BAB 5.

FLIGHT, MANOUVER &

PERFORMANCE

1. PENDAHULUAN
The term mechanics of flight applies to all problems involving a consideration of
he forces on an aircraft in flight, and the response of the aircraft to these forces in
different circumstances. It covers unsteady and non-equilibrium conditions as well as
steady ones. In this chapter, we shall look only at some elementary problems in this
field, including straight and level flight, gliding, climbing and turning.

2. Steady, Straight and Level Flight

Consider first an aircraft flying at constant speed, V, in a horizontal straight line.
They consist of a vertical lift force, L, and the weight, W, also vertical, together, with
the engine thrust, T, which is here assumed to be horizontal, as is the drag force, D.
Since his is an equilibrium condition, it follows that
L = W and T = D,
and the lift-weight couple is equal and opposite to the thrust-drag couple. In fact, the
Ines of action of the thrust and drag forces lie very close together, so that the moment
of this couple is small, and is often neglected. We shall neglect it in the work which
follows.
This amounts to an assumption that the lift-weight couple is also negligible, i.e., that the
overall lift force acts through the aircraft centre of gravity, as the weight does. A further
simplifying assumption that we shall make is that the contribution of the fuselage to lift
is negligible, so that we may treat the aircraft simply as a combination of a wing and a
horizontal tailplane.
The basic function of the tailplane may be understood from a consideration of
what would happen to a wing alone. Suppose that equilibrium is achieved at a given
incidence, so that the lift-weight couple is zero. If the incidence is now increased, say,
the centre of pressure moves forwards, so that a finite lift-weight couple is created, in
the nose-up sense, and it is thus impossible to maintain equilibrium in this new attitude.
In order to do so, it is necessary to balance this newly-created moment, and this is
done by means of a horizontal tailplane fitted with an elevator, i.e., a trailing edge flap
control. The elevator angle may be varied by the pilot in order to control the tail load,
i.e„ the lift of the tailplane, and so to provide a balancing moment at all incidences. This
process is known as trimming tile aircraft, and a condition of equilibrium is known as a
trim condition. The loads on the tailplane are very small compared with the wing lift,
because the point of application of the tail load is far behind the aircraft centre of
gravity, whereas the wing centre of pressure is close to it. The tail sometimes provides
an upload, i.e., positive tail lift, and sometimes a download, i.e., negative tail lift, and for
this reason is usually symmetrical in section. We shall denote the lift of the tailplane by
LT, and the distance of the tail centre of pressure, or aerodynamic centre, from the
aircraft centre of gravity by 1. This distance is known as the tail lift arm.
Tail loads may then be determined from the system of forces, The system is in
equilibrium. The wing lift, Lw, is shown acting through tile wing centre of pressure, and x
is tile known distance of' this centre of pressure aft of the aircraft centre of gravity, G.
Equating the resultant vertical force to zero, and taking moments about C, we obtain
LT + LW = W
LT (1-x) + W . x = 0
These equations may then easily be solved to give Lw and L, For simplicity it is often
assumed that, since L, is much less than Lw, Lw -W. In any case, we shall from now
onwards denote the wing lift simply by L, not Lw, since it is so little different from the
total lift. LT < 0, and the tail carries a download. However, because x varies with
incidence, it is often more convenient to express the wing lift as a force through the
fixed aerodynamic centre of the wing, plus a moment.
3. Gliding
Consider now an aircraft in a steady glide, i.e„ a descent without engine power, along a
straight path.

The angle between the flight path and the horizontal is called the gliding angle, or the
angle of glide, and is denoted by y. The forces on the aircraft are lift, drag and weight,
in the directions indicated in the diagram, and, as we have observed, there is no engine
thrust. Since the condition is steady, the forces are in equilibrium, and resolving normal
and parallel to the flight path gives
L = W cos y, so that the lift is less than the weight,
and D = W sin y. Thus cot y = L / D
Thus, for a given aircraft, the angle of glide is determined solely by its lift-drag ratio,
which depends only on its incidence, and is independent of its weight. The higher the
lift-drag ratio, the less steep is the flight path. This result applies only in the absence of
wind. If there is a wind, then the angle of glide relative to the ground is altered. The
effect of wind will be discussed later in this section.
The air range, R, in a glide is defined as the horizontal distance covered,
relative to the air, in a descent to the ground from a given height, H, say. Then, clearly,
R = H cot y = H. L / D
so that the air range is a maximum when the lift-drag ratio is a maximum, and its value
is also independent of weight. Thus, to achieve maximum range in a glide in still air, it
is necessary to fly at the minimum drag speed. We may further observe here that the
approach distance to a landing strip is reduced by adopting a steeper glide path, and
this involves using a smaller lift-drag ratio, i.e., increasing the drag.
The vertical component of velocity in a glide is called the rate of descent, or
the rate of glide, or sometimes the sinking speed. We shall denote it here by Y,
Clearly,

And
 To calculate the minimum rate of descent from this equation, we need to know
the drag characteristics of the aircraft, i.e., the constants a and b in the equation Co = a
+ bC/2. We may approximate by noting that, Since CL is much greater than CD, then, a
fortiori, C/2 is much greater than Cd2 and

To achieve minimum rate of descent, therefore, we need to fly at the incidence and
speed for which C/3/2/Cd is a maximum.
The sinking speed increases with the weight of the aircraft, and is also greater at
attitude, where the density is less than at sea level. Thus the minimum rate of descent
decreases as the aircraft descends.

5. Climbing
Consider now an aircraft in a steady climb along a straight flight path inclined at
an angle y to the horizontal. y is called the angle of climb. The forces on the aircraft
consist of lift, normal to the flight path, thrust and drag, parallel to it, and weight.
Resolution of forces normal and parallel to the flight path gives
L = W. cos y, so that L is again less than W,
and T - D = W. sin y.
From the second of these equations, we may write

where Vc, is the vertical component of velocity, known as the rate of climb. Now TV is
the power supplied by the engine, while DV is the power used up in overcoming drag.
Thus (T - D)V is the excess power, and this is equal to the rate at which work is done in
lifting the aircraft against gravity, i.e., to the weight times the vertical component of
velocity.
If the drag characteristics of the aircraft are known in the form CD = a + bC/2,
where a and b are known constants, and the thrust or power of the engine at a given
speed and setting is also known, then the rate of climb at that speed and engine setting
may be estimated. It is first assumed that the angle of climb is small, so that L == W.
From this value of L, CI, may be determined, and hence Cd. The drag may then be
calculated, and, if necessary, the power, DV, used in overcoming the drag. Hence the
excess power is determined, from which the rate of climb quickly follows.
Aircraft Performance
1. INTRODUCTION
We have known some of the limitations imposed on the range of speeds and
load factors within which a given aircraft can operate. These limitations were
i
ncorporated in an n-V diagram, and they were mainly associated with an aircraft
Performing some kind of manoeuvre, although the I g problem was included as a
special case. The limitations were imposed by the design and construction of the
airframe itself. !n this chapter we examine a further set of limitations. These will be set
by the limits to the capabilities of the aircraft's power plant, i.e., the thrust and power
available from the engine or engines, although the shape of the airframe will, of course,
play an important part in determining what performance can be obtained with a given
engine. In this context, we shall in general be examining not manoeuvres or
accelerated flight, but a variety of equilibrium conditions. In some cases, the load factor
will be a little different from 1, as in a climb, although we shall be concerned mainly with
unaccelerated climbs. For the most part, also, we shall neglect Mach number effects,
although these will nevitably come into the discussion of some problems. We shall
examine in some detail the performance of aircraft powered by piston engines and
turbo-jet engines. The results in the case of other types of power plant, such as turbo-
prop or rocket engines, will generally be somewhat different, because the
characteristics of the engine are different. Nevertheless, the general approach to the
solution of the performance problem remains the same.
To solve the performance problem we need to know the drag characteristics of
the airframe. This involves a knowledge of the variation with forward speed of the drag,
D, and the power required to overcome the drag. We shall denote this power by Pr.,-
We need to know how these drag and power characteristics vary with altitude and
weight. We further need to know the engine characteristics, in particular the variation
with forward speed of the maximum thrust and power available from the engine, which
w& shall denote by Tav, and Pav, respectively, and the way in which these
characteristics vary with altitude. The actual thrust, T, and power, P, being provided by
the engine at any given time or in any particular condition of flight may be less than or
equal to Tav, and Pav respectively. Further, we refer to the difference between the
available thrust and power and the thrust and power needed to overcome drag as the
excess thrust or power. THs is the extra thrust or power available to perform
manoeuvres, such as climbing.
 Once we are equipped with the above information about the engine and airframe,
we are in a position to resolve problems in performance, such as the determination of
maximum and minimum speeds, maximum rates of climb, ceiling, etc. To determine
maximum range or endurance we need further information concerning the rate of fuel
consumption.

2. Aircraft Characteristics
The drag characteristics arc based on the following relationship

where a and b are positive constants. At a given weight and altitude, the lift coefficient
is determined by the airspeed* V, and equation may be transformed into a relationship
between drag and velocity which is of the form

where k, and k2 are positive constants,

There is then a similar expression for power required, viz.

since Preq = DV, and another for the drag-velocity ratio, viz.,
3. Engine Characteristics
It now becomes necessary to examine the characteristics of the engine. We
shall not attempt here to explain engine performance in any detail, since this belongs to
a study of aircraft propulsion rather than aerodynamics. We shall ptesent only a brief
description of engine characteristics, and shall confine our attention to the two most
common types of aircraft power plant, viz., a piston-engine with a propeller, and
turbojet engine. Propeller performance is discussed in a little more detail latter.
The performance of a reciprocating, i.e, piston, engine is usually defined in
terms of the maximum power which the engine can supply, at optimum settings, at
various speeds and altitudes. The power supplied by the engine to the propeller is
called the brake power, which will be denoted here by BP. But the propeller is not a
perfectly efficient mechanism, and in passing on the energy to the airstream or aircraft,
some losses are sustained. The propeller efficiency, ti, is the ratio of the power
supplied to the aircraft to the brake power, usually expressed as a percentage. Thus
the power available, Pay, is given by

At constant altitude, the maximum brake power available from the engine is
more or less constant, i.e., independent of forward speed. The propeller efficiency,
however, is not. At low speeds, the efficiency of a variable pitch propeller increases
rapidly with speed, and even at higher speeds, it continues to increase, though much
less rapidly, until high speeds are reached. Thus the power available from the power
plant as a whole increases with speed. This variation of propeller efficiency with speed
is explained latter.
The effect of increasing attitude is in general to reduce the maximum brake
power, and hence the power available, mainly because of the reduction in atmospheric
pressure, except in the case of supercharged engines, where this power loss may be
offset by supercharging up to, but not beyond, the full throttle height. The general form
of the power available curves is indicated, where it is seen that the variation with speed
of propeller efficiency is not affected by attitude, but the maximum brake power is.

Jet engine performance is usually defined in terms of thrust rather than power.
This is because at constant. altitude the maximum thrust that such an engine can
provide at optimum engine setting is approximately constant, i.e., independent of
forward speed. There is some variation, however. Initial increase in speed from zero
results in a slight drop in thrust because the amount by which the air is speeded up in
passing through the engine is slightly reduced. This effect would continue, but, once
the speed is appreciable, it is offset by the effect of the rise in stagnation pressure of
the air entering the engine. This is known as ram effect, and it produces an increase in
thrust with increase in speed. Thus the graph of Tav, against V has a slight dip in it, as
indicated in the sea level curve.

4. Minimum Speed
In general, the minimum speed of an aircraft in straight and level flight is its
stalling speed. The true stalling speed increases with altitude, though the equivalent
stalling speed does not. At low altitudes, the power available from a piston engine is
generally considerably above the power required at the stalling speed, and there is no
power limitation on speed at the low speed end of the scale. At altitude, however, the
power available is reduced, while the power required is increased, and it may no longer
be possible to sustain straight and level flight at or just above the stalling speed. The
minimum speed is then given by the intersection of the power available and power
required curves. Thus, above a certain, altitude, the minimum speed will increase with
altitude much faster than the stalling speed. This intersection of the power curves is
illustrated

5. Maximum Speed
The maximum speed in straight and level flight is determined by the
intersection at the high speed end of the power available and power required curves,
or, in the case of a jet, the thrust and drag curves. At this speed, there is no further
power available to accelerate the aircraft.

With a piston engine, the maximum speed falls off with increasing altitude, at
least above the full throttle height. Up to this height, as a result of supercharging, the
power available curve may fall only slowly as altitude increases, because the boost
from the supercharger offsets the reduction in atmospheric pressure. In consequence,
the maximum speed may actually increase with altitude. Once the full throttle hei ht is
exceeded, however, no further increase in boost 9 may be obtained, and the power
available curve falls more rapidly, so that the maximum speed decreases with
increase in altitude.
With a jet engine, the maximum speed increases with altitude up to the
tropopause, because, although the thrust falls off it does so less rapidly than the drag
at a given true airspeed. Above the tropopause, however, the thrust falls off more
quickly, and the maximum speed falls as altitude increases.
We should note that if we express the maximum speed in terms of equivalent
rather than true airspeed, then it falls continuously with increasing altitude in both
cases. But it does so more rapidly above the full throttle height, in the case of a piston
engine, or above the tropopause, in the case of a jet. We may further note that, in the
case of a jet-engined aircraft, whose maximum speed is relatively high, the value
predicted by these methods may be unattainable because of Mach number effects. In
a curve of constant Mach number is superimposed, and it is clear how, if this is a
limiting Mach number, it prevents the value predicted earlier from being achieved.
With increasing weight, the power available curve remains the same, while the
power required curve is shifted upwards and to the right. The power required curve
lies entirely above that for a lower weight, and the maximum speed is obviously
reduced, as indicated for a piston-engined aircraft. Clearly, the argument applies
equally to a jet-engined aircraft, and may be explained in simple physical terms. If, on
increase in weight, the aircraft is to fly at the previous maximum speed, the lift
coefficient must be increased. This causes a simultaneous increase in drag coefficient,
and hence in drag. Thus more power is required, and, since none is available, the
speed must be reduced.

6. The Flight Envelope

The above conclusions regarding maximum and minimum speeds enable a
curve to be drawn showing the operating speed limits for an aircraft in straight and
level flight at all altitudes. This curve is called a flight envelope, and typical flight
envelopes for a pistonengined and a subsonic jet-engined aircraft.
 The right-hand boundary in each case represents the maximum speed limit,
and is shown here further to the right for a jet-engined aircraft since such aircraft
typically have much higher maximum speeds. The left-hand boundary constitutes the
minimum speed-limit, which is again typically a little higher for a jet-engined aircraft.
The flight envelope applies only to straight and level flight, and not to manoeuvres of
any kind, and it shows that there is one altitude at which there is only one speed at
which the aircraft can fly. Above this altitude, it cannot fly straight and level at any
steady speed, and this altitude is called the absolute ceiling of the aircraft. Increasing
the weight of the aircraft causes all the limitations on speed to be more stringent, and
the flight envelope as a whole shrinks.

7. Excess Power
Between the two extreme points at which the power available and power
required curves intersect, there is generally a speed range in which power available
exceeds power required. Thus there is some power available, over and above that
required to overcome drag, for manoeuvring, say, climbing, accelerating or turning. We
call this the excess power, and we shall denote it here by EP. The excess power varies
with airspeed in a manner. This curve has a similar shape whether the aircraft is
powered by a jet or a piston engine. The curve may cut the nor zontal axis at the lower
end as well as the high sp eed end, especially at altitude. The speed at which the
excess power is a maximum is easily determined from this curve. So also is the speed
at which EPI V is a maximum, by drawing a tangent to the curve from the origin.

8. Maximum Rate of Climb

If v, is the rate of climb of an a ircraft in a steady climb along a path whose
inclination to the horizontal is Y, then, as we saw in Chapter 14, we may write

So that
But

It follows that the rate of climb is a maximum when the excess power is a maximum,
and
If it is assumed that the angle of climb is small enough for the straight and level flight
drag characteristics to be still valid, then the maximum rate of climb, and the
corresponding speed, can he read off, either from the curve of excess power against
airspeed, or directly from the power available and power required curves. The distance
between the upper and lower curves in this figure represents excess power, and the
position of maximum EP - is easily located. The curves are those for a jet-engined
aircraft* Even in this case, the problem of maximum rate of climb must be solved by
reference to the power curves) and not the thrust and drag c urves. Rate of climb is
proportional to excess power, which is not simply propor tional to excess thrust- Excess
thrust is equal to EPIV, so that the speed for maximum excess thrust is given by the
speed for maximum EPIV, is and Figure shows that this not the same as the speed for
maximum excess power.
 Since the power required curve rises -with increase in altitude, while the power
available falls, the excess power generally, and in particular the maximum excess
power, is reduced and hence the maximum rate of climb is reduced. Generally, the true
airspeed for maximum rate of climb increases slowly with altitude, but the equivalent
airspeed falls. These comments apply equally to piston- or jet-engined aircraft.

9. Maximum Angle of Climb

The angle of climb, y , is given by

so that y is a maximum when EPIV is a maximum. The speed for maximum angle of
climb is therefore found by drawing the tangent from the origin to the EP - V curve. In
the case of a jet-engined aircraft, there is an alternative method. Since EPIV is equal to
the excess thrust, -i.e., to (T - D), the condition for maximum angle of climb is the
condition of maximum excess thrust. If we assume that the thrust of the jet engine is
independent of forward speed, then (T - D) is a maximum when D is a minimum, so
that maximum angle of climb is achieved at the minimum drag speed.
With increase in altitude, the thrust of the jet engine falls, while the minimum
drag is unchanged. Thus the maximum angle of climb is reduced. Since the equivalent
airspeed for minimum drag is constant, so also is the equivalent airspeed for maximum
angle of climb, while the corresponding true airspeed increases with altitude.
The effects are similar for a piston-engined aircraft. The maximum angle of
climb is reduced, but the corresponding equivalent and true airspeeds are both
generally increased, when altitude increases.
The effect of increasing weight is again to raise the power required, and hence
to reduce the excess power and EPN. This again always reduces the angle of climb,
and generally increases the corresponding speed.
10. Ceiling
We have seen that the maximum rate of climb for a given aircraft decreases
with increasing altitude. It follows that at some given altitude it will be zero. At this
altitude, the aircraft will be unable to climb any higher while remaining in an equilibrium
condition, and this height is called the absolute ceiling. It corresponds to the topmost
point of the flight envelope as depicted in Fig. 15.16. It also corresponds to the altitude
for which the power available and power required curves are tangential to one another,
so that there

17. Endurance
If R and t represent range and time respectively, then we may write, as before,
DR/dt = V, or dt/dR = 1N. But dR/dW= - SAR, so that
dt/ dW = (dt/dR)(dR/dW) = -SAR / V
Homework:
1. Apakah yang dimaksud dengan : range and endurance, time to climb, specific fuel
consumption, specific air range, estimation of range.
2. Apakah yang dimaksud dengan: the Breguet range equation, the general
performance equation
3. Apakah yang dimaksud dengan : take-off performance, landing distance.
4. Apakah yang dimaksud dengan : non-dimensional presentation of aircraft
performance, non-dimensional presentation of climbing performnace, the energy
Height method.

Take off Performance & Landing distance

Non-dimensional Presentation of Aircraft Performance

 Thrust and Drag versus Mach Number

Energy Hight Method

fight Plan for Minimum Time to Climb, and Ideal Flight Plan
Minimum Time Path and Minimum Fuel Path

Non-Dimen Presentation of Aircraft Climbing Performance