Experimental Investigation on a 1/4 Scaled Model of an High-Performance Tiltwing Aircraft in Hover

The hovering performance and the lifting capability of tiltrotor aircraft are strongly affected by the aerodynamic interaction between wing and rotors. The tiltwing concept represents a promising technology to increase the hover performance by reducing the wing-rotor interference. The present work deals with the experimental investigation of a high-performance tiltwing aircraft to achieve a detailed insight of the main aerodynamic issues characterizing the aerodynamic interaction between wing and rotor in a tiltwing aircraft in hover. In particular, a 1/4 scaled wind tunnel half-model, constituted by one half-wing and the corresponding rotor and nacelle, was manufactured and tested to investigate the aircraft performance in the hover flight condition and the rotor wake geometry. With this aim, the experimental campaign included both forces measurements and Particle Image Velocimetry surveys.