Recent Progress in Full Scale Fatigue Test of PZL-130 "Orlik" TC-II Structure

This article presents preparation of the Full Scale Fatigue Test of the PZL-130 "Orlik" TC-II. After completing the flight load acquisition stage [1] a load block representing 200 Simulated Flight Hours in 194 flights was developed. This load block was further modified in order to introduce fatigue markers on the crack surface [2] visible during Quantitative Fractography, planned to take place during the Teardown Inspection of the structure after completion of the test. Meanwhile, the test rig along with the loading system and the test specimen were prepared at Výzkumný a Zkušební Letecký Ústav (VZLU, Prague, Czech Republic). The test specimen, consisting of the overhauled fuselage, modernized wings and the landing gear, was instrumented with the identical strain gauge measuring system as presented in [3], which was calibrated before the commencement of fatigue testing. Finally, some preliminary issues encountered during the fatigue test startup were highlighted and the outline for future work was described.