Rethinking General Aviation Safety: A Retrofittable Active Flow Control Architecture for Loss of Control Mitigation

Overview

Stall-spin-related loss of control in flight is the leading cause of fatal accidents in general aviation, responsible for ~225 crashes a year. This project developed a novel, externally mountable active flow control architecture designed to increase stall margin on existing aircraft without requiring invasive modification. By combining a leading-edge cuff with tangential blowing driven by an embedded micro-compressor, this design establishes a pathway for active stall protection in the aging general aviation fleet. Designs were analyzed in the Ansys Fluent solver using the incompressible RANS equations with the k-ω SST turbulence model at Re = 2.2×10^6. Mesh accuracy was assessed using the Grid Convergence Index (GCI) method. Candidate designs were screened by feasibility, separation control, stall behavior, and aerodynamic efficiency. Over 50 component iterations were examined. During optimization, certain configurations were found to induce unstable stall behavior, introducing an additional design constraint based on fail-safe stall progression. Relative to the baseline NACA 2412, this design increased CLmax ​by 234% and increased stall angle of attack by 12°, corresponding to a 75% expansion in stall margin. A full-scale prototype was developed as a proof of concept. At cruise, the micro-compressor intake introduced a substantial parasitic drag penalty, indicating a need for further aerodynamic refinement. This project introduces a promising new flow control architecture that shifts general aviation safety from passive warning toward active aerodynamic protection, opens a new retrofit-oriented frontier in aerospace engineering, and advances active flow control toward a more implementation-relevant and safety-critical discipline.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Applied Mechanics (Senior Division) · Entry S-02-21

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