16.885J/ESD.

35J
Aircraft Systems Engineering
Introduction to Aircraft
Performance and Static Stability
Prof. Earll Murman
September 18, 2003
Todays Topics
Specific fuel consumption and Breguet range
equation
Transonic aerodynamic considerations
Aircraft Performance
Aircraft turning
Energy analysis
Operating envelope
Deep dive of other performance topics for jet transport
aircraft in Lectures 6 and 7
Aircraft longitudinal static stability
Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption (TSFC)
Definition:
TSFC
lb of fuel burned
(lb of thrust delivered)(hour)
Measure of jet engine effectiveness at converting fuel to
useable thrust
Includes installation effects such as
bleed air for cabin, electric generator, etc..
Inlet effects can be included (organizational dependent)
Typical numbers are in range of 0.3 to 0.9. Can be up to 1.5
Terminology varies with time units used, and it is not all
consistent.
TSFC uses hours
c is often used for TSFC
lb of fuel burned
Another term used is
c
t
(lb of thrust delivered)(sec)
Breguet Range Equation
Change in aircraft weight = fuel burned
dW =c
t
Tdtc
t
TSPC/3600 Tthrust
Solve for dt and multiply by V
=
to get ds
dsV

dt ==
V

dW
=
V

W
dW
=
V

L
dW
c
t
T c
t
TW c
t
D W
Set L/D, c
t
, V
=
constant and integrate
R
3600 L
ln
W
TO
TSFC
V

D W
empty
Insights from Breguet Range Equation
R
3600 L
ln
W
TO
TSFC
V

D W
empty
3600
TSFC
represents propulsion effects. Lower TSFC is better
L
V

D
represents aerodynamic effect. L/D is aerodynamic efficiency
L L L
V

D
a

D
. a

is constant above 36,000 ft. M

D
important
ln
W
TO
represents aircraft weight/structures effect on range
W
empty
Optimized L/D - Transport A/C
Sweet spot is in transonic range.
20
waves
1 2 3
M
a
x

(
L
/
D
)

Mach No.
Concorde
Losses
due to
10
shock
Ref: Shevell
8

8

Transonic Effects on Airfoil C
d
, C
l
C
d
Region I. II. III.
M
cr
M
drag
divergence
1.0 M
M<1
8

M<1
M>1
M<1
M>1
Separated flow
M < M I.
8 cr
V
8
M < M
8
< M
drag
II.
cr
divergence
III. M > M
V
drag
divergence
Strategies for Mitigating Transonic Effects
Wing sweep
Developed by Germans. Discovered after WWII by Boeing
Incorporated in B-52
Area Ruling, aka coke bottling
Developed by Dick Whitcomb at NASA Langley in 1954
Kucheman in Germany and Hayes at North American contributors
Incorporated in F-102
Supercritical airfoils
Developed by Dick Whitcomb at NASA Langley in 1965
Percey at RAE had some early contributions
Incorporated in modern military and commercial aircraft
Basic Sweep Concept
Consider Mach Number normal to leading edge
sin=1/ M

M
=
M
n
=
A=
=M

cosA
== Mach angle,
the direction
disturbances
travel in
supersonic flow
For subsonic freestreams, M
n
< M
=
- Lower effective freestream
Mach number delays onset of transonic drag rise.
For supersonic freestreams
M
n
< 1, A=> =- Subsonic leading edge
M
n
> 1, A=< =- Supersonic leading edge
Extensive analysis available, but this is gist of the concept
Wing Sweep Considerations M
=
> 1
Subsonic leading edge
Can have rounded subsonic type wing section
Thicker section
Upper surface suction
More lift and less drag
Supersonic leading edge
Need supersonic type wing section
Thin section
Sharp leading edge
Competing Needs
Subsonic Mach number
High Aspect Ratio for low induced drag
Supersonic Mach number
Want high sweep for subsonic leading edge
Possible solutions
Variable sweep wing - B-1
Double delta - US SST
Blended - Concorde
Optimize for supersonic - B-58
V
8

Supercritical Airfoil
Supercritical
airfoil shape
keeps upper
surface velocity
from getting too
large.
C
p
C
p, cr
Uses aft camber
x/c
to generate lift.
Gives nose
down pitching
moment.
Todays Performance Topics
Turning analysis
Critical for high performance military a/c. Applicable to all.
Horizontal, pull-up, pull-down, pull-over, vertical
Universal M-e=turn rate chart , V-n diagram
Energy analysis
Critical for high performance military a/c. Applicable to all.
Specific energy, specific excess power
M-h diagram, min time to climb
Operating envelope
Back up charts for fighter aircraft
M-e=diagram - Doghouse chart
Maneuver limits and some example
Extensive notes from Lockheed available. Ask me.
Horizontal Turn
W = L cos|, |== bank angle
Level turn, no loss of altitude
F
r
= (L
2
- W
2
)
1/2
=W(n
2
-1)
1/2
Where n =L/W = 1/ cos|=is the load
factor measured in gs.
But F
r
= (W/g)(V
2

/R)
So radius of turn is
F
lig
h
t p a t h

R
z

R = V
2

/g(n
2
-1)
1/2
And turn rate e==V

/R is

R
L
F
r
z
e=g(n
2
-1)
1/2
/ V

W
Want high load factor, low velocity
Pull Up Pull Over Vertical
R
L
W

R
L
W

R
L
W

F
r
= (L-W) =W(n-1) F
r
= (L +W) =W(n+1)
F
r
= L =Wn
= (W/g)(V
2

/R) = (W/g)(V
2

/R)
= (W/g)(V
2

/R)
R = V
2

/g(n-1) R = V
2

/g(n+1)
R = V
2

/gn
e==g(n-1)/ V

e==g(n+1)/ V

e==gn/ V

Vertical Plan Turn Rates
T
u
r
n

r
a
t
e

r
a
t
i
o
,

K

2.5
Pullover from inverted attitude
Vertical maneuver
Pull-up from level attitude
K

=
Vertical plane
turn rate
Horizontal plane
turn rate
Let u

e=
2.0
K
Pull Over
e=
=(n+1)/(n
2
-1)
1/2
1.5
Vertical Maneuver
1.0
K
e=
=n/(n
2
-1)
1/2
0.5
Pull Up
0 K
e=
=(n-1)/(n
2
-1)
1/2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Load factor, in 'g's
For large n, K
e=
1 and for all maneuvers e ~ = gn/ V

Similarly for turn radius, for large n, R ~=V
2

/gn.
For large e=and small R, want large n and small V

e ~ gn/ V

= gn/a

M

so e ~ 1/ M

at const h (altitude) & n
Using R ~ V
2

/gn, e ~ V

/R = a

/R. So e ~ M

at const h & R
For high Mach numbers, the turn radius gets large
R
min
and e
max
1/2
Using V

= (2L/

SC
L
)
1/2
= (2nW/

SC
L
)
R ~ V
2

/gn becomes R = 2(W/S)/ g

C
L
W/S = wing loading, an important performance parameter
And using n = L/W =

V
2

SC
L
/2W
e ~ gn/ V

= g

V

C
L
/2(W/S)
For each airplane, W/S set by range, payload, V
max
.
Then, for a given airplane
e
R
min
= 2(W/S)/ g

C
L,max
max
= g

V

C
L,max
/2(W/S)
Higher C
L,max
gives superior turning performance.
But does n
CL,max
=

V
2

C
L,max
/2(W/S) exceed structural limits?
V-n diagram
V*
2n W
max
0
q

>

q
m
a
x

V*
C
L
< C
Lmax
C
L
< C
Lmax
Stall area
Stall area
Structural damage
Structural damage
L
o
a
d

f
a
c
t
o
r

n

Positive limit load factor
Negative limit load factor
C
L, max

S
Highest
possible e=
Lowest
possible R
Each airplane has a V-n diagram.
Source: Anderson
8
V
Summary on Turning
Want large structural load factor n
Want large C
L,MAX
Want small V

Shortest turn radius, maximum turn rate is
Corner Velocity
Question, does the aircraft have the power
to execute these maneuvers?
Specific Energy and Excess Power
Total aircraft energy = PE + KE
E
tot
= mgh + mV
2
/2
Specific energy = (PE + KE)/W
H
e
= h + V
2
/2g energy height
Excess Power = (T-D)V
Specific excess power*
= (TV-DV)/W
= dH
e
/dt
P
s
= dh/dt + V/g dV/dt
P
s
may be used to change altitude, or accelerate, or both
* Called specific power in Lockheed Martin notes.
Excess Power
Power Required
P
R
= DV

= q

S(C
D,0
+ C
2
/tARe)V
L
= q

SC
D,0
V

+ q

SV

C
2
/tARe
L
=

SC
D,0
V
3

/2 + 2n
2
W
2
/

SV

tARe
Excess power
depends upon
velocity, altitude
and load factor
V
8

P
R
P
A
P
o
w
e
r

Excess
power
Parasite power
Induced power
required
required
Power Available
P
A
= TV

and Thrust is approximately
constant with velocity, but varies
linearly with density.
Altitude Effects on Excess Power
P
R
= DV

= (nW/L) DV

= nWV

C
D
/C
L
From L=

SV
2

C
L
/2 = nW, get
1/2
V

= (2nW/

SC
L
)
Substitute in P
R
to get
1/2
P
R
= (2n
3
W
3
C
2
D
/

SC
3
L
)
So can scale between sea level 0 and
altitude alt assuming C
D
,C
L
const.
1/2
V
alt
= V
0
(
0
/
alt
)
1/2
, P
R,alt
= P
R,0
(
0
/
alt
)
Thrust scales with density, so
P
A,alt
= P
A,0
(
alt
/
0
)
Summary of Power Characteristics
H
e
= specific energy represents state of aircraft. Units are in
feet.
Curves are universal
P
s
= (T/W-D/W)V= specific excess power
Represents ability of aircraft to change energy state.
Curves depend upon aircraft (thrust and drag)
Maybe used to climb and/or accelerate
Function of altitude
Function of load factor
Military pilots fly with P
s
diagrams in the cockpit,
Anderson
A/C Performance Summary
h h h h
V V V
app
V
N/A
Factor Commercial
Transport
Military
Transport
Fighter General Aviation
Liebeck Take-off
obs
= 35
obs
= 50
obs
= 50
obs
= 50
Liebeck Landing
app
= 1.3 V
stall app
= 1.2 V
stall
= 1.2 V
stall app
= 1.3 V
stall
Climb Liebeck
Level Flight Liebeck
Range Breguet Range Radius of action*.
Uses refueling
Breguet for prop
Endurance,
Loiter
E (hrs) = R (miles)/V(mph), where R = Breguet Range
Turning,
Maneuver
Emergency handling Major
performance
factor
Emergency
handling
Supersonic
Dash
N/A Important N/A
Service
Ceiling
100 fpm climb
Lectures 6 and 7 for commercial and military transport
* Radius of action comprised of outbound leg, on target leg, and return.
Stability and Control
Performance topics
deal with forces and
translational motion
needed to fulfill the
aircraft mission
Stability and control
topics deal with
moments and
rotational motion
needed for the aircraft
to remain controllable.
S&C Definitions
L' L - rolling moment
Lateral motion/stability

Longitudinal
motion/control
M
M - pitching moment
Elevator deflection
N
Rudder deflection
N - rolling moment
Directional motion/control
M
Moment coefficient:
C
M
q

Sc
Aircraft Moments
Aerodynamic center (ac): forces and moments can be completely
specified by the lift and drag acting through the ac plus a moment about
the ac
C
M,ac
is the aircraft pitching moment at L = 0 around any point
Contributions to pitching moment about cg, C
M,cg
come from
Lift and C
M,ac
Thrust and drag - will neglect due to small vertical separation from cg
Lift on tail
Airplane is trimmed when C
M,cg
= 0
Absolute Angle of Attack
L
i
f
t
s
l
o
p
e
=

C

L=0
d
C
L

d

L
i
f
t
s
l
o
p
e
=

C
d
C
L

d

C
L

a
C
L
L, max L, max
Lift coefficient vs geometric angle of attack, Lift coefficient vs absolute angle of attack,
a
Stability and control analysis simplified by using
the absolute angle of attack which is 0 at C
L
= 0.
o
a
= o=+ o
L=0
Criteria for Longitudinal Static Stability
C
M,0

a
C
M,cg

e
S
l
o
p
e
=

d
C
M
,c
g
d

a

( Trimmed)
C
M,0
must be positive
cC
M,cg
must be negative
co
a
Implied that o
e
is within flight range of angle of attack
for the airplane, i.e. aircraft can be trimmed
Moment Around cg
M
cg
M
ac
wb
+=L
wb
(hc=h c)=l
t
L
t ac
L
Divide by q

Sc and note that C

L,t
t
q

S
t
l S
(h =h ) =
t t
C
L,t
, or C
M,cg
C
M,ac
wb
+C
L
wb
ac
cS
l S
(h =h ) =V
H
C
L,t
, where V
H
t t
C
M,cg
C
M,ac
wb
+C
L
wb
ac
cS
(h =h )=V
H
C
L,t
C
M,cg
C
M,ac
wb
+C
L
wb
ac
do=
a, wb
C
L
wb
dC
L
wb
o
a, wb
a
wb
o
L
i
f
t
s
l
o
p
e
=
d
C
l
d

C
l
C
l, max
C
l, t
a
t
o a
t
(o
wb
=i
t
c )
t
where c is the downwash at the
tail due to the lift on the wing
|
cc
| =

L=0 o c= c
0
+
= |
a, wb
\ co.

stall

| =
cc
| =
\
|
=a
t
(i
t
+c
0
) C
L, t
a
t
o
a, wb

1
co.
At this point, the
convention is drop
the wbon a
wb
+=ao (h =h )=V
H

1=
|
( +V
H
a
t
(
i
t
+c
0
)
C
M,cg
C
M,ac
wb
=
ac
a
t
| =
cc
|
( =
a
=
a\ co
(
=
.
=
Eqs for Longitudinal Static Stability
+=ao (h =h )=V
H

1=
|
( +V
H
a i C
M,cg
C
M,ac
wb
=
ac
a
t
| =
cc
|
( =
t
(
t
+c
0
)
C
M,cg
a
=
a\ co.
(
=
C
M,0
=C
M,cg
C
M,0

e
S
l
o
p
e
=

d
C
M
,c
g
d

a

( Trimmed)
| = | =
= | i
\ .
l 0
C
M,ac
wb
+V
H
a
t
(
t
+c
0
)=
cC
M,cg
=
)=V
H
a
t
| =
cc
|
( =
a (h =h

1=
|
( =
=
ac
co=
a

a\ co
(
.

a
C
M,acwb
< 0, V
H
> 0, o
t
> 0 =i
t
> 0 for C
M,0
> 0
Tail must be angled down to generate negative lift
to trim airplane
Major effect of cg location (h) and tail parameter V
H
=
(lS)
t
/(cs)in determining longitudinal static stability
Neutral Point and Static Margin
cC
M,cg
=
)=V
H
a
t
| =
cc
|
( =
a (h =h

1=
|
( =
=
ac
co=
a

a\ co
(
.
=
The slope of the moment curve will vary with h, the
location of cg.
If the slope is zero, the aircraft has neutral longitudinal
static stability.
a
t
| =
cc
| =
Let this location be denote by
h
n
h
ac
+V
H

1=
| =
a\ co.
c
( )
=a h =h
C
M,cg
a h =h
( )
=a static margin
n n
or
co=
a
For a given airplane, the neutral point is at a fixed location.
For longitudinal static stability, the position of the center of
gravity must always be forward of the neutral point.
The larger the static margin, the more stable the airplane
Longitudinal Static Stability
Aerodynamic center
location moves aft for
supersonic flight
cg shifts with fuel burn,
stores separation,
configuration changes
Balancing is a significant design requirement
Amount of static stability affects handling qualities
Fly-by-wire controls required for statically unstable aircraft
Todays References
Lockheed Martin Notes on Fighter Performance
John Anderson Jr. , Introduction to Flight, McGraw-
Hill, 3rd ed, 1989, Particularly Chapter 6 and 7
Shevell, Richard S., Fundamentals of Flight, Prentice
Hall, 2nd Edition, 1989
Bertin, John J. and Smith, Michael L., Aerodynamics
for Engineers, Prentice Hall, 3rd edition, 1998
Daniel Raymer, Aircraft Design: A Conceptual
Approach, AIAA Education Series, 3rd edition, 1999,
Particularly Chapter 17
Note: There are extensive cost and weight estimation
relationships in Raymer for military aircraft.