Experimental Investigation on the Longitudinal Stability of a P51 Mustang Aircraft Model

This project involved the development of a test model of the P-51 Mustang aircraft and an experimental investigation of its stability. The model was developed to investigate the influence of the main horizontal tail parameters ( tail incidence, position of c.g., stabilizer moment arm,etc.)on the pitching moment around the aircraft’s center of gravity. To accomplish such a task, a test model was designed and fabricated with flat plate and airfoil wing configurations. The tail incidence of the flat plate stabilizer is adjustable over the entire range of positive and negative angles. A rechargeable, electric motor mounted in the fuselage adjusts the position of the stabilizer within a range of two inches on each side of the standard location. Furthermore, the revised model incorporated a series of nose weights which allowed the center of gravity to be placed at five different locations. After evaluating the model at different test configurations, the influence of each of these parameters can be studied