The commercial aviation industry is motivated to continuously improve landing performance without involving radical changes to aircraft design or operation. In the presence of strong gusts the landing is considered to be one of the most complex and challenging maneuvers to perform correctly, especially in large civil aircraft. It is a common knowledge that increasing approach speed in gusty weather makes the task easier. In order to avoid the risk of runway overrun, it is necessary to define what is the minimal approach speed required for a particular gust profile and magnitude. It also raises a question regarding the landing configuration: Can different flaps setting help?
Both of these questions are addressed using a realistic 3DOF simulation of a DC-8 aircraft equipped with a generic automatic landing system as well as an angle of attack (AOA) protection and throttle limiter. It was found that keeping the flaps fully extended and increasing the approach speed is beneficial in gusty conditions. Furthermore, a quantitative guideline is provided using a vertical gust limitation mapped as a function of selected approach speed.
