Static Wind Tunnel Testing of a Generic T-Tail Transport Airplane at High Angle of Attack

T-tail aircraft are well known for their unique post-stall dynamics and many T-tail jet transport types throughout history have exhibited unforgiving stall behavior, yet research in this area has been inconsistent over time and is still incomplete today. A model of a generic T- tail transport aircraft has been built at the University of Bristol and is used in an ongoing experimental test campaign aimed at expanding aerodynamic data beyond the usual flight envelope. This paper presents the results of the initial static wind tunnel tests. Force and moment measurements are compared to data obtained by NASA during similar tests on the same model geometry, where generally good agreement can be observed. Here, focus has been placed on investigating scaling and aerodynamic asymmetry effects, as well as providing further insight into the model’s aerodynamics through flow visualization. Additionally, tests were conducted with some changes to the model’s configuration. Results are shown for varying engine size, as well as adding landing gears and high-lift devices.