Methodology for testing an aircraft with cycloidal propulsors in a wind tunnel

\nThe article describes a technique that makes possible to compile a minimum required program for testing an aircraft with cycloidal propulsors in a wind tunnel to find a given flight mode. By flight mode we mean a mode in which the lift force corresponds to the mass of the aircraft, the thrust compensates for the drag that occurs at a given speed of the oncoming flow, and the pitch, yaw and roll torques are insignificantly small. An analytical model is described that uses experimental data and CFD modeling to find the flight mode and the iterative steps necessary to determine the correction factors. The use of the described method allowed us to demonstrate the flight modes of the aircraft at speeds of 10, 15 and 20 m/s during wind tunnel tests.\n