques. Their accurate static test measurement can be difficult, particularly at low
vector angles. Elaborate, multicomponent test stands employing multiple load cells and
isolation flextures are needed to assure valid measurements.

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CHAPTER 8

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTEGES OF THRUST VECTORING

8.1: ADVANTAGES OF THRUST VECTORING

Thrust-vectoring research to date has successfully identified and demonstrated many
potential benefits to high-performance aircraft. These include enhanced aircraft
maneuverability, performance, survivability, and stealth. The full extent of these benefits,
however, has yet to be realized even with new generation aircraft because current
mechanical thrust-vectoring configurations are heavy, complex, and expensive.

8.1.1: Agility

A requirement of modern warfare is the improvement of maneuverability and control

capabilities which TVC provides. The agility of aircraft can be determined by such things as
pitch, roll and yaw rates, acceleration and deceleration and turning ability.

8.1.2: Short take off and Landing (STOL)

Aircraft that have small take off and landing zones are largely advantageous as it reduces the
space required for operation of the aircraft. This allows the aircraft to operate in more
compact environments such as aircraft carriers and airports, which as a result may decrease
the size of such things, or allow more aircraft to occupy the same space as a non STOL capable
aircraft.

8.1.3: Fuel Consumption, Flight Range

As evident in figures five and six, an aircraft with TVC requires less thrust to achieve desired
results such flight regimes as cruise, climb and decent. This has the effect it reduces the fuel
consumption of the aircraft due to the lower thrust requirement, which in turn increases the
aircrafts flight range.

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8.1.4: Stealth

Using the theory that thrust vectoring can supplement control surfaces, it has been shown
that thrust vectoring has the ability to provide a “tailless” aircraft. On these tailless aircraft
vectored thrust provides engine-based flight control. The benefits of reduced dependence on
a rear tail are reduced drag, reduced aircraft weight, and less radar cross section. These
tailless designs are therefore stealthier than other conventional designs.

Trust Vector control does have its disadvantages and limitation. Implementation of TVC
increases the weight of the aircraft, due to its complexities can also inhibit the performance
of the aircraft, increases the cost significantly and can also not meet other requirements of
the aircraft such as the cost, stealth performance criteria required of the particular aircraft.

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8.2: DISADVANTAGES OF THRUST VECTORING
To discuss thrust vectoring, we must first know how non-TVC aircraft behave. Major
parameters that impact aircraft’s performance are:

1. weight

2. lift, which can be approximated through wing loading

3. excess thrust, determined by thrust to weight ratio

4. drag

8.2.1: Mass of aircraft determines inertia – thus, heavier the aircraft is, longer it takes to
switch from one maneuver to another quickly. This results in slower transients, making it
harder for pilot to get inside opponent’s OODA loop – in fact, mass is defined as a quantitative
measure of an object’s resistance to acceleration (to clear common mistake in terminology,
acceleration can be in any direction – in fact, what is commonly called “deceleration” is
mathematically defined as “acceleration”).

8.2.2: Lift is what allows aircraft to remain in the air, and when turning, aircraft uses control
surfaces to change direction in which lift is acting, resulting in aircraft turning around
imaginary point. It can be approximated by wing loading. But turning leads to increase in
angle between air flow around the aircraft and the aircraft itself (this angle is called Angle of
Attack), which results in increased drag.

8.2.3: Drag increasing means that aircraft loses energy faster, and once fighter’s level of
energy decays below that of his opponent, he is fighting at disadvantage. Loss in energy can
be mitigated by excess thrust.

8.2.4: Excess thrust which can also be used (usually in combination with gravity, aka
downwards flight) to recover lost energy. All of this leads to expression “out of ideas, energy
and altitude”, which basically means “I’m in trouble and have no way out”.

23
8.2.5: Nose pointing allows aircraft to gain a shot at opponent with gun, and was crucial for
gaining a shot at opponent with missiles before advent of High Off Bore capability.

8.2.6: Corner speed which shifted requirements more in direction of ability to sustain
maneuvers at or near corner speed (minimum speed at which aircraft can achieve maximum
g loading; it is usually around M 0,6 – 0,9).

It must be noted that, while lift and excess thrust of aircraft can be approximated by wing
loading and thrust to weight ratio, heavier aircraft will require higher thrust to weight and lift
to weight ratios to achieve same turn rates as lighter aircraft. Thrust vectoring, as its name
says, results in shifting of the thrust. Due to modern fighter aircraft’s center of gravity and
center of lift never being behind its nozzles, shift in thrust results in aircraft rotating around
its center of gravity, resulting in massive increase in Angle of Attack. This is result of forces
described above acting on aircraft. In this model, assumption is that aircraft can reach angle
of attack required for maximum lift both with and without thrust vectoring, which is true for
all close-coupled-canard aircraft, but not necessarily for tailed and long-arm canard
arrangements.

24
CHAPTER 9
CONCLUSION
Thrust vectoring is becoming more and more prevalent in aircraft as its benefits become more
useful and efficient and as new and improved ways of vectoring thrust become available.
Thrust vectoring is most commonly known in the harrier jet for its obvious implication of the
aircrafts ability for vertical takeoff and landing, however there are many other examples of
thrust vector control not only in aircraft but rockets as well. However the harrier was the first
and only successful aircraft with thrust vectoring used for V/STOL capabilities until modern
aircraft such as the future released F-35. The problems and difficulties of incorporating thrust
vectoring in aircraft is a contributing factor as to why more aircraft in the 20th century didn’t
employ thrust vectoring. The harrier as an example has the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine which
is a split flow style engine with four elbows nozzles. The engine was used as it provides the
required thrust for V/STOL capabilities, however it is quite large and heavy, and the engine
must be placed at the center of gravity of the aircraft which intern widens the aircraft and
reduces achievable airspeed and agility.

These inferiorities compared to other non thrust vectored aircraft would have contributed to
the slow appearance of similar features in future aircraft due to its inability to include
maneuverability, higher speeds partnered with thrust vectoring, as well as perhaps the
harrier meeting all requirements asked of it and it being sufficient for the times. Another
example is the C-17 Globemaster III airlifter that deflects the jet slipstream with the trailing
flaps which vectors the thrust downwards useful for shorter take off than otherwise it being
absent. Thrust vectoring is becoming more and more prevalent in new aircraft such as the
indevelopment F-35 and F-22. Due to the advances in thrust vector control since the era of
the Harrier aircraft, new aircraft can incorporate thrust vector control and still maintain and
improve on such things as maneuverability and stealth attributes.

The shorter takeoff range, longer flight range, higher maneuverability that these new aircraft
with thrust vectoring posses are much valued when compared to other and older aircraft.
The ability to out maneuver an opponent, travel further, takeoff and land faster in smaller
areas are all major features that new thrust vectored control aircraft posses. As thrust vector
25
control systems become less expensive, less heavy and complex, such as is the case with
Fluidic Thrust Vectoring methods, thrust vectoring will become a required feature of a fighter
jet at least, to still be able to compete with other thrust vectored aircraft. Of course, these
improvements are not exclusive to fighter jets, but also other aircraft as outlined earlier such
as cargo aircraft such as the C-17 Globemaster.

Although thrust vectoring is not a new concept, modern advancements in thrust vectoring
have made it quite conceivable that in the future a much higher percentage of aircraft will
possess thrust vector, not only military aircraft but also other aircraft such as perhaps
passenger aircraft, cargo aircraft, as its benefits are not exclusive to military applications, but
many more forms of aircraft. With the several different ways to implement thrust vectoring
such as Fluidic, mechanical, split flow or separate engines, there are suitable options for its
implementation in a range of different types of aircraft.

26
REFERENCES
 “Thrust Vectoring”, Wikipedia
http://en.win.kipedia.org/wiki/0

 “Pitching Moment”, Wikipedia

http://en.win.kipedia.org/wiki/

 “Vectored Thrust”, NASA

http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/vecthrst.html

 “AV-8B Harrier History”

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/av-8-history.htm

 “History of Spaceflight”, 2006

http://www.courses.psu.edu/aersp/aersp055_r81/history.html

 “Konstantin Tsiolkovsky”, 2006

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky

 "Rocket" Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArtTextonly.aspx?refid=761577900&print=0

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