Summary of Inlet Characteristics of the F/A-18A High Alpha Research Vehicle

Effects of high-angle-of-attack flight on aircraft inlet aerodynamic characteristics were investigated at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center as part of NASA's High Alpha Technology Program. The highly instrumented F/A-18A High Alpha Research Vehicle was used for this research. A newly designed inlet total-pressure rake was installed in front of the right-hand F404-GE-400 engine to measure inlet recovery and distortion characteristics. Objectives included: (1) determining the inlet total-pressure characteristics at steady high-angle-of-attack conditions; (2) assessing if inlet distortion is significantly different between rapid angle-of-attack maneuvers and corresponding steady aerodynamic conditions; (3) assessing inlet characteristics during aircraft departures; (4) providing data for developing and verifying computational fluid dynamic codes; and (5) calculating engine airflow using four methods for comparison with a reference method. This paper describes the results obtained from this investigation. These data and the associated database were rigorously validated to establish the foundation for understanding inlet characteristics at high angle of attack.