Three-Surface Aircraft -- Optimum vs. Typical
Abstract
Comparisons of the induced drag for a three-surface general aviation aircraft were made using a vortex lattice method and Prandtl-Munk theory. Substantial differences between the two prediction methods have been shown in the presence of practical nonelliptic spanwise load distributions. At the same time, a parametric study using the vortex lattice method has been carried out to determine the sensitivity of lift to induced-drag ratio to different design variables. Using the resulting trends, a three-surface general aviation aircraft has been modeled and compared with its equivalent canard and conventional configurations. It has been shown that although the three-surface geometry is more efficient than a canard configuration, it remains inferior to a conventional design.
Recommended Citation
K. Rokhsaz and B. P. Selberg, "Three-Surface Aircraft -- Optimum vs. Typical," Journal of Aircraft, vol. 26, no. 8, p. 699, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Aug 1989.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.2514/3.45827
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0021-8669
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 1989 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Aug 1989
