FIN BUFFETING CHARACTERISTICS OF A GENERIC SINGLE FIN AIRCRAFT

Experiments have been performed to investigate the fin buffeting chara cteristics of a generic single fin aircraft. A variety of configuratio ns, including high wing, mid wing and low wing have been examined, som e with the addition of leading edge extensions, foreplanes and cheek i ntakes. The fun buffeting was measured using a flexible fin, which was related to the buffet pressure flow field using data from an alternat ive, pressure tapped, rigid fin. Results have been obtained over a wid e range of angles of attack at low subsonic speeds. The production of upstream vortices affects the progression of the primary wing vortex w ith angle of attack to alter the fin buffeting response. The results i ndicate that the high wing configurations are sensitive to the presenc e of additional vortex pairs emanating from fore body features. For lo w wing configurations, peak buffeting magnitudes may be significantly affected by foreplane incidence in a canard configuration. The interac tion between foreplane, wing and body vortices is complex and may resu lt in either reduced or increased levels of buffeting response.