Patrick Gruhn, Sergej Blem, Ali Gülhan,, Tobias Langener, Johan Steelant
DOI Number XXX-YYY-ZZZ
Conference Number HiSST-2022-161
Aerodynamic stability is very important for high-speed aircraft configurations, where reaction times to
disturbances can become quite short. Six-degree-of freedom measurements have been performed with
a wind tunnel model of an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle. Mach numbers ranged between Mach 3.5
and Mach 8, utilizing two different wind tunnels. The angle of attack was varied between α = -3° and
α = 3°, and the sideslip angle between β = 0° and β = 2°. Further on, the modular design of the model
allowed for examining the influence of control surface deflections by canards, rudders and ailerons.
Additional numerical calculations have been performed for certain test points. The tests gave insight
into the aerodynamic properties of the configuration and helped to determine flight conditions with
critical or unstable longitudinal and lateral stability, respectively. Further on, the influence on the
aerodynamics of the vehicles that is caused by changes in the flow state at the engine intake was
shown.