AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A FLAT-BOTTOMED SEMI-CIRCULAR WING IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE GROUND

An experimental investigation of a semicircular wing flying very close to a solid boundary is performed to verify recent analytical results. Comparison is made between first order theory and data through plots of lift coefficient versus angle of attack for various clearances. Reasonable agreement is obtained for these cases within the limitations of the theory. Lift/drag ratio plots are also presented which show the potential of such a technique for support vehicles. A brief outline of the theoretical development is also included to give some insight into the type of analysis which was used.