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Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft

Part I: THE AGE OF PROPELLERS

Chapter 6: Design Maturity, 1945-80

General Aviation Aircraft

[143] The term "general aviation" covers all types of flying except military
and commercial airline operations. Only contemporary aircraft designed for
business and pleasure are considered here. General aviation aircraft designed
for business and pleasure are available in both single-engine and twin-engine
models; most models are equipped with horizontally opposed reciprocating
engines. However, several high-performance turboprop types are offered.
Single-engine types may be had with high- or low-wing location, retractable or
fixed landing gear, controllable-pitch or fixed-pitch propeller, and in sizes
varying from two place to seven place. The twin-engine aircraft usually employ
the lowwing location and have retractable landing gear and controllable-pitch
propellers. The twins may be had with or without turbosupercharging, with or
without pressurized cabins, and with varying seating capacities. The modern
aircraft designed for business or pleasure is almost invariably of all-metal
construction, as contrasted with the metal, wood, and fabric construction
typical of the pre-World War II general aviation aircraft. Reliability of the
internal systems employed in the aircraft and the precision of the radio and
navigational equipment have greatly improved as compared with pre-World
War II standards. The general aviation aircraft of today are almost universally
equipped with an electrical system to power the radios and other types of
equipment installed in the aircraft and to operate the self-starter. Hand
starting of production aircraft is a thing of the past. The cabins of these
aircraft are generally relatively comfortable, are equipped with heaters for
wintertime and high-altitude use, and are sometimes equipped with air

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conditioning for use on the ground and at low altitudes in the summer. The
open cockpit is a thing of the past in production aircraft, except for special
sport and aerobatic aircraft. Many aircraft employ complete instrumentation
and communication equipment for flight under IFR conditions. Most
contemporary aircraft employ a tricycle gear that greatly eases the problem
of aircraft handling on the ground. The basic aerodynamic configuration of
contemporary general aviation aircraft, however, differs little from those in
use in 1939.

Contemporary Types, 1970-80

General aviation aircraft are manufactured in a number of different countries;

however, the majority of these aircraft are produced in the United States. The
major U.S. producers are the Cessna Aircraft Company, the Piper Aircraft
Corporation, and the Beech Aircraft Corporation. [144] Each offers a wide
variety of aircraft designed for various needs and markets. Six aircraft of
different levels of performance, size, and price produced by these
manufacturers for different segments of the market are briefly described
here.

Two single-engine aircraft representative of the lower performance and price

spectrum are shown in figures 6.4 and 6.5. The Piper Cherokee 180 shown in
figure 6.4 is an all-metal aircraft with an internally braced, cantilever wing
mounted in the low position. The aircraft shown has four seats and is
equipped with a 180-horsepower, four-cylinder Lycoming engine of the
opposed type. The engine drives a fixed-pitch propeller. The landing gear on
the aircraft is fixed, and although not visible in the photograph, the
horizontal tall employed on the Cherokee is of the all-moving type equipped
with a geared tab. The Cherokee 180 has a maximum speed of 148 miles per
hour at sea level and cruises at 141 miles per hour at 7000 feet. The stalling
speed with the split flaps deflected is 61 miles per hour. The gross weight of
the aircraft is indicated in table III to be 2450 pounds. The Cherokee 180 is
representative of one of the lower cost members of a complete family of Piper
aircraft that carry the Cherokee name. Some of these aircraft have six or
seven seats and more powerful engines that drive controllable-pitch
propellers. Other versions of the Cherokee employ a retractable landing gear.
The flight of the first production aircraft was made in February 1961, and
well over 25 000 Cherokees of all types have now been produced.

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Figure 6.4 - Piper Cherokee 180 contemporary general aviation aircraft.

[NASA] [Original photo was in color, Chris Gamble, html editor]

[145] Figure 6.5 - Cessna Skyhawk contemporary general aviation aircraft.

[mfr]

The Cessna Skyhawk shown in figure 6.5 is one of the lower cost members of
an entire series of Cessna aircraft of the same basic configuration. The
Skyhawk, like the Cherokee 180, is equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear
and has a four-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine driving a fixed-pitch

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propeller. Unlike the Cherokee 180, however, the Cessna Skyhawk is a

high-wing configuration with a single wing strut on either side of the fuselage
to brace the wing. The Skyhawk has a maximum speed of 144 miles per hour
and cruises at 138 miles per hour at 8000 feet. The stalling speed with the
flaps deflected is 49 miles per hour. The gross weight of the Cessna Skyhawk
is 2300 pounds, and the wing loading and power loading are 13.1 pounds per
square foot and 15.3 pounds per horsepower, respectively. These values are
in the same order as those shown in table III for the Piper Cherokee. The
zero-lift drag coefficient of the Skyhawk is 0.0319 as compared with 0.0358
for the Cherokee, and the maximum lift-drag ratios for the two aircraft are
11.6 and 10.0, respectively.

Two representative high-performance single-engine general aviation aircraft

are shown in figures 6.6 and 6.7. The Beech Bonanza V-35B shown in figure
6.6 is of all-metal construction, has an internally braced wing mounted in the
low position, has single-slotted flaps, and is equipped with a fully retractable
tricycle landing gear. The aircraft is equipped with a six-cylinder, horizontally
opposed Continental engine of 285 horsepower that drives a
controllable-pitch propeller. The aircraft...

[146] Figure 6 6 - Beech Bonanza V-35B contemporary general aviation

aircraft. [mfr]

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...can be configured for four, five, or six seats. Data for the Bonanza are given
in table III. The unique Butterfly tail combines the stability and control
functions of both the conventional vertical and horizontal tails. The gross
weight of the aircraft is 3400 pounds. The aircraft has a maximum speed of
210 miles per hour at sea level, cruises at 203 miles per hour at 6500 feet,
and has a stalling speed of 63 miles per hour. The zero-lift drag coefficient is
a very low 0.0192, and the corresponding maximum lift-drag ratio is 13.8.
The prototype of the Bonanza first flew in December 1945, and the aircraft
has been continuously in production since 1947. Approximately 10 000
Beech Bonanzas have been built.

The Cessna Cardinal RG II shown in figure 6.7 is a high-performance aircraft

with an internally braced wing mounted in the high position. The aircraft is
equipped with a fully retractable tricycle landing gear and is equipped with a
four-cylinder, horizontally opposed, Lycoming engine of 200 horsepower that
drives a controllable-pitch propeller. The Cardinal is of all-metal construction
and is equipped with trailing-edge flaps and an all-moving horizontal tail
employing a geared trim tab. The aircraft has a maximum speed of 180 miles
per hour at sea level, cruises at 171 miles per hour at 7000 feet, and has a
stalling speed of 57 miles per hour. The aircraft weighs 2800 pounds. The...

[147] Figure 6 7 - Cessna Cardinal RG II contemporary general aviation

aircraft. [mfr]

...zero-lift drag coefficient of the Cardinal is 0.0223, and the corresponding

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maximum lift-drag ratio is 14.2.

The first twin-engine aircraft designed specifically for business use was
probably the Beech Model D-18, first produced in 1937. This aircraft was
similar to the Douglas DC-3 in general appearance, although much smaller,
and was in continuous production from 1937 until the early 1970's. A wide
variety of twin-engine aircraft of various sizes and with different levels of
performance are now offered for business use. Two contemporary
twin-engine aircraft are shown in figures 6.8 and 6.9.

The Cessna 310 shown in figure 6.8 is representative of one of the smaller
contemporary twin-engine aircraft offered for business use. The aircraft is a
low-wing configuration with an engine mounted in each wing on either side of
the fuselage. The aircraft can be had with both normally aspirated engines or
with turbosuperchargers. The specifications and performance given in table III
are for the aircraft without turbosupercharging. The engines are six-cylinder,
horizontally opposed, Continental engines of 285 horsepower each that drive
controllable-pitch, full-feathering propellers. The aircraft normally has a
seating capacity of five but can be configured for six. Maximum speed is 238
miles per hour at sea level, and cruising speed is 223 miles per hour at 7500
feet. The wings are equipped with split flaps which with a wing loading of
30.7 pounds per square foot result in a stalling speed of 77 miles per hour.
The gross weight of the aircraft is 5500 pounds. The...

[148] Figure 6 8 - Cessna 310 contemporary twin-engine general aviation

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aircraft. [mfr]

...Cessna 310 has a zero-lift drag coefficient of 0.0267 and a maximum

lift-drag ratio of 13. The Cessna 310 was first flown in January 1953 and has
been in continuous production ever since. The aircraft is unpressurized and
may be thought of as the smallest of a whole line of Cessna twins, both
pressurized and unpressurized.

The Beech Super King Air 200 shown in figure 6.9 is an example of a new,
relatively large, high-performance twin-engine business aircraft. Provision is
provided for 2 pilots and 6 to 13 passengers, depending on the
configuration. The cabin is pressurized to permit comfortable cruising flight
at high altitudes. Power is provided by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-41
turboprop engines of 850 shaft horsepower each. The engines drive
controllable-pitch, full-feathering, reversible propellers. The low-wing
configuration of the aircraft is conventional although the use of a T-tail on a
straight-wing propeller-driven aircraft is somewhat unusual. The use of this
tail arrangement is said to reduce both vibration resulting from the slipstream
of the engines and trim changes with flap deflection. The aspect ratio of the
wing is 9.8, which must be considered as relatively high for any aircraft. The
King Air 200 has a maximum speed of 333 miles per hour at 15 000 feet and
a maximum cruising speed of 320 miles per hour at 25 000 feet. The aircraft
is equipped with single-slotted flaps that together with a wing loading...

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[149] Figure 6.9 - Beech Super King Air 200 contemporary twin-engine
turboprop general aviation aircraft. [mfr]

....of 41.3 pounds per square foot give a stalling speed of 92 miles per hour.
The gross weight of the aircraft is 12 500 pounds. The Beech Super King Air
200 was certified in December 1973 and is now in series production.

Other Types of General Aviation Aircraft

The six aircraft just described may be considered as representative of generic

classes of aircraft designed for business and pleasure use. In order to gain a
true appreciation of the wide variety of such aircraft offered today, the reader
is referred to the current year's issue of Jane's All The World's Aircraft. Other
types of aircraft of interest and not described here are specially designed
agricultural aircraft intended for spraying and dusting crops. These aircraft
will also be found in Jane's, as will many types of sport and aerobatic aircraft.
Another segment of general aviation aircraft is made up of the so-called home
builts. These aircraft, which are built by individuals or clubs at home, are
gaining in popularity and are flown in relatively large numbers in this country.
They are usually not certified under any of the pertinent federal air regulations
but, rather, operate in an experimental category. Many of the more popular
types of home-built designs are also described in Jane's All The World's
Aircraft.

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Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft

Appendix A (continued)

[ 4 8 4 - 4 8 5 ] Table III- Characteristics of Illustrative Aircraft, 1939-80

Aircraft; Physical characteristics Performance characteristics

engine;
and Po Wg We b aircraft
S Wg/ S Wg/ P o V a a Vs C (L/D)
m a x Vc D , o f A
references

Consolidated
B-24J;
290
Pratt & d1200 56 38 110.0 67.2 1048 53.4 f 215 95 0.0406 42.54 11.55 12.9
11.7
Whitney 000 000 (h= 25
R-1830-65; 000)

58, 118.
Boeing B-29;
357
b Wright d 120 74 f
141.3 99 1736 69.1 13.6 (h= 25 253 105 0.0241 41.16 11.50 16.8
3350-57; 2200 000 500
000)
58, 118.
Martin
B-26F;
274
Pratt & d 37 23 f
71.0 56.0 658 56.2 9.3 122 0.0314 20.66 7.66 12.0
Whitney 2000 000 700 (h= 15 225
R-2800; 000)

58, 118.
North
American
P-51D; 437
10 7 f
1490 37.0 32.3 233 43.4 6.8 100 0.0163 3.80 5.86 14.6
Rolls-Royce 100 125 (h= 25 362
V-1650; 000)

63, 66, 118.

Lockheed
P-38L;
414
e 17 12
Allison 52.0 37.9 327.5 53.4 6.9 - 105 0.0268 8.78 8.26 13.5
1470 500 800 (h= 25
V-1710-111; 000)

63,118.

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Grumman
F6F-3;
375
Pratt & 12 9 f
2000 42.8 33.6 334 37.3 6.2 84 0.0211 7.05 5.34 12.2
Whitney 441 101 (h= 17 160
R-2800; 300)

63, 118.
Curtiss
SB2C-1;
281
14 10 f
Wright 1750 49.8 36.7 422 34.9 10.2 79 0.0225 9.52 5.88 12.4
730 114 (h= 12 158
R-2600-8; 400)

109, 118.
Lockheed
L.1049G; 331
352
d 133
Wright - 123.0 113.5 1650 80.6 10.2 (h= 100 0.0211 34.82 9.17 16.0
3250 000 (h= 10
R-3350; 23
500)
000)
14, 67.
Vickers
Viscount c 334
(700 series);
d 60 36
93.8 81.2 963 62.3 9.4 - (h= - - - 9.14 -
Rolls-Royce 1600 000 776
25
Dart 506; 000)

14, 67.
Lockheed
C-130; 386

c Allison d 155 75 (h= 115 -

132.6 97.7 1745 88.8 7.9 - - 10.08 -
4910 000 331 20
T-56;
000)
16.
Piper
Cherokee; 141

2 1
Lycoming 180 32.0 24.0 170 14.4 13.6 148 (h= 61 0.0358 6.09 6.02 10.0
450 386
0-360; 7
000)
15.
Cessna
Skyhawk;
138
2 1
Lycoming 150 35.0 26.9 175 13.1 15.3 144 49 0.0319 5.58 7.32 11.6
300 350 (h=8
0-320; 000)

16.

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Beech
Bonanza
203
V-35;
3 2
285 33.5 26.4 181 18.8 11.9 210 (h= 63 0.0192 3.48 6.20 13.8
Continental 400 051
6
I0-520;
500)

16.
Cessna
Cardinal RG
171
II;
2 1
200 36.5 27.3 174 16.1 14.0 180 (h= 57 0.0223 3.88 7.66 14.2
Lycoming 800 750
7
0-360;
000)

16.
Cessna 310
II; 223

Continental e285 5 3
36.9 29.3 179 30.7 9.7 238 (h= 77 0.0267 4.78 7.61 13.0
500 417
I0-520; 7
500)
16.
Beech Super
King Air 200;
320
333
Pratt &
12 7
Whitney e 850 54.5 43.8 303 41.3 6.9 (h= 92 - - 9.80 -
500 315 (h= 15
(Canada) 25
000)
PT6A-41; 000)

16.

a all speeds are for sea level unless otherwise noted.

b Aerodynamic parameters based on data in B-29 Cruise Control Manual.
c Uncertaintites about power variation with altitude prevented estimation of aerodynamic

parameters.
d For each of the engines.
e For each of the engines.
f Altitude.

Appendix A (continued)

[ 4 8 6 - 4 8 7 ] Table IV - Characteristics of Illustrative Flying Boats

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Aircraft;
Physical characteristics Performance characteristics
engine;

and Po Wg We b S W g / S W g / P o V m a xa
aircraft Vc a V s CD , o f A
references
Curtiss H16;
10 7 1 e
Liberty; b400 95.1 46.1 9.4 13.6 95 e86 0.0768 85.92 9.40
900 400 164 60
93, 118.
Curtiss HS-2L;
6 4 e
Liberty; 350 74.0 39.0 803 8.0 18.4 83 e 76 0.0676 54.24 8.24
432 300 56
93, 118, 109.
Curtiss F-5L;
13 8 1 e
Liberty; b 400 103.0 49.3 9.7 17.0 90 e 82 0.0694 96.95 9.33
600 720 397 61
93, 118, 109.
Navy-Curtiss
NC-4;
c 400 27 15 2 e
126.0 68.3 11.5 17.1 85 e77 0.0899 213.96 8.07
Liberty; 386 874 380 67

93, 118, 109.

Martin PM-1;

Wright b 575 16 8 1 e 108

72.8 49.2 13.1 14.0 119 61 0.0478 59.08 5.19
R-1820-64; 117 970 236

93, 118, 109.

Hall XP2H-1;

Curtiss c 600 35 20 2
112.0 70.2 12.9 14.8 139 120 59 0.0291 79.76 5.54
V-1570-54; 393 856 742

6, 118
Loening
OA-1C;
5 3 e 111 e
Packard 475 45.0 35.1 504 10.5 11.2 122 0.0458 23.08 4.86
316 673 60
1A-2500;

88, 89, 109.

Sikorsky
S-38B;

Pratt & b 420 10 6

71.7 40.3 720 14.6 12.5 125 110 55 0.0543 39.10 7.14
Whitney 480 500
R-1340;

5, 67.

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Consolidated
Commodore;

Pratt &
17 11 1 e
Whitney b 575 100.1 68.0 15.9 15.3 e120 108 0.0562 62.38 9.00
600 500 110 66
R-1690 Series
B;

67.
Dornier Do X;

Curtiss d640 105 76 4 e 122 e

157.5 131.3 21.9 13.8 134 0.0472 228.64 5.12
V-1570; 820 764 844 75

67, 114, 93.

Sikorsky
S-42;
182 170
Pratt & c 700 38 24 1 e
114.2 64.2 28.4 13.6 0.0362 47.51 9.73
Whitney (h=5000) 000 000 340 (h = (h = 70
R-1690-T1C1; 5000) 12000)

67, 114, 93.

Martin 130;
180 163
Pratt &
c 950 52 24 2 e
Whitney 130.0 90.9 24.1 13.8 0.0303 65.75 7.88
252 611 170 (h = (h = 80
R-1830-G9;
7000) 7000)

9, 24, 67, 93.

Boeing 314;
201 184
Wright
c 1 600 84 48 2
GR-2600; 152.0 106.0 29.3 13.1 70 0.0274 78.56 8.06
000 400 867 (h = (h =
6200) 11000)
67, 11, 93,
99.
Douglas
Dolphin;

Pratt & b 450 9 6 e 139 e

60.0 45.1 592 15.9 10.4 153 0.0430 25.46 6.08
Whitney 387 377 64
R-1340-96;

5, 93, 109.
Grumman
G-21;
201 191
Pratt & b 450 8 5 e
49.0 38.5 375 21.3 8.9 0.0325 12.19 6.40
Whitney 000 425 (h = (h = 61
R-985-AN-6; 5000) 5000)

9, 23.

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Fleetwings
F-5;
3 2 e
285 40.5 32.0 235 19.0 13.2 150 135 0.0345 8.11 7.25
Jacobs L-5; 750 450 53

9.
Consolidated
PBY-5A;
179
Pratt &
33 20 1 e
Whitney b 1 200 104.0 63.8 24.3 14.2 117 0.0309 43.26 7.73
975 910 400 (h = 79
R-1830-92;
7000)
24, 64, 93,
109, 118.
Consolidated
PB2Y-3;
224
Pratt &
68 41 1 e
Whitney c 1 200 115.0 79.3 38.2 14.2 140 0.0281 50.02 7.43
000 031 780 (h = 76
R-1830-88;
19500)
109, 118, 93,
64.
Martin
PBM-3D;
202
Wright b1 900 51 32 1 e
118.0 79.8 36.7 13.6 135 0.0327 46.04 9.89
R-2600-22; 608 848 408 (h = 76
15900)
109, 118, 93,
64.
Martin JRM-1;

Wright c2 200 145 78 3 e

200.0 123.2 39.4 16.5 222 153 0.0233 84.34 10.86
R-3350-B; 000 805 683 88

13, 109, 118.

Martin P5M-2;

Wright b 3450 76 49 1
181.1 100.2 54.5 10.4 251 159 112 0.0275 38.67 9.92
R-3350-32W; 595 218 406

14, 109, 118.

a all speeds are for sea level unless otherwise noted.

b For each of two engines.
c For each of four engines.
d For each of twelve engines.
e Estimated

Appendix A continues

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