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Abstract:

Tests were conducted in the Mach number range from 1.60 to 2.86 to determine the longitudinal and lateral aerodynamic characteristics of a variable-sweep fighter configuration with supercritical airfoil sections, twin rectangular inlets, twin vertical tails, and boom-mounted aft horizontal tails. The results indicate that the configuration has longitudinal stability characteristics and a relatively high horizontal-tail control effectiveness. This horizontal-tail effectiveness, coupled with relatively high levels of zero-lift pitching moment, results in a high instantaneous normal-acceleration capability for the configuration at a Mach number of 1.60 and an altitude of 10668 m (35000 ft). The lateral-stability results, however, indicate rather poor directional characteristics for an angle of attack greater than 10 deg. For the Mach number range of the tests, static directional stability was maintained only to angles of attack of 10 deg to 12 deg, which were well below the angles of attack at which the configuration had longitudinal trim capability.

Author(s):
S.M. Dollyhigh