Summary: In a numerical simulation the choice of turbulence model must be a compromise between physical modelling and computational cost. The CIRA RANS flow solver has been applied, by employing a large set of turbulence models, to typical aerodynamic applications for which certified experimental data are available in literature. The transonic flows over an airfoil and a wing placed in a wind tunnel, both characterized by a strong shock-boundary layer interaction with an induced separation, and the high lift flow around a multi component airfoil are taken into consideration. An evaluation, in terms of accuracy and numerical behaviour, of some common turbulence models ranging from one-equation to high order, using the same code and numerics, is presented. Satisfactory and consistent results have been achieved; the more sophisticated the turbulence model the more accurate the simulation is. The SST Menter \(\kappa-\omega\) turbulence model has shown, for the applications investigated, the best compromise between the physical capabilities and the numerical stiffness.