An Investigation at Mach Numbers of 1.40 and 1.59 of the Effects of Aileron Profile on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Complete Model of a Supersonic Aircraft Configuration

An investigation has been conducted in the Langley 4- by 4-foot supersonic tunnel at Mach numbers 1.40 and 1.59 to determine the effect of aileron profile on the aerodynamic characteristics of a complete model of a supersonic aircraft configuration. The model had a 40 degree sweptback tapered wing with 10-percent-thick circular-arc sections normal to the quarter-chord line. The ailerons were 20-percent chord and were located on the outboard 50 percent of the wing semispans. The various ailerons investigated included the basic circular-arc profile and three flat-sided ailerons having ratios of trailing-edge thickness to hinge-line thickness t of 0, 0.5, and 1.0. Low aileron effectiveness was obtained with the circular-arc and t = 0 profiles. Increasing the trailing-edge thickness (t = 0.5 and 1.0) resulted in increased effectiveness as well as increased hinge moments with only a slight increase in drag.