DIHEDRAL

• Dihedral, d, is upward
angle from horizontal in a
fixed-wing aircraft from
root to tip, as viewed from
directly in front of aircraft

• Purpose of positive
dihedral is to confer
stability in roll axis

d
ZERO DIHEDRAL, STEADY LEVEL FLIGHT

W
ZERO DIHEDRAL ROLL

Fy

Vside
W
POSITIVE DIHEDRAL, STEADY LEVEL FLIGHT

W
POSITIVE DIHEDRAL ROLL

Wing is at positive
angle of attack
relative to incoming
L wind

Fy
Vside
W
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
ANHEDRAL
• Anhedral required to
keep aircraft from
becoming too stable

• Significant anhedral often

seen on aircraft with a
high mounted wing

• High mounted wing is

above center of mass
which confers roll
stability due to pendulum
effect, so additional
dihedral is not required
DIHEDRAL ( BOEING 737) and ANHEDRAL (BAE 146)
C-5 GALAXY EXAMPLE
 POLYHEDRAL

• McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is one such example, unique among fighters
for having dihedral wingtips
• Added after prototype flight testing (original prototype of F-4 had a flat wing)
showed need to correct some unanticipated roll instability - angling the wingtips,
which were already designed to fold up for carrier operations, was more practical
solution than re-engineering entire wing
EXAMPLE: ADVERSE YAW
EXAMPLE: F-18 VORTEX FENCES
WHY LEADING EDGE EXTENSIONS?
• Idea is generate vortex that
interacts with rest of wing

• Vortex speeds up flow of air

over a wing and allow a
plane to reach a higher
angle of attack than it
would be able to otherwise

• Also causes drag

CFD EXAMPLE OF LEADING EDGE EXTENSIONS
CFD EXAMPLE OF LEADING EDGE EXTENSIONS
VORTEX FROM LEADING EDGE EXTENSIONS
VORTEX FROM LEADING EDGE EXTENSIONS

Vortex Burst
 SUMMARY OF FIX

• Solution was to implemented LEX fence

• Fence is essentially another vortex generator itself
• Fence creates a second unsteady vortex that interacts with main vortex
created by leading edge extension
• Interaction strengthens rotation of main vortex so that vortex bursting is
eliminated near vertical tail
• Repair was so effective that it not only solved tail buffet problem but fence
also allows F-18 to reach even higher angles of attack
ADDITIONAL FIX