Analysis of flight and tunnel tests on the Fairey Delta 2 research aircraft

Abstract

A detailed comparison of resu[ts has been made from several series of flight tests, spanning a number of years, on the Fairey Delta 2, with wind tunnel tests on 1/9 and 1/24 scale models and with reference also to simple theoretical results. The Mach number range of interest has been M = 0.6 to M = 1.8. This report considers both longitudinal and lateral characteristics together with flow field development and surface pressure measurements. In order to help explain several discrepancies observed, special interest has been focused on detailed differences in geometry between full scale aircraft and models, on aeroelastic effects and on differences in flow field development due to scale differences. It has been possible to suggest explanations for many of the discrepancies in terms of these effects. Where possible, reference has been made to other similar aircraft in order to make the conclusions as general as possible.