Low-speed wind-tunnel measurements of the lift, drag and pitching moment of a series of cropped delta wings

Abstract

Measurements of lift, drag and pitching moment have been made on a series of cropped delta wings of aspect ratio 1.4, 1.2, 1.0 and 0.8 formed by successively cropping a delta-wing model of aspect ratio 1.6. These tests extended earlier work on sharp-edged slender wings of the same chordwise section and maximum thickness/chord ratio, 4 per cent. From the earlier tests empirical curves were derived for predicting the low-speed characteristics of slender wings at zero sideslip and the results of the tests on the cropped series are analysed and compared with these correlation curves. Certain differences are noted which are linked with the improved performance of a cropped delta compared with a pure delta planform of the same aspect ratio.