Flight test techniques for wake-vortex minimization studies

Abstract

Flight test techniques developed for use in a study of wake turbulence and used recently in flight studies of wake minimization methods are discussed. Flow visualization was developed as a technique for qualitatively assessing minimization methods and is required in flight test procedures for making quantitative measurements. The quantitative techniques are the measurement of the upset dynamics of an aircraft encountering the wake and the measurement of the wake velocity profiles. Descriptions of the instrumentation and the data reduction and correlation methods are given.