In-Flight Captive Store Loads Compared with Wind-Tunnel and Mathematical Simulations

Abstract

A series of f l ight tests were made to acquire captive loads data on a store to compare with corresponding data from several wind-tunnel tests, as well as with the best mathematical models when conditions were matched as closely as possible. The store consisted of an Mk 83 bomb shape mounted on a triple-ejector rack (TER) on an F4 aircraft which was instrumented complete with a standard research boom mounted on the nose. The flight conditions spanned Mach 0.6-0.9 in both maneuvering and steady fl ight. Corresponding wind-tunnel tests were made at 5% at both the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) and the David Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center (DTNSRDC), as well as tests at 10% at DTNSRDC. The data show good correlation between flight test and wind tunnel for moderate subsonic Mach numbers when good geometric similarity is maintained, but there is a pronounced divergence in this agreement as the Mach number is increased. Correlation between mathematical models of this problem and the fl ight test show the same magnitude in loads and moments, but the trends do not always agree. This is most pronounced in the pitch plane.