• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.274-279
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• 2010

The present work is to analyze the longitudinal static stability and the drop trajectory of fighter aircraft's external fuel tank, of which horizontal fin is modified as the 20% scale down size compared with the original one. The analytical results to the pitching stability of external fuel tank using a thin airfoil's aerodynamic force data show the corresponding tendency to results of wind tunnel experiment. Results of trajectory simulation by the 6 degree of freedom equations of motion, comparing with drop trajectories of wind tunnel experiment, are shown that aircraft's attitude affects strongly on horizontal movement but not on the vertical movement. Those results give the reliability to aircraft safety when the external fuel tank with the 20% reduced horizontal fins is released from aircraft based on the flight manual.