AIR1419 "Inlet Total Pressure Distortion Considerations for Gas Turbine Engines" documents engineering information for use as reference material and for guidance. Inlet total-pressure distortion and other forms of flow distortion that can influence inlet/engine compatibility require examination to establish their effect on engine stability and performance. This report centers on inlet-generated total-pressure distortion measured at the Aerodynamic Interface Plane (AIP), not because this is necessarily the sole concern, but because it has been given sufficient attention in the aircraft and engine communities to produce generally accepted engineering practices for dealing with it. The report does not address procedures for dealing with performance destabilizing influences other than those due to total-pressure distortion, or with the effects of any distortion on aeroelastic stability. The propulsion system designer must be careful to assure that, throughout the development process, other forms of inlet flow distortion, which can have just as serious effects on system stability and performance, have been effectively addressed.

The report deals with spatial total-pressure distortion, as defined by an array of high-response total-pressure probes. Time-variant total-pressure distortion, synthesized from statistical data, can provide useful information. However, the consensus of SAE S-16 is that such techniques are not developed sufficiently to permit general guidelines to be formulated.