PrandtlPlane High–Lift System Preliminary Aerodynamic Design

An analysis of low-speed aerodynamics for an unconventional aircraft configuration has been carried out. This configuration, named Prandtlplane, implements Prandtl's Best Wing System for low induced drag. The state of the art of high-lift systems on civil aircraft and their historical trends have been reviewed in order to correctly identify the issues to be addressed. Lift requirements suitable to the investigated unconventional configuration have been assessed and several prospective high lift system layouts have been screened against these criteria. A suite of aerodynamic design tools and procedures has been assembled, thoroughly validated and applied to the analysis and modification of the selected low speed configurations. Preliminary results concerning the peculiar high-lift aerodynamics of the Prandtlplane have been summarized and recommendations for further investigations have been made