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1 NASA TM X- 26
TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
X- 26
DESIGN GUIDE FOR PI TCH-UP EVALUATION AND INVESTIGATION
AT HIGH SUBSONIC SPEEDS OF POSSI BLE LlMITATIONS
DUE TO WING-ASPECT-RATIO VARIATIONS
By Kenneth P. Spreemann
Langley Research Center
Langley Field, Va.
Declassified July 11, 1961
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON August 1959
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NATI ONAL AERONAUTI CS AND SPACE ADMI NI STRATI ON
TEKX"NCAL MEMORANDUM x- 26
DESI GN GUI DE FOR PI TCH-UP EVALUATI ON AND I NVESTI GATI ON
AT HI GH SUBSONI C SPEEDS OF POSSI BL E L I MI TATI ONS
DUE TO WI NG-ASPECT-RATI O VARI ATI ONS
By Kenneth P. Spreemann
SUMMARY
A design guide i s suggested as a basi s f or i ndi cati ng combinations
of ai rpl ane design vari abl es f or which the possi bi l i ti es of pitch-up
are minimized f or tail-behind-wing and tai l l ess ai rpl ane confi gurati ons.
The guide speci fi es wing plan forms that would be expected to show
increased tai l -off stabi l i ty with i ncreasi ng lift and plan forms that
show decreased tai l -off stabi l i ty with i ncreasi ng l i f t. Boundaries
i ndi cati ng tail-behind-wing posi ti ons that should be considered along
with given tai l -off characteri sti cs al so are suggested.
An i nvesti gati on of one possi bl e l i mi tati on of the guide with
respect to the effects of wing-aspect-ratio vari ati ons on the contri bu-
ti on to stabi l i ty of a high tai l has been made i n the Langley high-speed
7- by 10-foot tunnel through a Mach number range from 0.60 to 0.92. The
measured pitching-moment characteri sti cs were found to be consi stent
with those of the design guide through the l i f t range f or aspect rati os
from 3.0 to 2.0. However, a confi gurati on with an aspect rati o of 1.55
f ai l ed t o provide the predi cted pitch-up warning characteri zed by sharply
i ncreasi ng stabi l i ty at the high l i f ts following the i ni ti al stal l before
pi tchi ng up. Thus, it appears that the design guide presented herei n
might not be appl i cabl e when the wing aspect rati o i s lower than about
2.0.
I NTRODUCTI ON
The phenomenon of l ongi tudi nal i nstabi l i ty at high l i f t and the
associ ated probabi l i ty of an xndesirable divergence, commonly referred
t o as pi t ch- up, have present ed a compl ex probl emt o desi gners of hi gh-
speed ai rpl anes f or many years. General l y, t he desi gner i s f aced wi t h
t he f ol l owi ng consi derat i ons:
out f or whi ch pi t ch- up i s unl i kel y or, at l east , not severe, (2) eval uat e
t he possi bl e severi t y of t he mot i on by means of a dynami c anal ysi s of t he
t ype out l i ned i n ref erence 1, and (3) i f undesi rabl e behavi or i s associ -
ated wi t h t he part i cul ar desi gn t hat appears t o be t he best compromi se
of al l requi rement s, provi de suf f i ci ent art i f i ci al st abi l i zat i on t o mi ni -
mi ze pi t ch- up as a probl em.
(1) t ry t o arri ve at an aerodynami c l ay-
The present paper deal s pri mari l y wi t h t he f i r st of t hese consi der- L
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at i ons. The obj ect i ves are t wof ol d: f i rst , t o present a desi gn gui de 4
(based on a consi derabl e background of experi ence) t o i ndi cat e combi na-
t i ons of desi gn vari abl es f or whi ch t he possi bi l i t i es of pi t ch- up are
mi ni mi zed; and second, t o i nvest i gat e one possi bl e l i mi t at i on of t he
gui de wi t h respect t o t he ef f ect of wi ng- aspect - rat i o vari at i ons on t he
t ai l cont ri but i on. The desi gn gui de present ed i s l i mi t ed i n applicability
because t he background i nf ormat i on consi dered i s predomi nat el y f r omi nves-
t i gat i ons concerned wi t h f i ght er ai rpl anes havi ng wi ngs wi t h rat her l ow
aspect rat i os and bei ng of t he t ai l l ess or t ai l - behi nd- wi ng types. The
resul t s, t heref ore, have t hei r most di rect appl i cat i on t o such conf i gu-
rat i ons havi ng aspect rat i os f romabout 2 t o 5.
COEFFI CI ENTS AND S W L S
Fi gure 1 shows t he st abi l i t y syst emof axes empl oyed f or dat a pres-
ent at i on wi t h arrows i ndi cat i ng posi t i ve di rect i ons of f orces, moment s,
and angl es. The coef f i ci ent s and symbol s used are def i ned as f ol l ows:
cL
cD
l i f t coef f i ci ent , Li f t / qS
drag coef f i ci ent , Drag/ qS
c?rl pi t chi ng- moment coef f i ci ent , Pi t chi ng moment / qSE
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maxi muml i f t coef f i ci ent
dynaqi c pressure, pV2/2, l b/ sq f t
P
rnass densi t y of ai r , sl ugs/ cu f t
v
f ree -s t reamvel oci t y , f t / sec
I.I Mach number
3
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S surface area, s q f t
b span, f t
C l ocal chord paral l el to plane of symmetry, ft
-
C
X
r
A
h
%/4
mean aerodynamic chord, 2 S /Ob/2 c2dy, f t
mean aerodynamic chord of verti cal tai l , f t
tai l l ength (distance between quarter-chord poi nts of wing and
hori zontal -tai l mean aerodynamic chords), f t
afterbody di stance along body axis, ft
spanwise di stance from plane of symmetry on wing, ft
tai l posi ti on (height of tai l above wing chord pl ane), f t
diameter, i n.
radi us, i n.
aspect rati o, b2/S
angle of sweep, deg
angle of sweep of l i fti ng-surface quarter chord, deg
A taper rati o, Tip chord/Root chord
R Reynolds number
a angle of attack, deg
i angle of incidence of fi xed surface, deg
E downwash angle induced by wing-fuselage combination, deg
- a,
- -
E% ac,
c
4
Subscripts :
max maximum
t hori zontal tai l
b model base
Abbreviations :
c.g. center-of-gravity l ocati on
W wing
F fusel age
V verti cal tai l
H hori zontal tai l
DESI GN GUI DE FOR PI TCH-UP EVALUATI ON
Wing and Wing-Fuselage Combinations
The problem of pitching-moment nonl i neari ty at high l i f t coeffi -
ci ents f or wings and wing-fuselage combinations has been studi ed by
numerous i nvesti gators. For the most part, correl ati ons have been made
i n terms of the wing sweep angle and aspect rati o, wi th varying degrees
of consi derati on given to the taper rati o. Wing-thickness effects nor-
mally have been neglected, although the studi es usual l y have been l i mi ted
to wings that are thi n enough to avoid any si gni fi cant moment breaks due
to thi ckness wi thi n the Mach number range i nvesti gated. Effects of cam-
ber, t wi st , cranked pl an forms, or any of the l ocal i zed wing modifica-
ti ons, such as fences, leading-edge extensions, or notches, have not been
treated i n any generalized sense. Such devices, though frequentl y very
effecti ve i n improving pitching-moment l i neari ty, normally must be
tai l ored to the speci fi c wing i n question.
such studi es have been reported.
resul ts on wings alone or on wing-fuselage combinations may be used i nter-
changeably, i nsofar as pitching-moment l i neari ty i s concerned. This
appears to be j usti f i ed f or configurations having the proportions of
manned ai rcraf t i n the subsonic and transoni c speed ranges.
A considerable number of
It al so has been comonly assumed that
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An i nvesti gati on (ref. 2) i n which some rather extreme changes i n
forebody geometry were made showed l i ttl e ef f ect on the nature of the
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moment breaks or on the angle of attack at which they occurred, but it
i ndi cated si gni fi cant effects at angles of attack wel l beyond the i ni ti al
moment breaks. For mi ssi l e configurations, having l arge bodies i n com-
pari son wi th the si ze of the wings, the fusel age characteri sti cs may be
predominant and, consequently, cannot be ignored. Some evidence exi sts
which i ndi cates that a tendency toward a si mi l ar si tuati on may apply t o
supersonic-airplane configurations. (See ref . 3 . )
Several of the correl ati on boundaries that have been presented i n
the l i terature are summarized i n fi gure 2. A l l are given i n terms of
coordinates of aspect rati o and sweep angle and i n each i nstance the
area above and to the right of the curve is characteri zed by decreased
stabi l i ty at the higher l i f t coeffi ci ents; whereas, the area below and
to the l ef t of the curve is characterized by increased stabi l i ty at high
l i f t. The range of data considered and the speci fi c i nterpretati on of
each of the boundaries di ffer, however, as wi l l be explained i n the
following paragraphs.
The ol dest and most widely known of the boundaries i s that l abel ed
@ " i n fi gure 2 and given by Shortal and Maggin (ref. 4). Though based
on only a l i mi ted amount of law-speed test data, it has served as a use-
f ul design cri teri on f or many years.
changes i n the vi ci ni ty of maximum lift, without regard t o slope changes
i n the intermediate l i f t range. I nformation obtained at a l ater date
on more highly tapered wings showed that when attenti on was sti l l con-
fi ned to nonl i neari ti es near maximuml i f t, a rather l arge effect of
taper was i ndi cated.
an empi ri cal expression f or low-speed boundasies i n which the taper rati o
entered as a vari abl e. The boundary evolved f or A =0 i s i ndi cated
i n f i gur e 2 as the curve l abel ed
Shortal-Maggin boundary was i ndi cated for untapered wi ngs.
This boundary considers moment
Consequently, Furlong and McHugh (ref. 5 ) proposed
@ .I1 No si gni fi cant change from the
A s wind-tunnel experience increased i n the high subsonic and tran-
sonic speed range, the phenomenon of shock stal l and the associ ated
center-of-pressure changes were seen to impose l i mi tati ons on the appl i -
cabi l i ty of the boundaries derived from low-speed data. Studies made by
Weil and Gray of the l i mi ted amount of high-speed data avai l abl e i n 1953
l ed to the proposal of a tentati ve boundary appl i cabl e to transoni c
speeds (ref. 6). This boundary, l abel ed "@" i n fi gure 2, showed that
i n order to avoid stabi l i ty reductions at the higher speeds, values of
aspect rati o and sweep angle considerably lower than those i ndi cated by
the low-speed boundaries were required. The resul ts avai l abl e were
i nsuffi ci ent t o establ i sh an ef f ect of taper rati o, and the true si gni f-
icance of the boundary as to the l i f t coeffi ci ents at which the moment
6
changes occurred was not cl earl y defined.
out the rel ati on of thei r boundary to tai l posi ti on. That i s, wings
represented by combinations of aspect rati o and sweep angle i n the area
above and to the ri ght of the boundary probably could be used with a
very l owtai l ; whereas a very high tai l may be feasi bl e i f wings repre-
sented by the area below and to the l ef t of the boundary are used.
Weil and Gray (ref. 6) pointed
This viewpoint i nspi red a systematic program aimed at defi ni ng the
tai l -off boundary more preci sel y and i ndi cati ng f ai rl y speci fi c areas
where the tai l might be located. The resul ti ng tai l -off boundary as
proposed by Few and Fournier i n reference 7 i s the curve labeled " @ I '
i n fi gure 2.
and the boundary was establ i shed to separate plan forms showing at any
posi ti ve l i f t coeffi ci ent below CL,- a value of aCm/aCL l ess neg-
showing a value of
CL = 0.
useful rel ati on to the requirements f or tai l posi ti on than a boundary
determined by moment changes only near CL,max. The boundary obtained
i s almost i denti cal to that proposed i n reference 6 by Weil and Gray;
however, the addi ti onal restri cti on that appl i cati on should be l i mi ted
to highly tapered wings (A from 0 to 0.4) has been imposed.
higher values of A were found to exhi bi t rather errati c nonl i neari ti es
at high l i f t and, therefore, were not well adapted to correl ati on on a
si mpl i fi ed basi s.
I n thi s case, extensive transoni c data were considered,
I ati ve than that at CL = 0 (area abpve boundary) from pl an forms
aCdbC, more negative at posi ti ve l i f t than at
A boundary defined i n thi s manner was considered t o bear a more
Wings having
T ai l Position
The curve labeled ' I @ " i n figure 2 provides the basi s f or wing
sel ecti on i n the design chart given i n fi gure 3(a).
proposed by Few and Fournier i n reference 7, which has been adopted f or
the present correl ati on si nce the configuration l i mi tati ons imposed i n
reference 7 are adaptable to the bulk of data avai l abl e on the ef f ects
of wing-aspect-ratio vari ati ons on the tai l contri buti on to stabi l i ty,
with which the present i nvesti gati on i s partl y concerned. This boundary
has been extended to lower aspect rati os than those presented i n refer-
ence 7, with the extension based on data of other i nvesti gati ons such
as references 8 and 9.
pitching-moment contri buti on associ ated with any given design i s governed
by a l arge nwnber of factors, any attempt to simplify the problem of tai l -
posi ti on sel ecti on to a simple chart procedure may seem unj usti fi ed.
i s al so true, however, that suffi ci ent knowledge of al l contri buti ng
factors i n combination, which would be necessary i n a rigorous approach
to the problern, i s not l i kel y to be attai ned. The provi si on of a simple
This i s the boundary
Since the l i neari ty of the hori zontal -tai l
It
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design guide, with a reasonable appreci ati on of i ts meaning and limita-
ti ons, therefore, should serve a useful purpose. I n the various attempts
that have been made to establ i sh boundaries f or tai l posindi3n, l i ttl e
consi derati on has been given to fusel age geometry. A s has been noted
with regard to tai l -of f characteri sti cs, the ori gi n of nonl i neari ti es
i n the tai l contri buti on appears to be determined pri mari l y by the wing
geometry and tai l posi ti on, although at higher angl es of attack fusel age
forebody geometry seemingly pl ays an important part i n the magnitude of
the devi ati ons from pitching-moment l i neari ty (ref . 2). It should be
noted that f or some unusual cases (ref . 10) the ef f ect of the fusel age
afterbody may be of primary importance even at moderate angles of attack.
Several of the si gni fi cant boundaries rel ati ve to tai l posi ti ons
and some notes on the si gni fi cance of the areas between the boundaries
are given i n fi gure 3(b).
ti on rel ati ve to the wing quarter-chord l ocati on. A boundary approxFmately
i n the l ocati on i ndi cated by the curve l abel ed "@" was fi rst given by
J aquet i n reference 9 to separate regions where the increment i n
through the lift range of a tai l behind a 60' del ta wing vari ed by more
then 0.05E (above boundary) from regions where the increment vari ed by
l ess than O.O5E (below boundary).
and tai l l ength was l i mi ted to about two mean-aerodynamic-chord l engths
behind the center of gravi ty. Later, Mi tchel l (ref. 11) showed that
essenti al l y the same boundary (a l i ne i ncl i ned l oo above the chord pl ane)
could be i nterpreted as separati ng tai l posi ti ons f or which the downwash
slope dc/ h becomes more posi ti ve with i ncreasi ng l i f t (above boundary)
from regi ons where dE/du becomes l ess posi ti ve with i ncreasi ng l i f t
(below boundary).
pl an forms, some resul ts through transoni c speeds, and extended back
about four mean-aerodynamic-chord lengths behind the center of gravi ty.
Subsequent transoni c data (ref s. 12, 13, and 14) revealed, however, that
it was safest to apply thi s boundary only wi thi n the subcri ti cal speed
range, si nce downwash changes associ ated with shock stal l are at times
si gni fi cant wi thi n the region immediately below the 100 l i ne (curve
l abel ed "@" i n fi gure 3(b)). For ai rpl anes intended to traverse the
transoni c speed range it i s considered that tai l posi ti ons below a
boundary that i s sl i ghtl y below the wing chord plane (curve 0) are
necessary i n order to avoid si gni fi cant destabi l i zi ng downwash changes.
The coordinates are tai l l ength and tai l posi -
~C,/&!L
Only low-speed resul ts were considered,
Mi tchel l 's data i n reference 11included several wing
I n reference 9, J aquet i ndi cated that a high boundary might be
desi rabl e so that tai l posi ti ons above the boundary would not encounter
a destabi l i zi ng downwash vari ati on wi thi n the normal operati onal range
of f l i ght l i f t coeffi ci ents (below the stal l ). The curve l abel ed " ~ "
i n fi gure 3(b) i s a boundary representi ng thi s general viewpoint, which
was arri ved at after consi derati on of a very l arge mount of wind-tunnel
8
data, both published and unpublished. The i nterpretati on of thi s.bound-
ary i n t er ms of design appl i cati ons warrants especi al l y careful consid-
erati on and w i l l be deal t with i n more detai l i n the next secti on.
Use of Design-Guide Chart f or Complete
Airplane Configurations
Although the tai l -of f stabi l i ty boundary given i n figure 3( a) al ready
has been discussed, a somewhat more speci fi c i nterpretati on i s warranted.
Wings having combinations of aspect rati o and sweepback defined by the
regi on above the boundary (region 0) would be expected to exhi6it l ocal
noment slopes aCm/aCL l ess stabl e somewhere below CL,- than the
slope through CL =0; whereas, wi thi n regi on @ the l ocal sl opes wi thi n
the posi ti ve l i f t range w i l l general l y be more stable than at
Therefore, when a tai l l ess ai rpl ane i s considered, wi ngs on or sl i ghtl y
below the boundary would seem appropri ate i f l osses i n stabi l i ty are to
be avoided. Wings i n region @ normally should be considered only i n
combination with a tai l posi ti on that provides increased stabi l i ty with
i ncreasi ng l i ft, that is, region @ i n fi gure 3(b) i f the ai rpl ane i s
intended to operate through transoni c speeds, or ei ther regi on @ or @
i f operati on i s l i mi ted below the cri ti cal Mach number. Based on past
experience it should be recognized that when it i s desi red to use a wing
represented by a poi nt considerably above the wing-fuselage stabi l i ty
boundary, a correspondingly l arge stabi l i zi ng ef f ect of the tai l should
be provided at high angles of attack. Thus, it may be desi rabl e to l ocate
the tai l a substanti al di stance below the appropri ate boundary given i n
figure 3 , and perhaps some addi ti onal means of reducing or avoiding
pitching-moment nonl i neari ty may have to be provided. No attempt has
been made herei n to establ i sh a means f or matching the wing and tai l non-
l i neari ti es properly i n order to obtai n a speci fi c desi red resul t f or
combinations employing wings displaced appreciably from the boundary.
CL =0.
The tai l -posi ti on boundary l abel ed "@ I t i n fi gure 3(b) i s intended
to defi ne the minimum tai l posi ti on requi red i n order to delay the occur-
rence of severe i ncreases i n downwash (and the associ ated l oss i n tai l
contri buti on to stabi l i ty) unti l the effecti ve wing CL,- or f i rst
major break i n the l i f t curve has been passed. The use of wings defined
by region @ i n fi gure 3(a), i n combination with the high tai l posi ti on,
normally w i l l resul t i n avoiding si gni fi cant l osses i n stabi l i ty of the
configuration unti l the l i f t break has been passed. When thi s condition
2F
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i s f ul f i l l ed, a f ai rl y def i ni te stal l warning i n the form of buffet or
a momentary i ncrease i n stabi l i ty can be expected to precede!pitch-up.
The eventual occurrence of pitch-up i s almost a certai nty unl ess some
addi ti onal unique stabi l i zi ng feature i s employed.
el i mi nati on of the i nstabi l i ty beyond the stal l have been accomplished
by use of auxi l i ary hori zontal surfaces low on the fusel age afterbody
(refs. 13 and 16) or as a consequence of the extended afterbody of a
fl yi ng-boat hul l (ref . 17).
Al l evi ati on and even
The remarks that have been made rel ati ve to designs with tai l s i n
region (A) should perhaps be l i mi ted to the Mach number range wi thi n
which no strong shock-wave i nterference between the wing and the tai l
exi sts. I nterference from the wing trai l i ng-edge shock wave has not
seemed troublesome; however, reference 18 has shown that some undesirably
l arge stabi l i ty changes can resul t from i nterference of a strong leading-
edge compression wave wi t h a high hori zontal tai l .
For ai rpl anes requi red to operate through a transoni c speed range,
the use of tai l s at intermediate posi ti ons (region @ of fi gure 3(b))
w i l l normally be associ ated with some degree of pitch-up, wi t h l i ttl e or
no warning, regardl ess of the wing pl an form. Experience has i ndi cated,
however, that the severi ty of the i nstabi l i ty vari es considerably f or
di fferent confi gurati ons and cannot be readi l y anti ci pated.
ref s. 19 and 20.)
(See
PRELlMMARY RFSIARKS ON INVESTIGATION OF EFFECTS OF
LOW-ASPECT-RATIO WING
The preceding di scussi on has covered the use and i nterpretati on of
the design guide. Many l i mi tati ons are recognized, and the following
secti ons of thi s paper present the resul ts of a wind-tunnel i nvesti ga-
ti on of one geometric vari abl e i n which the background information i s
considered to be weak. The problem concerns the range of wing aspect
rati os f or which the upper tai l -posi ti on boundary (curve @) of f i g. J (b$
retai ns the si gni fi cance that has been described.
I n addi ti on to the f act that the degree of wing-fuselage pi tchi ng-
moment nonl i neari ty i s dependent upon aspect rati o, there are several
reasons why aspect-rati o l i mi tati ons might be expected. For example,
si nce aspect rati o has a l arge ef f ect on the vari ati on of the wing l i f t
with angle of attack, the tai l posi ti on rel ati ve to the wing wake f or a
given l i f t coeffi ci ent w i l l be dependent upon aspect rati o. This might
be especi al l y important f or tai l s l ocated i n the high posi ti on which are
10
apt to be enteri ng the wake near the stal l . Also, configurations uti -
l i zi ng low-aspect-ratio wings very often have high values of the rati o
of tai l span to wing span which could appreciably al ter the downwash
characteri sti cs. I n order to determine the degree to which these vari -
ous effects might al ter the si gni fi cance of the upper tai l -posi ti on
boundary, wind-tunnel tests were made on a hi gh-tai l configuration with
the wing progressi vel y cl i pped to provide lower aspect rati os and lower
rati os of wing span to tai l span. Although only the stabi l i ty character-
i sti cs w i l l be discussed i n detai l , the l i f t and drag data w i l l be pre-
sented f or the sake of completeness.
MODEL, APPARATUS, AND TESTS
A three-view drawing of the complete model showing the general
arrangement and some of the pertinent dimensions of the aspect-ratio-3.0
confi gurati on i s presented i n fi gure &(a). Shown i n figure 4(b) are the
pl an forms and dimensions of the wings having an aspect rati o of 1.55,
2.0, and 2. 5 employed i n thi s i nvesti gati on. Details of the fusel age
are presented i n fi gure 5 .
i s contained i n reference 21. The model was tested on the sting-type
support system shown i n figure 6, and a strain-gage balance mounted
i nsi de the fusel age was used to measure the forces and moments on the
mode1.
A detai l ed descri pti on of the complete model
The i nvesti gati on was made i n the Langley high-speed 7- by 10-foot
tunnel . L i f t, drag, and pi tchi ng moment were measured through a Mach
number range from 0.60 to 0.92 and an angle-of-attack range from about
-2' to 24'.
based on the mean aerodynamic chord of each wing i s shown i n fi gure 7.
The vari ati on of mean test Reynolds number wi th Mach number
Blockage correcti ons were determined by the method of reference 22
and were appl i ed to the Mach numbers and dynamic pressures.
correcti ons, appl i ed to the angle of attack and drag, were cal cul ated by
the method of reference 23. The jet-boundary correcti ons to pi tchi ng
moment were considered negl i gi bl e and were not appl i ed to the data.
Corrections to the drag coeffi ci ents f or buoyancy due to l ongi tudi nal
pressure gradi ents were about 0.0016 to 0.0017.
not appl i ed t o the data.
would be small and, therefore, no tare correcti ons were appl i ed to the
data.
J et-boundary
These correcti ons were
Past experience had i ndi cated that tare values
The angle of attack has been corrected f or defl ecti on of the sti ng
support system under load. No attempt has been made to correct the data
for aeroel asti c di storti on of the model. The drag resul ts have not been
corrected to the condi ti on of free-stream stati c pressure at the fusel age
11
base. Thi s drag correcti on
presented i n fi gure 8. The
by adding the base pressure
(base pressure drag coeffi ci ent CD,b) i s
corrected model drag data may be obtained
drag coeffi ci ent to the drag determined from
the strain-gage-balance measurements.
TEST RESULTS
The basi c aerodynamic data of the various confi gurati ons are pre-
sented i n fi gures 9 to 12 without hori zontal tai l and wi t h a hori zontal
tai l at two defl ecti ons ( Oo and - 3") .
the fuselage-alone pi tchi ng moments are al so presented.
ure 13 i s a di rect comparison of the l ongi tudi nal aerodynamic character-
i sti cs of al l four confi gurati ons with
I n part (b) of figures 9 to 12
Shown i n f i g-
it =Oo.
The stabi l i ty parameters ~C L / & and aCm/aCL of the configura-
ti ons presented i n figure 14 were taken from fi gure 13.
sented i n thi s figure were measured between l i f t coeffi ci ents from 0 to
about 0. 3. Figure 13 shows the rel ati on of the test confi gurati ons to
the design guide boundaries of fi gure 3.
The sl opes pre-
Stabi l i ty i n Low-Lift Range
Before di scussi ng the resul ts i n rel ati on to the design guide, a
few remrks wi th regard to the ef f ects of the aspect-rati o changes on
the l ow-l i ft stati c stabi l i ty might be of i nterest. I n figure 14 the
vari ati on of the stati c- stabi l i ty parameter
slope aC~/ aa
aspect rati os.
off configuration, and fi gure 14(b) presents those f or the hori zontal -
tai l -on confi gurati on (it = 0' ).
although reducing the aspect rati o from 3. 0 to 1. 55 resul ted i n a l arge
destabi l i zi ng shi ft i n the aerodynamic center f or the tai l - of f configu-
rati on, it had l i ttl e ef f ect on the tai l -on confi gurati on. This, of
course, i ndi cates a l arge i ncrease i n the tai l contri buti on to stabi l i ty
wi th decreasing aspect rati o. A n anal ysi s of the data showed that thi s
could be accounted f or by the wing l i ft-curve-sl ope decrease (which f or
a given l i f t coeffi ci ent pl aces the tai l at a higher geometric angle of
attack) and by the f act that
aspect rati o. The reason that ecL di d not i ncrease wi th decreasing
aspect rati o i s probably associ ated wi th the f act that wi th the tai l i n
the high posi ti on the i ncrease i n the resul tant induced vel oci ty due to
the inboard movement of the wingtip vortex rel ati ve to the tai l i s mostly
aCm/aCL and the l i ft-curve
are presented as a functi on of Mach number for the vari ous
Figure 14( a) presents the resul ts f or the hori zontal -tai l -
Of parti cul ar i nterest i s the f act that,
di d not i ncrease with decreasing
CL
12
a sidewash component with respect to the hori zontal tai l and, thus, less
of the resul tant i s converted to downwash on the tai l .
I
Aspect-Ratio Limitations to Design Guide
As previously pointed out the rel ati on of the test configurations
to the design guide of fi gure 3 i s given i n figure 15. As shown i n
figure l 5(a) the aspect-rati o-3.0 wing that was swept 37' i s above and
to the ri ght of the boundary i ndi cati ng reductions i n stabi l i ty i n the
high l i f t range. From the basi c moment data of the aspect-rati o-3.0
configuration (f i g. 9(a)), reduced stabi l i ty at the higher l i f ts were
i ndi cated with the tai l off. Following the i ni ti al stal l there was a
l arge increase i n stabi l i ty before the occurrence of a sharp reduction
i n stabi l i ty.
from the stabi l i ty i n the low l i f t range of the tai l -off condition; how-
ever, a sharp pitch-up occurs following the i ni ti al stal l and subsequent
i ncrease i n the negative pi tchi ng moment.
Addition of the tai l does not greatl y al ter the departures
L
4
2
7
I n figure l5(a) it i s seen that the aspect rati os of 2.5 to 1.55
are below and to the l ef t of the boundary i ndi cati ng i ncreasi ng stabi l i ty
at the high l i f ts.
pitching-moment curves became i ncreasi ngl y stabl e up to the usual l arge
i ncrease i n stabi l i ty i n the stal l region before encountering a pronounced
unstabl e trend. (See f i gs. l O( a) and l l (a). ) The progressive i ncreases
i n stabi l i ty i n the medium and high l i f t range with the tai l -of f config-
urati on were reduced to such an extent with the addi ti on of the tai l that
very desi rabl e l i near vari ati ons i n the pitching-moment curves were pro-
vided up to the stal l and i n the greatl y increased stabi l i ty region before
pi tchi ng up.
With aspect rati os of 2.5 and 2.0 the tai l -of f
The aspect-ratio-1.55 configuration furni shed pi tch characteri sti cs
i n the medium l i f t range that were similar to those of configurations
having aspect rati os of 2.5 and 2.0. However, with the tai l on, i n the
high l i f t range the usual pitch-up warning i n the form of a sharp i ncrease
i n stabi l i ty before pi tchi ng up di d not appear. (See f i g. 12(a).) Since
the tai l -of f configuration di d not evidence a pitch-up trend as pronounced
at the hi ghest l i fts as that of the higher aspect-rati o configurations,
it appears that the usual wing stal l was delayed beyond the pitch-up
caused by the tai l enteri ng the wing wake. Thus, it would seem that
appl i cati on of the boundaries establ i shed i n fi gure 3(b) wi l l not be sat-
i sfactory below an aspect rati o of about 2.0, even though the aspect-
rati o-1.55 configuration i s below and to the l ef t of the boundary of fi g-
ure 3(a) and near the boundary of fi gure 3(b); thi s resul t si gni fi es
i ncreasi ng stabi l i ty at high l i f ts and a tai l posi ti on compatible with
the wing-fuselage combination.
It may al so be seen that, i n general, there were si gni fi cant reduc-
ti ons i n pitch-up warning when the tai l was added to the wing-body con-
fi gurati on si nce the l arge i ncreases i n stabi l i ty before pi tchi ng up
with the tai l off were markedly reduced with addi ti on of the tai l regard-
l ess of the aspect rati o.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A design guide has been suggested as a basi s f or i ndi cati ng combi-
nati ons of design vari abl es f or which the possi bi l ti es of pitch-up are
minimized f or tail-behind-wing and tai l l ess ai rpl ane confi gurati ons.
The guide speci fi es wing pl an forms that would be expected to show
increased tai l -of f stabi l i ty with increasing l i f t and plan forms that
show decreased tai l - cf f stabi l i ty with increasing l i f t. Boundaries
i ndi cati ng tail-behind-wing posi ti ons that should be considered along
with given tai l -of f characteri sti cs al so are suggested.
An i nvesti gati on of one possi bl e l i mi tati on of the guide with
respect to the ef f ects of wing-aspect-ratio vari ati ons on a hi gh-tai l
contri buti on to the stabi l i ty has been made i n the Langley high-speed
7- by 10-foot tunnel .
found to be consi stent with those of the design guide through the l i f t
range f or aspect rati os from3.0 to 2.0. However, an aspect-ratio-1.55
confi gurati on di d not provide the predi cted pitch-up warning character-
i zed by sharpl y i ncreasi ng stabi l i ty at the high l i f ts following the
guide presented herei n might not be appl i cabl e when the wing aspect
ratio i s l ower than about 2.0.
The measured pitching-moment characteri sti cs were
b i ni ti al stal l before pi tchi ng up. Thus, it appears that the design
Langley Research Center,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Langley Fi el d, Va., March 26, 1959.
14
REFERENCES
1. Campbel l , George S. , and Wei l , J oseph: The I nt erpret at i on of Non-
l i near Pi t chi ng Moment s i n Rel at i on t o t he Pi t ch- Up Probl em.
34 L53102, 1953.
NACA
2. Goodson, Kennet h W. : Ef f ect of Nose Lengt h, Fusel age Lengt h, and
Nose Fi neness Rat i o on t he Longi t udi nal Aerodynami c Charact eri st i cs
of Two Compl et e Model s at Hi gh Subsoni c Speeds. NASA MEMO 10- 10- 58~,
1958.
3. Ni el sen, J ack N.: The Ef f ect s of Body Vort i ces and t he Wi ng Shock-
Expansi on Fi el d on t he Pi t ch- Up Charact eri st i cs of Supersoni c
Ai rpl anes. NACA RMA57L23, 1958.
4. Short al , J oseph A. , and Maggi n, Bernard:
Aspect Rat i o on Longi t udi nal St abi l i t y Charact eri st i cs of Wi ngs at
Low Speeds. NACA TN 1093, 1946.
Ef f ect of Sweepback and
5. Fur l ong, G. Chest er, and McHugh, J ames G. : A Summary and Anal ysi s of
t he Low- Speed hngi t udi nal Charact eri st i cs of Swept Wi ngs at Hi gh
Reynol ds Nuui ber. NACA Rep. 1339, 1957. ( Supersedes NACA RM ~52~16. )
6. Wei l , J oseph, and Gray, W. H. : Recent Desi gn St udi es Di rect ed Toward
El i mi nat i on of Pi t ch- Up. NACA RML53123c, 1953.
7. Few, Al bert G. , J r. , and Fourni er, Paul G. : Wi nd- Tunnel I nvest i gat i on
of t he Aerodynami c Charact eri st i cs of a Seri es of Swept , Hi ghl y
Tapered, Thi n Wi ngs at Transoni c Speeds - Tr ansoni c- Bump Met hod.
NACA Fill L36124, 1936.
8. Spreemann, Kennet h P. : Low- Speed I nvest i gat i on of t he Ef f ect s of
Wi ng Di hedr al Angl e and Fi n Lengt h on t he St at i c St abi l i t y Char ac-
t eri st i cs of a Model Havi ng an 82O Del t a Wi ng.
1956.
NACA RM L55L30a,
9. J aquet , Byron M. : Ef f ect s of Hor i zont al - Tai l Posi t i on, Area, and
Aspect Rat i o on Low- Speed St at i c Longi t udi nal St abi l i t y and Cont rol
Charact eri st i cs of a 60' Tri angul ar- Wi ng Model Havi ng Vari ous
Tri angul ar- Al l - Movabl e Hori zont al Tai l s. NACA RM ~51106, 1951.
10. McKee, J ohn W. , and Ri ebe, J ohn M. : An I nvest i gat i on of a 0. 16- Scal e
Flodel of t he Dougl as X-3 Ai rpl ane To Det ermi ne Means of I mprovi ng
t he Low- Speed Longi t udi nal St abi l i t y and Cont r ol Charact eri st i cs.
NACA RM L52HO1, 1952.
,
b
11. Mi t chel l , J esse L. : The St at i c and Dynami c Longi t udi nal St abi l i t y
Charact eri st i cs of Some Supersoni c Ai rcraf t Conf i gurat i ons.
RM L52Al Oa, 1952.
NACA
12. Morri son, Wi l l i amD. , J r. , and Al f ord, Wi l l i amJ . , J r. : Ef f ect s of
Hor i zont al - Tai l Posi t i on and a Wi ng Leadi ng- Edge Modi f i cat i on
Consi st i ng of a Ful l - Span Fl ap and a Par t i al - Span Chord- Ext ensi on
on t he Aerodynami c Charact eri st i cs i n Pi t ch at Hi gh Subsoni c
Speeds of a Model Wi t h a 45' Swept back Wi ng. NACA TN 3952, 1957.
( Super sedes NACA RML53E06. )
13. Bi el at , Ral ph I?., and Campbel l , George S. : A Transoni c Wi nd- Tunnel
I nvest i gat i on of t he Longi t udi nal St abi l i t y and Cont rol Charact er-
i st i cs of a 0. 09- Scal e Model of t he Bel l X- 5 Research Ai rpl ane and
Compari son Wi t h Fl i ght . NACA RML53H18, 1953.
14. Runckel , J ack F. , and Schmeer, J ames W. : The Aerodynami c Charact er-
i st i cs at Transoni c Speeds of a Model Wi t h a 45OSwept back Wi ng,
I ncl udi ng t he Ef f ect of Leadi ng- Edge Sl at s and a LowHor i zont al
Tai l . NACA RML53J 08, 1954.
15. Sl eeman, Wi l l i amC., J r. : I nvest i gat i on at Hi gh Subsoni c Speeds of
t he Use of LowAuxi l i ary Tai l Surf aces Havi ng Di hedr al To I mprove
t he Longi t udi nal and Di rect i onal St abi l i t y of a T- Tai l Model at
Hi gh Li f t . NACA RML57124, 1957.
16. Goodson, Kennet h W. : St at i c Longi t udi nal Charact eri st i cs at Hi gh
Subsoni c Speeds of a Compl et e Ai rpl ane Model Wi t h a Hi ghl y Tapered
Wi ng Havi ng t he 0. 80 Chord Li ne Unswept and Wi t h Sever al Tai l
Conf i gurat i ons. NACA RML56JO3, 1957.
17. Pet yni a, Wi l l i amW. , Croom, Del wi n R. , and Davenport , Edwi n E. :
Low- Speed Aerodynami c and Hydrodynami c Charact eri st i cs of a Pr o-
posed Supersoni c Mul t i j et Wat er- Based Hydr o- ski Ai rcraf t Wi t h
Upwar d- Rot at i ng Engi nes. NASA MEMO 10- 13- 58~, 1958.
18. J aquet , Byr on M. , and Fourni er, Roger H. : Ef f ect s of Wi ng Sweep,
Hor i zont al - Tai l Conf i gurat i on, and a Vent ral Fi n on St at i c St a-
bi l i t y Charact eri st i cs of a Model Wi t h a Wi ng of Aspect Rat i o 3
at Mach Numbers Fr om2. 29 t o 4. 65. NACA RM~58~06, 1958.
19. Godson, Kennet h W. , and Becht , Robert E. : Wi nd- Tunnel I nvest i gat i on
at Hi gh Subsoni c Speeds of t he St at i c Longi t udi nal St abi l i t y Char-
t eri st i cs of a Compl et e Model Havi ng Cropped- Del t a, Swept , and
Unswept Wi ngs and Several Hori zont al - Tai l Hei ght s. NACA RM L54H12,
1954 *
16
20. Hi eser, Geral d, Henderson, J ames H. , and Swi hart , J ohn M. : Transoni c
Aerodynami c and Loads Charact eri st i cs of a 4- Per cent - Thi ck Unswept -
Wi ng- - Fusel age Combi nat i on. NACA FU L54B24, 1954.
21. Pol hamus, Edward C. , and Spreemann, Kennet h P. :
Ef f ect at Hi gh Sub-
sonic Speeds of Fusel age Forebody St r akes on t he St at i c St abi l i t y
and Vert i cal - Tai l - Load Charact eri st i cs of a Compl et e Model Havi ng
a Del t a Wi ng. NACA RJ l L57Kl 5a, 1958.
22. Herri ot , J ohn G. :
Bl ockage Correct i ons f or Thr ee- Di nensi onal - Fl ow
Cl osed- Throat Wi nd Tunnel s, Wi t h Consi derat i on of t he Ef f ect of
Compressi bi l i t y. NACA Rep. 995, 1950. ( Supersedes NACA RM ~71328.)
23. Gi l l i s, Cl arence L. , Pol hamus, Edward C. , and Gray, J oseph L. , J r. :
Chart s f or Det ermi ni ng J et - Boundary Correct i ons f or Compl et e
blodels i n 7- by 10- Foot Closed Rect angul ar Wi nd Tunnel s. NACA
WR L-123, 1945. ( Formerl y NACA ARR L5G31. )
3F
E-
cu
f
IA
.
18
Short. 1- wggl n: (Ref. 4). Refers t o - nt - Bmk Nerr c . Appllomblc a t l a Bubsonio #peed. .
L,P.3X
Tmper r a t i o not oonsidered.
@ ?urlong-YoHugh: ( Re f . 5) . Considered t aper r at i o, o w e 'horn l a for X =0.
0 Well - 0-J:
6) l o - Fournier:
( Re f . 6 ) . Refers t o Yornt Br a k N a r
CL,max .
Ap p l l o ~ b l e through Tn n s mi o Speeds.
Taper ratio not oonsidered.
(Ref. 7). Refer. t o Yaent Br-k a t an). Angle of Attaok Through Tranmonio Speeds.
Applloablc t o HighlJ Tapered Wing8 Only ( A = 0 t o 0.4).
io
9
8
7
6
A 5
4
3
2
n 1 ! I
I
v
lo 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0
"v4 # deg
Figure 2.- Summary of boundaries that separate wings that are character-
ized by increased stability i n the high lift range (area below and
to left of curves) and wings with decreased stability in the high
lift range (area above and to right of curves).
5
4
3
A
2
/
t
@ / n c r eased s t ab i / i t y
at hi gh l i f t i
I
0
0 /O 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
(a) Boundary related to wing plan form.
- - .~ ___. _ _ _ - ~
@ Pi t ch-up of high l i f t
generally preceded by
s t o / / warning Type @
wings recommended ).
@ Pi t ch-up without warning
at subcri t i col speeds
f Types w ings recommended).
1 0 @ Genero//y no pi t ch-up
E f Type 0 wi ngs
recommended).
2
/ @ Genera//y no pi t c h- up
- /
0 / 2 3 4 5
(b) Boundary related to horizontal-tail position.
Figure 3.- Approximate design guide for selection of wing plan forms
and horizontal-tail position for achieving minimum pitching-moment
nonlinearity. A =0 to 0.4.
20
21
1
- 2003
t - ~ - I
I
797
\
\ '\
- c
4
Aspect-ratio 4.55 wi ng
P --TZ4O 1
Aspect - r at i o- 20 wi ng
---- - 277-
I
Aspect - r at i O- 25 wi ng
(b) Pl an- f ormcharacteristics of three of the wings investigated.
Figure 4. - Concluded.
22
\ I
A f t er body Coordi nat es
0 .0456
.0320 ,0445
,0639 ,0427
.I187 ,0390
S t r ai ght - l i ne
Tap er
,2460 .0301
-
Figure 5.- Detai l s of fusel age. Al l dimensions are i n inches.
23
24
4.8 x IO6
s
3.2
.6
Aspecf
r at i o
.7 .8
M
.9 LO
Figure 7.- Variation of mean test Reynolds number with Mach number for
four wings investigated.
4F
.O/
0
.o/
0
M
.92
.90
.80
.60
-
.- .
- 4 0 4 8 /2 16 20
Angl e o f o t t o c k , a,deg
24
Fi gure 8. - Vari at i on of base pressure drag coef f i ci ent wi t h angl e of
at t ack and t est Mach number. Based on aspect - rat i o- 3. 0 wi ng.
26
4-1
0
.
a
u
27
9
.
0:
p:
s
l3
x
k
0
E!
k
-
W
a
d
n
u
W
28
k
0
m
-Q
o
a,
k
k
a,
d
k
0
d
0
.rl
-P
Ld
Ld
3
I4
u
c
t
x
fi
u
k
0
V k
a,
I
0
rl
4
0
0 0
I I I 0
0
u
9
4
FI
V
k
$
a
W
4
V
d
ii
3
n
0
W
0
V
a
8 '9
a
t
::
. .
D
c. 0
a
T
e
Ei
u
%
F
0
ii
o k
Q)
0 0
9
0
o! ?
I4
V
I
d
d
n
0
W
32
0
QJ
3
0
G
P
W
l i
V
fi
V
k
0
k
a J h
a
G I G
ocd
s o
L oC
0 0
33
(H
0
;1
V
d
bl
0
5
bo
.rl
I%
35
I4
u
FI
u
n
v
a
I4
u
d
k
0
n
0
W
I
M
rl
36
a
c\j
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
k,
I'
CL
s
s
0
0
I I
+J
.rl
rl
.rl
a3
+J
rl
d
-P
N
.rl
k
0
X
n
P
W
k
k
0
rl
.rl
a3
+J
rl
a3
+J
G
0
N
.rl
k
0
X
n
a3
W
6F
37
5
4
3
A
2
/
0
0 /O 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
A s ,de9
2
0
(a) Boundary related to wing plan form.
Boundury @
A spec t r ut 10
of t est wi ng
I3 2.5 Vu / i d
0 2.0
A /.55 } Not v o/ i d
0 / 2 3 4
45
Z
(b) Boundary related to horizontal-tail position.
Figure 17.- Comparison of geometric variables of test wings of this
investigation with the approximate design guide of figure 3.
NASA - L Va. L-427