Accelerations of One Airplane in Wake Vortices of Another

Accelerations of one airplane encountering a vortex or pair of vortices in the wake of another airplane were computed in a parametric study. The approach taken in the study was to systematically investigate the effects of progressively more nearly complete descriptions of the interaction of an airplane with a wake-vortex system, in order to compare the theoretical effects of some of the major simplifying assumptions that are commonly made in formulating mathematical models to represent this interaction. Despite their theoretical nature, this study and other related studies have practical significance: For example, mathematical models of airplane/vortex interaction are needed for pilot-training flight simulators. The models must represent the dominant vortex-encounter effects, yet must be simple enough to be adaptable to a variety of airplanes and simulators.