A FLIGHT INVESTIGATION OF PROFILE DRAG MEASUREMENTS

Abstract

The integrating wake rake is commonly used in the United States for the determination of the profile drags of airfoils in flight. The use of the integrating wake rake by the author to determine section profile drags in flight brought to light a number of inaccuracies which prompted a detailed study into profile drag measurements. Profile drags were measured on two very different airfoil sections in flight using both the integrating wake rake and a transversing Pitot-static system. A direct comparison of the two methods was made and possible explanations for the differences presented. The tests were performed on a Schweitzer TG 3 sailplane which had a fiberglass low-drag glove section fitted to the port wing and on the starboard wing a rather unusual leading edge section which was used for laminar separation bubble investigation.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0420853

Entities

People

  • Sean C. Roberts

Organizations

  • Mississippi State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Airspeed Indicators
  • Boundary Layer
  • Equations
  • Free Stream
  • Gliders
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Indicators
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Pressure Gages
  • Static Pressure
  • Trailing Edges
  • United States
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Dynamics.