Theoretical and experimental investigation of the performance of a fan-in-wing VTOL configuration

The incompressible-flow momentum theory is extended to the case of lifting fans. The resulting theory includes many of the known experimentally determined characteristics of fan-in-wing aircraft. These characteristics include the negligible effect of forward speed on fan thrust, the large momentum drag, and the generally inefficient performance throughout the transition speed range. Although mutual interference between the fans and the wing was totally neglected, the theory is confirmed by experimental results for the configuration tested. Examination of the results of an investigation of wall interference leads to the conclusion that the large fan-induced lift reported in many earlier investigations was largely the result of neglecting wall interference in the reduction of wind-tunnel data.