Airplane wing vibrations due to atmospheric turbulence

The purpose of this study is to determine the magnitude of error introduced due to wing vibration when measuring atmospheric turbulence with a wind probe mounted at the wing tip and to determine whether accelerometers mounted on the wing tip are needed to correct for this error. A spectrum analysis approach is used to determine the error. Estimates of the B-57 wing characteristics are used to simulate the airplane wing, and von Karman's cross spectrum function is used to simulate atmospheric turbulence. The major finding of the study is that wing vibration introduces large error in measuring frequencies of turbulence close to the natural frequencies of the wing.