Planetary Atmosphere Wind Tunnel Tests on Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Mars Airplane Scale Model

Abstract

Low-density wind tunnel tests are carried out using a 1/5-scale model to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of a Mars airplane at low Reynolds numbers (Re = 10,000-33,000). Particularly, Reynolds number dependency on the aerodynamic characteristics and effects of the elevator are investigated. There is little change of the lift curve and the pitching moment in the Reynolds number range from 10,000 to 33,000. The effectiveness of the elevator is not enough for responsive pitch control. It is found that the low effectiveness of the elevator is due to a non-linearity of the lift curve of the horizontal-tail airfoil and a thinner tail-airfoil having a large lift-curve slope can improve the pitch control.