Design of low-speed aircraft by numerical and experimental techniques developed at DPA

Abstract

In this paper, a number of numerical and experimental tools developed at our Department (Dipartimento di Progettazione Aeronautica from here on called DPA) and devoted to aircraft design for low subsonic flow will be presented and summarized. These tools comprise numerical codes for analysis, design and simulation, and experimental tests performed in our tunnel and particularly devoted to light aircraft design. The importance of developing such tools in house will be highlighted. Examples of light aircraft designed using such tools will be presented and some attention will be paid to the design of a three-surface R/C model aircraft and on the adaptation of numerical codes to the prediction of its behaviour in the non-linear range of angles of attack.