In-Flight Lift-Drag Characteristics for a Forward-Swept-Wing Aircraft (and Comparisons With Contemporary Aircraft)
Saltzman, Edwin J. and Hicks, John W. (1994) In-Flight Lift-Drag Characteristics for a Forward-Swept-Wing Aircraft (and Comparisons With Contemporary Aircraft). Technical Report NASA TP-3414, Research Engineering, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.
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Abstract
Lift (L) and drag (D) characteristics have been obtained in flight for the X-29A airplane (a forward-swept-wing demonstrator) for Mach numbers (M) from 0.4 to 1.3. Most of the data were obtained near an altitude of 30,000 ft. A representative Reynolds number, for M = 0.9 and a pressure altitude of 30,000 ft, is 18.6 x 10 superscript 6 based on the mean aerodynamic chord. The X-29A data (forward-swept wing) are compared with three high-performance fighter aircraft—the F-15C, F-16C, and F/A18. The lifting efficiency of the X-29A, as defined by the Oswald lifting efficiency factor, e, is about average for a cantilevered monoplane for M = 0.6 and angles of attack up to those required for maximum L/D. At M = 0.6 the level of L/D and e, as a function of load factor, for the X-29A was about the same as for the contemporary aircraft. The X-29A and its contemporaries have high transonic wave drag and equivalent parasite area compared with aircraft of the 1940s through 1960s.
| EPrint Type: | NASA Technical Publication |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Aerodynamic cleanness, Efficiency, F/A18, F-15C, F-16C, Forward-swept wing, Lift-drag, Lift-related drag, Transonic wave drag, X-29A |
| Subjects: | Aircraft/Project: F-16 (01 - 09) Aeronautics: (05) Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance (01 - 09) Aeronautics: (02) Aerodynamics Aircraft/Project: F-18 Aircraft/Project: X-29 Aircraft/Project: F-15 |
| ID Code: | 233 |
| Deposited On: | 21 July 2004 |
| Additional Information: | 60 pages. Sue Luke, editor. |
