ATMOSPHERIC GUSTS—A REVIEW OF THE RESULTS OF SOME RECENT RESEARCH AT THE ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT

Abstract

Recent Royal Aircraft Establishment research on gusts has been particularly concerned with severe gusts and the situations in which they occur. In the stratosphere, mountain wave conditions and the vicinity of thunderstorm tops have been investigated. At lower altitudes, gusts in and near thunderstorms have also been studied, as have wind and gust effects likely to be significant during takeoff and landing. The mathematical modeling of severe gusts relevant to aircraft design is described, and the effects of pilot control activity during flight through gusts are considered briefly. Particular emphasis has been placed on two aspects of the work: (1) the study of possible means by which severe gusts might be avoided in aircraft operations and (2) the limitations of existing mathematical models of gusts that are used in aircraft design. Suggestions are made for models that may prove to be both more accurate and more physically plausible.