NACA-TN-1674

Abstract

INTRODUCTION <br>In an attempt to extend the maximum speed of airplanes into the transonic and supersonic speed range, an ever increasing number of airplanes are being designed with swept wings. The use of these plane forms has introduced the need for control-surface data on swept wings similar to those already in existence for unswept wings (reference 1 to 8), which allow for the prediction of control-surface characteristics within small limits. <br>At the present time information on the behavior of controls in the transonic speed range is too meager to permit the development of a rational design procedure that applies at transonic speeds; hence, the design of control surfaces for transonic airplanes must still be based primarily on low-speed considerations. <br>A summary of the results of several low-speed wind-tunnel investigations of control effectiveness on sweptback wings (data obtained in the Langley 300 MPH 7- by 10-foot funnel) and a discussion of the development of two methods of estimating the effectiveness characteristics of flap-type controls on sweptback wings are presented herein.