NACA-RM-L7J15

Abstract

INTRODUCTION <br>The increased attention to supersonic aircraft and missile design over the past few years has greatly accelerated the need for basic super-sonic aerodynamic information. Theoretical work has increasingly provided methods for calculating the basic aerodynamic characteristics of components such as bodies and a variety of wing plan forms; however, very little experimental data is available to check the theory or to predict the effect on lifting surfaces of a disturbed stream such as that produced by a supersonic airplane fuselage or by another lifting surface. Theoretical methods at present appear very awkward for calculating the characteristics of complete supersonic airplane configurations; thus, tests are, at the present time, the only adequate means for studying such cases. Because of the general interest in the information it might provide, test of two supersonic airplane model configurations were made in the Langley 9-inch supersonic tunnel. <br>The configurations tested do not represent designs approximating optimums from present-day considerations, since their basic lines were conceived in the early part of 1946. The models represent two versions of a supersonic research airplane which was intended to be carried to high altitude by a "mother" ship, released, and accelerated to supersonic speeds by rocket motors of moderate duration. The two models had similar bodies and 43&#176; sweptback wings and tail surfaces, the wings having sharp-edged circular-are sections. The primary difference in the two models was the vertical location of the wing - one model had the wing located in a high position on the body, whereas the other model had the wing located in a low position on the body. Tests of both models at Mach numbers of 1.55, 1.90, and 2.32 were made to determine the values of lift, drag, pitching moment, yawing moment, and side force through angles around zero lift because of load limitations on the force-measuring equipment. Data from these tests are presented herein.