Flutter characteristics of a wing carrying a flexibly mounted mass

Abstract

Calculations have been made to investigate the effects on wing flutter of flexibility between a wing and an added mass. Flexibilities in pitch, roll, and yaw have been separately investigated for a mass carried at the tip of a wing. The calculations covered wing sweepback angles from zero to 45 deg, and a number of mass-loading conditions were considered. The calculations show that flexibility in the mass mounting may result in very low flutter speeds, particularly if the natural frequency of the added mass on its mounting is in the region of the lower wing mode frequencies.