DESIGN AND TESTS OF A FLEXIBLE SAILWING AIRFOIL FOR LIGHTWEIGHT AIRCRAFT

Authors

  • Loek Boermans
  • P. van de Borne

Keywords:

Aerodynamics, Structures, Materials, Design

Abstract

At the Delft University of Technology Low Speed Laboratory (LSL) an investigation was performed to design and test a flexible airfoil for sailwing application. The sailwing consists of a rigid leading edge spar, tip and root ribs, a trailing edge cable and a cloth membrane wrapped around the leading edge and attached to the trailing edge, forming the upper and lower sail surfaces. Since the introduction of the sailwing by Princeton University in 1948 several theoretical and experimental investigations have been performed. Among the results obtained, the following are of particular interest.

Downloads

Issue

Section

Articles