An investigation into directional characteristics of the rocket plane in a tailless configuration

This paper embraces result of wind tunnel tests of a rocket plane designed to space tourism application. The rocket plane is designed in a tailless configuration with a leading edge extension (LEX) and side plates on the wing’s tip which work as all moving tail. Usually for such a concept of control...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:CEAS space journal 2023-07, Vol.15 (4), p.627-640
Main Authors: Kwiek, Agnieszka, Figat, Marcin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerospace Technology and Astronautics
Angle of attack
Circuits
Configurations
Dihedral angle
Directional stability
Engineering
Horizontal orientation
Original Paper
Plates
Rocket planes
Space tourism
Stability derivatives
Wind tunnel testing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper embraces result of wind tunnel tests of a rocket plane designed to space tourism application. The rocket plane is designed in a tailless configuration with a leading edge extension (LEX) and side plates on the wing’s tip which work as all moving tail. Usually for such a concept of control, movable surfaces are position in a horizontal direction while in the considered concept there is no classical rudder, and the movable surfaces are mounted with a significant dihedral angle. The research was carried out in the subsonic closed circuit wind tunnel with an open test section. Moreover, MGAERO and PANUKL package were used for numerical computations. The first research question is to investigate how the configuration of the side plate affects the directional stability of the rocket plane. The second aim is to study the efficiency of the side plates deflected like an all moving tail for both low and high angles of attack. As a result of this investigation, the directional stability derivatives and the control derivatives were obtained. Finally, the experimental results were compared with numerical outcomes to establish does software with no full flow model can be applicable for design an aircraft with all moving tail in case of low of angles of attack.
ISSN:1868-2502
1868-2510
DOI:10.1007/s12567-022-00468-7