UNIVERSITY KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF

AVIATION TECHNOLOGY

BACHELOR OF AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY IN

MECHANICAL

AAB 30303 – AIRCRAFT FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

SIR RAZAK BIN MD NOOR

ASSIGNMENT 1

STUDENT
MUHAMMAD AIZAT BIN ABDUL MULOK - 53211114442

CLASS - 6 BME 3

JANUARY 2017
Physical Description
• Combination of less sweptback wing (better low-speed properties, greater flap
effectiveness) and delta wing (better stall characteristics)
• Leading edge can be straight or curved
• Must always have a sharp leading edge
• Small aspect ratio
• High sweep angle

How does it work?

• At low angles of attack, the LEX has little effect
• At higher angles of attack a vortex, formed from the leading edge of the LEX, flows
over the wing.
• The vortex helps to energize the upper surface boundary layer, delaying separation.
• LEX vortex stabilizes wing leading edge vortex and prevents it from separating
• LEX vortex and wing leading edge vortex exist side by side and support each other

Aerodynamic Advantages
• Higher
• Higher
• Better maneuverability, especially during turns in aerial combat
• Smaller wing for same lift
– YF-17 showed 50% increase in max lift for just 10% more wing area
– F-16 was able to reduce wing size and save about 500 lbs in weight
• Reduced transonic lift center shift, giving lower supersonic trim drag at high g
Aerodynamic Disadvantages
• Tendency to cause pitchup at high angles of attack
• Increased drag at low angles of attack
• Structural fatigue of vertical stabilizers buffeted by flowfield
• When angle of attack becomes sufficiently large and vortex breakdown progresses
ahead of wing trailing edge, aerodynamic advantages deteriorate significantly; BL
blowing helps to prevent this
Implementation on Aircraft

F-18 FIGHTING FALCON

F-18 HORNET
MiG-29 FULCRUM

Conclusions
• Leading edge extensions are more beneficial for combat fighter aircraft because
these aircraft are more often in the flight conditions where a leading edge extension
is most useful, such as high angle of attack maneuvers
• However, strakes (as shown in the previous slide) are used on some general aviation
aircraft to reduce the abruptness of stall onset and provide better landing
capabilities
• Leading edge extensions have their drawbacks, including pitchup at high angles of
attack, and should only be used when additional maneuverability is necessary