VSP Aircraft Analysis User Manual is written by Brandon Litherland of NASA Pathways IEP / ISGC and Kinsey Rieth of NASA LARSS / VSGC and provides detailed instructions on how to use Vehicle Sketch Pad software to develop an aircraft's drag profile.
This document serves as a guide for using software designed to develop drag profiles for aircraft in Vehicle Sketch Pad. It covers the use of parametric geometry tools and vortex lattice software for aircraft design analysis. For more detailed information on specific programs, the document directs users to the respective websites for full user manuals and descriptions.
The manual details the use of OpenVSP (Vehicle Sketch Pad) for creating 3D models defined by engineering parameters, XFOIL for airfoil analysis, and VSPAERO for aerodynamic analysis. It also includes a section on identifying software issues and limitations, such as sensitivity to surface intersections and specific model constraints required for VSPAero analysis.
OpenVSP (Vehicle Sketch Pad) is a parametric aircraft geometry tool which allows the creation of a 3D model of an aircraft defined by common engineering parameters.
The two basic shapes that determine almost all of the aircraft's components are FUSE2 and MS_WING.