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Pretty much what the title says. What is the purpose of the TSR-2's anhedral wingtips? I've heard someone say that they use it to counter yawing I think but is this the true reason or is it something else?TSR-2 front profile with wingtips visible

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  • $\begingroup$ Although it looks cool it's one of the few airplanes I wouldn't want to fly. Something about it makes my spider sense tingle. $\endgroup$
    – GdD
    Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 9:02

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In the document "TSR2 with Hindsight", a lengthy documentation of TSR2 development by the Royal Air Force Historical Society, the reason given for the wingtip anhedral is the correction of lateral and longitudinal stability. Being a high-wing design, the anhedral was used to lower the sideslip-induced rolling moment.

To quote from TSR2 with hindsight:

At re-freeze, the wing was moved, its planform changed slightly and the tips given anhedral to reconcile lateral and longitudinal stability requirements; a very complex joint rib resulted. The wing already had a centre-line joint but only after great resistance from the weight-saving auditors.

The re-freeze in turn was the result of supersonic wind tunnel testing in 1960:

It was not until March 1960 that supersonic wind-tunnel test results were again available and one effect of the resultant design re-freeze was further refinement of the rear fuselage lines.

Turning down wingtips had been employed before in a high-wing design where re-designing the complete wing had been out of the question: The Heinkel 162. Here, the name for that modification was "Lippisch-Ohren" (Lippisch ears) after the person who had proposed them first for his delta-winged designs.

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  • $\begingroup$ So if I follow right, they're there to stop the plane from pitching up and down and rolling where they don't want it. $\endgroup$
    – BryBuriya
    Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 9:07
  • $\begingroup$ @PeterKämpf How does wingtip anhedral affect longitudinal stability? $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 9:56
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    $\begingroup$ @AdityaSharma I was wondering myself, I guess it affects pitch moments at high AoA. Planform changes are more effective and I think the change was mostly about dihedral effect. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 10:55
  • $\begingroup$ @AdityaSharma: obviously via "longitudinal dihedral" 😜 $\endgroup$
    – sophit
    Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 11:35
  • $\begingroup$ @AdityaSharma moves the Neutral Point aft for both the longitudinal and vertical axis I would say. $\endgroup$
    – John K
    Commented Feb 6, 2023 at 13:40

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