The General Aviation Flight Lab comprises a team of faculty and graduate/undergraduate students dedicated to developing innovative concepts & solutions in the areas of aerospace control systems, aviation safety technologies, and flight simulation.
Our Research
Our research seeks to advance aerospace technology and aviation safety through the development of novel, innovative, and cutting-edge solutions to present and future challenges in the aerospace engineering ecosystem. Some of our specialized research areas include:
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development of adaptive and intelligent flight control systems
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predictive technologies for mitigation of aircraft loss-of-control
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virtual- and augmented-reality guidance technologies for the cockpit
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smart sensing methodologies for advanced-shape morphing wings
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real-world flight testing of adaptive control architectures
Our Facilities
The GAFL is housed in Donald L. Beggs Hall on the Wichita State University campus. Our lab provides a collaborative workspace with advanced equipment to enable students to fully realize their research.
We also operate our own full-scale research-oriented flight simulator, which provides us with the unique in-house capability to perform pilot-in-the-loop simulated flight testing of existing and futuristic aircraft concepts, ground testing of novel aircraft control systems, and validation and verification of technologies prior to implementation or actual flight testing.
Collaborative Partnerships
Working collaboratively with industry and government, the GAFL is continually exploring new frontiers in the space of adaptive control, aerospace safety, and flight simulation. We work synergistically with Textron Aviation in evaluating real-world performance of our flight control algorithms. These flight tests are performed periodically on the Textron Aviation Beechcraft CJ-144 fly-by-wire testbed. We are also provided financial support by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and work closely with them to explore new and unexplored research areas.