Wake turbulence dominates much current discussion regarding aircraft operational problems. This problem is more severe for business aircraft than it is for airline operations because of the smaller size of the business planes and their subsequent greater chance for damage in a vortex encounter. The results of a detailed wind tunnel study of the structure of the trailing vortex to distances of 30 chord lengths downstream of the wing are reported. Five different means of reducing the dangerous high-swirl velocities in a vortex are described and their effects on the wake are illustrated. The effects of these possible vortex “fixes” on the wing itself as well as the possibility of using these or other devices to accelerate the dissipation of wake turbulence are discussed. It is concluded that vortex dissipation within 20-30 chord lengths downstream of the generating wing will be possible in the very near future.
