Wind-tunnel investigation of leading-edge thrust on arrow wings in supersonic flow

Six wing models were tested in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel to identify and study leading-edge thrust at supersonic speeds. The tests were conducted at Mach numbers of 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, and 2.16, at a stagnation temperature of 125.0 F, and at Reynolds numbers per foot of 2.0 x 10 to the 6th power and 5.0 x 10 the 6th power. Test results showed that significant benefits from leading-edge thrust and nonlinear thickness effects can be obtained with very little airfoil bluntness, that these benefits were lost when the airfoil was severely blunted, and that such benefits seem to be found on wings with supersonic as well as subsonic leading edges.