Technical Paper
Flight Evaluation of an Insect Contamination Protection System for Laminar Flow Wings
1985-04-01
850860
The ability of modern airplane surfaces to achieve laminar flow has been well-accepted in recent years. Obtaining the maximum benefit of laminar flow for aircraft drag reduction requires maintaining minimum leading-edge contamination. Previously proposed insect contamination prevention methods have proved impractical due to cost, weight, or inconvenience. Past work has shown that insects will not adhere to water-wetted surfaces, but large volumes of water required for protection rendered such a system impractical. This paper presents results of a flight experiment conducted by NASA to evaluate the performance of a porous leading-edge fluid discharge ice protection system operated as an insect contamination protection system. In addition, these flights explored the environmental and atmospheric conditions most suitable for insect accumulation.