Optical measurements of degradation in aircraft boundary layers

Visible wavelength measurements of the degradation of optical beams when transmitted through the thin aerodynamic boundary layers around an aircraft are reviewed. The measured results indicated degradation levels for the KC-135 airplanes between 0.10 to 0.13 lambda increasing to 0.18 lambda (rms wavefront distortion). For the Lear Jet, degradation with a 25 mm diameter optics was roughly 0.07 lambda. The corresponding infinite aperture degradation levels are also calculated. The corresponding measured correlation lengths of roughly 12 mm for the KC-135 aircraft and 6 mm for the Lear Jet scale to roughly 20 and 25 mm, respectively, for infinite apertures. These boundary layer correlation lengths do not appear to reflect the different boundary layer thicknesses on the two different aircraft.