Aerodynamic effects of five lift-fan pod arrangements on an unpowered V/STOL transport model

An investigation was conducted in the Langley V/STOL tunnel to determine the effect of longitudinally oriented wing-mounted pods on the longitudinal and lateral aerodynamic characteristics in the cruise flight condition of a high-wing V/STOL transport model. Five pod arrangements were tested - three configurations with in-line pods at 20, 40, or 60 percent semispan and two split pod configurations with rear pods at 20 percent semispan and front pods at 40 or 60 percent semispan. In general, addition of the pods to the model decreased the stability, increased the lift-curve slope, and alleviated the abrupt stall of the basic model. The configuration with pods at 20 percent semispan had an abrupt instability at 10 deg angle of attack, All the configurations had lateral stability at sideslip angles from 5 to -5 deg. Very little difference in results existed between the configurations with pods at 40 and 60 percent semispan. Of the split pod configurations, the configuration with front pods at 40 percent semispan offered the best trimmed lift and lift-induced drag characteristics at high angles of attack. The configuration with in-line pods at 40 or 60 percent semispan provided the best cruise characteristics of all the pod configurations.