Object-Oriented Simulation of Paratrooper-Vortex Interactions

The C-17 Airdrop Model provides the Air Force and Army test and evaluation community with the capability to (i) assess the risk of vortex encounters, and (ii) predict ground dispersal patterns on the drop zone. Written in MODSIM III, aircraft vortices and paratroopers are modeled as objects whose behavior accurately reflects their real-world counterparts through the use of pre-validated aerodynamic and trajectory equations within the objects’ methods. This model has provided the joint airborne community with a preliminary estimate of paratrooper/vortex encounter rates and locations as a function of formation element separation and wind conditions, as well as a tool for simulating alternative C-17 aircraft formation configurations prior to actual flight. Future use of the model suggests simulating brigade-size operations; expanding to include equipment drops, new parachute deployment systems, and precision airdrop; visualization; and, evaluating new airborne combat tactics.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1997
• Where: WSC
• Authors: T. Glenn Bailey, Jose C. Belano III, Philip S. Beran, Jack M. Kloeber Jr., Hans J. Petry
• Keywords: C-17 Aircraft Formation, C-17 Airdrop Model, Ground Dispersal Patterns, Modeling And Simulation, WSC 1997