Experimental investigation of wing/fuselage integration geometries

Although long recognized as a significant contributor to overall drag, a great deal of work yet remains to be done on understanding and controlling the interference flowfield generated by the wing/fuselage intersection. One possible means of reducing the drag due to this interference is through the careful blending of the wing/fuselage region near the front of the juncture. To investigate such wing/fuselage integration, an experimental program has been performed in which flow visualization, pressure distributions, and force-balance data were obtained and used to explore promising junction geometries. These experiments indicate that the juncture flow is very sensitive to the wing/fuselage intersection geometry, and that the proper shaping of this region can lead to a reduction in interference drag.