Beyond the buffet boundary

Abstract

A lecture called “Some aspects of buffeting” was given to the Society in 1961 by my colleague Mr. R. Fail. In that lecture the emphasis was primarily on the prediction of buffet onset in flight from model tests in wind tunnels, and on the prevention of buffeting. In the subsequent 11 years there has been much more interest in the prediction of the severity of buffeting above the buffet boundary, for both transport and fighter type aircraft, if buffeting cannot be prevented or alleviated. I have tried to reflect this interest and I hope that the title of this paper will also suggest a cautious examination of the physical processes at work above the buffet boundary, when the boundary layer has separated. We still really know very little about these processes but I hope that the paper may stimulate further research and questioning.