AN INVESTIGATION OF END PLATES TO REDUCE THE DRAG OF PLANAR WINGS

Abstract

An analytical and experimental study has been performed to determine the optimum design of end plates which have minimum parasite drag and maximum effect on induced drag. Experiments were performed in a smoke tunnel and at full-scale Reynolds numbers on a modified PA-18 Super Cub aircraft. Flat end plates were found to be relatively ineffectual as a means of reducing the induced drag of aircraft, and the undesirable effect of large flat plates on the directional stability of an aircraft was an important effect to be considered. Cambered wing tip plates are worthy of further consideration, since a 15 percent decrease of induced drag with a 12 percent increase of L/D ratio was obtained from the configurations tested.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0632520

Entities

People

  • Sean C. Roberts

Organizations

  • Mississippi State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Army Aviation
  • Boundary Layer
  • Control Systems
  • Drag Reduction
  • Flow Visualization
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fourier Series
  • Governments
  • High Lift
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Photographs
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Reynolds Number
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Three Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Strategic Security Studies