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Aeroelastic tailoring provides a measure of control over the interaction of aerodynamic loading and structural response during the design of composite lifting surfaces. A recent investigation involving the design, fabrication, and test of an aeroelastically tailored fighter wing was conducted to provide data for validating the design methodology. Three sets of composite wings with different design objectives were tested in addition to a set of rigid steel wings. The static aeroelastic tests featured the measurement of model forces, pressure distributions, and deflected shapes in the transonic regime. Test results are compared with analytical predictions and show significant aeroelastic benefits.

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