MAE 154S: Homework 1

Due Friday October 17, 2014

Problem 1:

The following data was obtained during a wind tunnel test of a wing.

At C
L
= 0.1, C
m,c/4
= -0.126
At C
L
= 0.6, C
m,c/4
= -0.150

Find the location of the aerodynamic center for this wing. You can assume that the
angles of attack are small. (Note: normally we assume the aerodynamic center is at the !
chord, but that is not the case for this wing)

Problem 2:
(McCormick P3.6slightly modified) Consider an airplane weighing 5000 lb, traveling
at 200 mph, and with a wing area of 250 sq. ft. While keeping the wing area constant,
vary the aspect ratio and examine its effect on the vertical acceleration experienced due to
a vertical wind gust. Assume a gust velocity, V
G
, of 30 fps. Note: When an airplane
encounters a gust, its angle of attack is suddenly increased by V
G
/V.
What do your results tell you about the relationship between an aircrafts aspect ratio and
the severity of its gust response?


Problem 3:

An airplane with a wing area of 450 ft
2
and a span of 70 ft is flying at a pressure altitude
of 8000 ft at a speed of 280 mph. The wing has a geometric angle of attack of 4 above
the angle for zero lift (!
L=0
). Assume the two-dimensional lift curve slope is 95% of the
theoretical value. Determine:

a. Lift in pounds.
b. Parasite drag if the value of C
D0
is 0.0190.
c. The induced drag coefficient.
d. The induced drag.
e. The total drag.
f. The ratio of lift to drag.

Problem 4:
At speeds where compressibility may be ignored,

C
D
= C
D0
+C
L
2
/("Ae)

a. Determine the C
L
for best C
L
/C
D
. (Hint: max (C
L
/C
D
) = min (C
D
/C
L
) ).
b. What is the maximum ratio of lift to drag (C
L
to C
D
) in terms of C
D0
, A, and e?

Problem 5:

An aircraft with a weight of 5000 lbs has a wing area of 250 sq. ft. The lift-curve slope
(C
L
!
) is 6.0 per radian, and the angle of attack for zero lift (!
L=0
) is -2.
a. Calculate the angle of attack of this airplane while in level flight at a speed
of 200 mph under standard sea level conditions.
b. At 200 mph, how much drag is acting on the aircraft while in level flight if
the drag polar is:
C
D
= 0.02 +0.05C
L
2