Optimization of radome and satellite antenna for large commercial aircraft 2

This report looks at the aerodynamics of a pea-shaped belly mounted radome on a commercial aircraft, looking to optimise the position for best control and flight characteristics. Testing was performed on a commercial plastic model of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft of scale 1:144. The radome was glued onto the model using removable adhesive and the airframe then mounted in a water tunnel for testing. A 6-axis load cell was used to measure forces generated on the model at pitch angles of 0°, 10° and -10° and at yaw angles of 0° and 10° under turbulent conditions. The radome was attached at distances of 2mm, 50mm and 77mm aft of the nose. Results indicate that for similar lift-to-drag characteristics as the aircraft without any radome, the radome should be attached close to the nose as drag increments are small and lift over the wings is minimally affected.Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering