Tests of a Gust-Alleviating Flap in the Gust Tunnel

Summary Tests were made in the N.A.C.A. gust tunnel to determine the effectiveness of a long-period dynamically overbalanced flap in reducing aeroplane accelerations due to atmospheric gusts. For two gust shapes, one gust velocity, one forward velocity, and one wing loading, a series of flights was made with the flap locked and was then repeated with the flap free to operate. The records obtained were evaluated by routine methods. The results indicate that the flap reduced the maximum acceleration increment 39 per cent, for a severe gust with a representative gust gradient distance of 8 chord lengths and that, for an extreme gust shape (a sharp-edge gust), the reduction was only 3 per cent. The results also indicate that the flap tended to reduce the longitudinal stability of the aeroplane. Computations made of the effectiveness and the action of the flap were in good agreement with the experimental results.