Vortex Control Eaglets™ are an award winning safety innovation developed to prevent and tame the violent behavior known as stall. They were invented and developed by Chuck Dixon, an American Bonanza Society member, a veteran pilot and Aerospace Engineer. VC Eaglets are stingray-shaped leading edge devices (LEDs) that provide roll damping, to control excessive roll at high angles of attack (AOA) near- and post-stall.

Dixon observes that roll is often the first aircraft response to a stall, and can occur so suddenly that there is little time for the pilot to respond, even with adequate roll authority. Moreover, even highly experienced pilots struggle with a stall’s “reverse aileron” effect, which can make the aircraft do the opposite of what the pilot expects, and risk losing roll control altogether. With VC Eaglets installed, the ailerons continue to function according to pilot demand, throughout even a very deep stall.

In recent flight tests at the National Test Pilot School (NTPS) at the Civilian Flight Test Center in Mojave, California, Dixon’s VC Eaglets demonstrated that low-drag stall mitigation and roll control are effortlessly provided by this single aerodynamic structural modification. The NTPS Director, Sean Roberts, a test pilot with 45 years of test flight experience, and more than 18,000 flight hours, flew several flight tests with VC Eaglets on both Derringer and Bonanza aircraft. “No matter how I put the airplane into a stall, with the VC Eaglets installed, I was able to control the aircraft under any condition,” said Roberts. “With the Eaglets, there are major improvements in flying qualities, and the stall handling of the aircraft is significantly improved.”

The genius of the VC Eaglets is that the vortex flow is not created until the wing approaches stall angle of attack, so there is little or no drag penalty for AOAs up to maximum Lift to Drag ratio (L/DMAX). Because the VC Eaglets create drag only approaching stall AOA, they can replace traditional vortex generators and wing-mounted “stall strip” devices—reducing drag, decreasing stall speed, and increasing fuel efficiency.

“The VC Eaglets are an elegant solution to a difficult problem,” said Ed Murphy, one of two Entrepreneur Outreach Specialists from Georgia’s “e2e works” program who are working with Dixon to bring the VC Eaglets to market. Murphy and his team mate Andy Helm are serial entrepreneurs themselves, and provide technical advice and business savvy to help Georgia entrepreneurs like Dixon take their businesses to the next level. “The experience these guys have is just fantastic,” said Dixon. “We couldn’t have gotten better advice if we’d paid thousands and thousands of dollars for it.”

Dixon recounts his own near-death experience 30 years ago as the incident that really sparked his interest in vortices. “Six of us Lockheed engineers were flying into Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia in a small twin engine aircraft. We flew into the wake vortex of a Lockheed C-5 as we were landing. The airplane rolled almost 90 degrees when we were only 20 feet off the runway. Fortunately, the pilot recovered in time to land safely. Needless to say, we all went back to work determined to learn more about vortex flow. Some worked on methods of eliminating the trailing vortex, but I went to work trying to find ways to make the vortex work for us.”

After years of studying vortices, Dixon retired from Lockheed-Martin and founded Consulting Aviation Services Inc. (CAS). The company developed unique preliminary design software that accurately predicts the pre- and post-stall aerodynamic characteristics of any airframe. Dixon used this software to develop the VC Eaglets which he calls “fighter technology for general aviation aircraft.” Currently, CAS and NTPS are in the process of obtaining Special Type Certificates (STCs) for installing the VC Eaglets on the single-engine Bonanza; this will be followed by STCs for Barons. An FAA official who accompanied Roberts on a VC Eaglets test flight in the Bonanza V-35 said, “You need to get this concept certified! It will save lives.”

“Georgia’s leading position in aerospace depends on developing products like the VC Eaglets that are truly unique and meet real operational needs” said Nick Fuhrman, Director of Georgia’s Aerospace Innovation Center. “We work to accelerate growth in the industry by integrating aerospace industry expertise, research and development innovations, and state resources.” In recognition of the VC Eaglet’s potential to increase safety of flight and save lives, Georgia’s Aerospace Innovation Center awarded Dixon the 2007 Ben T. Epps Aviation trophy for Outstanding Aerospace Invention.