Experimental study of the influence of atmospheric turbulence on the boundary layer flow on the glider wing

Flight experiments aimed at studying the transition from the laminar to turbulent flow in the boundary layer on the glider wing at different levels of atmospheric turbulence performed in the 1980s are reviewed. The results are obtained by means of hot-wire measurements and visualization of the flow on the wing surface by the method of sublimating coatings. The transition is found to proceed in several stages: emergence, evolution, and failure of a discrete packet of instability waves in the region of the adverse pressure gradient. The data obtained in the study are compared with the results of similar investigations carried out in a large wind tunnel on the same real glider wing at realistic Reynolds numbers.