Bankstown Flight Exercises – Z5311577

AERO3660 – Flight Performance and Propulsion

AARON HOYTASH

1. Day 1: Orientation Flight and General Observation

The task assigned to the first day of flying was to become familiar and comfortable in a small
aircraft while observing the pilots’ inputs and how they effected the aircraft. Unfortunately Shift C,
the shift I was in, was unable to fly on the first day due to weather, however these observations were
carried out during the remaining 3 flights.
Prior to take-off, the pilot completed his pre-flight checklist which included ensuring both fuel tanks
and pumps were working, running up the engine on both magnetos, making departure clearance radio
calls and lastly setting the flaps to take off position. Once lifted off a 10 ° climb was maintained, and
when flying in the Piper Seminole, the gear was retracted.
Though the flight, the pilot was actuating the ailerons via left and right movements on the sick/yoke to
make the aircraft roll about its longitudinal axis to execute bearing changes and turns. The stick/yoke
is pulled/pushed to control the elevators to pitch the aircraft up or down altering its attitude. The
rudders were seldomly used unless executing a steep banked turn, where they impose a yaw upon the
aircraft.
It was noted that while the above control surfaces offer control in the x, y, and z direction, to
descend/climb the pilot would decrease/increase the throttle rather than pitching the nose up/down.
The same was observed for speed changes, rather than increasing throttle, the pilot would adjust the
attitude accordingly to give him his desired speed.
When coming into land, 1 stage of flaps were deployed on downwind, with full flaps being used for
the final approach.

2. Day 2: Straight and Level Flight, Climbing and Decent

2.1 - Assumed Conventions for this Report.

For the purpose of the below calculations found throughout this report, the fuel units will be converted
into kg by dividing 1 US gallon by 264.2, converting it into m 3, then multiplying the volume by the
known density of AVGAS of 717 kg / m 3. Once a total wet mass is found for each experiment, the
mass will then be calculated into weight by multiplying by 9.81.
Speed and distances were recorded in knots as per standard aviation convention, and are converted
into meters and meters per second (SI units) for calculations. This is achieved by dividing by a factor
of 1.944 knots per meters per second for velocities. Time is recorded in the format M: SS and
converted into seconds. Atmospheric density is 1.225 kg / m 3 at sea-level and gravity is 9.81 m/s 2.

This report will also utilise two different models of aircraft for the experiments conducted, A
Diamond DA40 Star and a Piper PA-44 Seminole. These aircrafts have respective wing areas of
13.471 m 2 and 17.1 m 2.
 2.2.1 – Using Landmarks of a fixed distance and Duration of Trip to Calculate Ground
Speed.
The first test of day 2 was conducted in a Diamond DA40 flying from the Warragamba Dam GPS
waypoint to the Mayfield waypoint. This distance is exactly 5.5 nautical miles. The objective of this
test was to fly between two landmarks and measure the time taken to complete the trip using a
stopwatch, from this result, we are able to then calculate the ground speed. This was conducted in
both directions, allowing for the effects of wind to be calculated and accounted for. This was done by
using the equation below.
DGPS
V ground =
t GPS

Where D GPS is the 5.5 nautical miles travelled and t GPS is the duration of the trip as measured by a
stopwatch.
The empty weight of the DA40 was recorded to be 779 kg, the pilot weighed 78 kg, and I was 94 kg
on the day of the flight. 9.1 kg was also taken with us as additional misc. payload, making the total
dry weight for these tests 960.1 kg.
The first trial began at Warragamba dam at an altitude of 1,500 feet, an indicated air speed of 100
knots and 43 US gallons of fuel on board. The initial trip was completed in 3 minutes and 19 seconds.
Thus, calculations to find the true airspeed (TAS) from the GPS result are shown below.
W =W empty + W payload +W fuel

43 gal kg
W fuel = 3
∗717 2 =116.70 kg
264.2 m m
W =960.1+135=1076.80 kg
t GPS=3 :19 seconds=199 seconds
Therefor,
DGPS 5.5
V ground = = =0.027 knots /sec
t GPS 199
Converting to knots/hour:
V ground =0.027∗60∗60=99.49 knots
1

Duplicating this process for the trip from Mayfield to Warragamba,

42.4 gal kg
W fuel = 3
∗717 2 =115.17 kg
264.2 m m
W =960.1+115.17=1075.18 kg
t GPS=2 :52 seconds=172 seconds
Therefor,
DGPS 5.5
V ground = = =0.0319 knots/ sec
t GPS 172
Converting to knots/hour:
V ground =0.0319∗60∗60=115.11 knots .
2

These two results are then averaged to find the wind speed and direction to allow for the TAS to be
calculated.
V ground2−V ground1
Win d 1= =7.809 knots
2
Accounting for the wind speed, we can find the TAS for trial one to be 107.306 knots.
This test was then repeated at an altitude of 2,500 ft and airspeed of 97 as shown below.

47.4 gal kg
W fuel = 3
∗717 2 =128.65 kg
264.2 m m
W =960.1+128.65=1088.80 kg
t GPS=2 :56 seconds=191 seconds

DGPS 5.5
V ground = = =0.03125 knots/ sec
t GPS 191
V ground =0.03125∗60∗60=112.5 knots .
3

Following an identical process as above we have,

V ground4=103.664 knots

Win d 2=4.417 knots

As such, the TAS for trial 2 is 108.08 knots.
We are now able to calculate the equivalent airspeed (EAS) from the TAS by firstly calculating the
local atmospheric density at altitude.
ρaltitude = ρ0∗¿

−g −9.81
Where = =¿5.2586. This results in,
aR −0.0065 ( 287 )

ρ1500 =1.1647 kg /m3 and ρ2500 =1.125 kg /m3 .

This allows the use of the below formula to convert the TAS to EAS by using the local and sea-level
densities.
 V EAS =V TAS (√ ρaltitude
ρ sea−level )

Thus,

V EAS1=107.30 (√ 1.1647
1.225 )
=104.63 knots.

V EAS2 =108.08 (
√ 1.225 )=103.62 knots .
1.125

These findings are shown plotted below in figure 1.

Figure 1 - EAS vs IAS Plot

2.2.2 – Lift Coefficient for Each Flight Case

As we have obtained the TAS for the above flight cases, this is then used to analyse the lift coefficient
during each stage of the straight and level flight.
Lift coefficient is obtained through the equation below.

C Lhor =
( WS )
1 2
ρV TAS
2
Firstly, the TAS are converted into meters per second, and the weight into newtons. The below table
shows the unit conversion of all variables which were converted as per the conventions outlines in
section 2.1.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4

TAS (knots) 107.30 107.30 108.08 108.08
TAS (m/s) 55.20 55.20 55.59 55.59
Mass (kg) 1076 1075 1088 1085
Weight (N) 10563 10547 10680 10646
3 1.1647 1.1647 1.1258 1.1258
ρ( kg/ m )
Table 1 - Unit Conversion Table

The wing area (S) was obtained through online research, and is 13.471m 2 [1]

Using these parameters, the calculation for trial 1 is shown below, and the remaining trips are found
identically and are outlined in Table 2.

C Lhortrip 1=
( 13.471
10563
) =0.4419
1
( 1.1647 )( 55.20 )2
2

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4

TAS (knots) 107.3 107.30 108.08 108.08
Altitude (ft) 1500 1500 2500 2500
C Lhor 0.4419 0.4412 0.4556 0.4556

2.2.3 – Gliding Flight

The second test conducted on day 2 was a simple decent with the throttle set to idle with different
flap settings for each trial. The rate of decent was recorded through the vertical speed indicator as
well as a stopwatch to time a 1000 ft flight level change. The initial altitude was 2500 ft and the
trial concluded when the aircraft levelled off at 1000 ft.
The aim of this test is to draw a correlation between the altitude lost and distance covered to the

ratio
( )
CD
CL hor
.

This can be achieved through,

altitude lost
=
Δh
horizontal distance travelled Δ d
D CD CD
=tan γ = = =
L CL CL ( )
hor
.
 The first trial began with an IAS of 80 knots and a vertical speed indication of -850 ft/min. There
was 45.9 US gallons of fuel remaining, the flaps were not extended and the duration of the decent
was 1:08.
As the measurements taken in flight are not in the same units, for this test, feet and seconds were
chosen for calculations.
After converting the test results to appropriate units for calculation we find,
tim e1=68 seconds

Δ h=1000 ft
80 kt=135.025 ft /sec
Δ d=68 seconds∗135.025=9181.7 ft
∴

( )
CD
CL hor clean
=
1000
9181.7
=0.10 9

Following the same method for the trial 2 with flaps extended, we have,

( )
CD
CL horflap
=
1000
8033.98
=0.12 5

2.2.4 – Ascent

Test 3 saw power applied at 1500 ft to initiate an ascent through to 2500 ft while maintaining.
a constant airspeed. This was done twice, one with full take-off flaps and one with no flaps. The TAS
was recorded as well as the vertical speed indicator reading. The duration of the climb was also timed
using a stopwatch.

The first trial was completed with no flaps, a TAS of 75 knots and a 750 ft/min climb rate was
achieved. The duration of the climb was measured to take 1:10 to climb 1000 ft. There was 45.3 US
gallons of fuel on board at the beginning of the climb.

Analysis of these measurements will allow the calculation of the power available during the climb at
the engine. This is achieved through,

( )√ √ √ 2W

( )
Pav C D 2 W Pav CD 2 W Pav ρS
V v= − − 3 = −

( )
W CL hor ρS C Lhor W ()
C L2
ρS W ( 2)
3

hor C L
CD hor

Using known variables for substitution, and rearranging to find Pav we have,

Pav =W V v +
( ( ) )
CD
CL hor
(V ) .

Again, converting the measured values for calculation, we have.

 W =11,955 N
V v =3.909 m/s
TAS=38.58 m/ s

( )
CD
=
Vv
C L hor TAS
=0.0987

Thus,

Pav =11955 ( 3.909+ 0.0987∗38.58 )=9108.138 W

Pav =91.08 kW

Undergoing the same analysis for trial 2 with full take-off flaps we find,

Pav =10 593 ( 3.55+0. 103 2∗34.465 )=7532W

Pav =75.32 kW

This result is in line with initial conceptions, due to the substantially increased amount of drag, while
the speed was lower and the engine was operating at the same rpm, it was expending substantially
more power to overcome the drag applied by the flaps.

3. Day 3: Turning Flight

The tasks that were conducted during day 3 were focused on the analysis of turning flight and the
forces imparted on the aircraft through various bank angles, speeds, and altitudes.
These tests were completed in a Piper PA-44 Seminole twin-engine aircraft. The dry weight of the
aircraft, passengers and payload was determined to be 1,639.4 kg, and through additional research the
wing area (S) was found to be 17.1 m 2. [2]

3.1 -Bank Angles at Various Atmospheric Conditions.

The objective of this flight was to record data while the aircraft is undergoing a number of 360 ° turns
in various conditions throughout differing bank angles. These angles were 30° , 45° and 60° . Prior to
initiating the turn, the aircraft was stabilised in straight and level flight. During this phase of the test,
the IAS, throttle, engine speed, and altimeter were all recorded.
The aircraft was then placed into a turn as outlined above, ensuring there were no altitude losses
throughout the turn. Once the initial heading is reached, the IAS was recorded along side an estimate
of the bank angle.
The objective of this test is to identify the load factor (n ) from the bank angle acting on the aircraft
through the turn, and further analyse the radius of the turn, along with the time taken to complete the
360 ° turn.

The load factor (n) is found through,

1
n= .
cos ( ϕ )
Where ϕ is the bank angle in radians.
The turn radius is then calculated by,
2
V
Rt = .
g √ n2 −1
From this, we can tabulate the load factors experienced throughout all 3 bank angles.

ϕ n
30 ° 1.154
45 ° 1.414
60 ° 2
Table 2 – ϕ VS load factor

The test was conducted at 4000 ft, 3500 ft and 2500 ft. Calculations for all scenarios are identical
therefore, the calculations for 4000 ft will be outlined below, with all results shown at the end of this
section.

3.1.1 – Calculations for 30° turn at 4,000 ft.

The IAS during the initial straight and level phase of this test was recorded to be 140 knots. Fuel on-
board was 64 US gallons.
To begin, we convert the TAS to m/s and the bank angle into radians for calculation.
TAS=66.87 m/s
ϕ=0.5235 rad
n=1.154
66.87
Rt = =789 m
9.81 √ 1.154 2−1
To solve for the time taken to complete the 360° turn we then multiply the radius by 2 π to get the
circumference then divide by the speed in m/s. This obtains,
4960
time 30 °= =¿74.173 seconds.
66.87
Following these calculation steps for the other flight cases gives the calculated outcomes of each turn
shown in table 3.

Altitude 3500 ft 2500 ft 1500 ft

IAS 140 kts 140 kts 92 kts
ϕ 45 ° (0.785) 60° 60 °
Load Factor n 1.414 2 2
Rt 528.68 m 305.23 m 131.81 m
Time for 360° 46.125 seconds 26.631 seconds 17.50 seconds
Table 3 - Test Results for Turning Flight Tests
 4. Day 4: Stability, Stalling and Oscillation
The tests conducted on this day were surrounding flight stability across a number of different
scenarios.
Test 1 was focused on recording and experimenting how different stages of flight require different
trim settings to allow for “hands-off” flight. A correlation is able to be made between IAS, the amount
a trim surface is balancing any induced pitching moments and the coefficient of lift for a given stage
of flight.
Test 2’s objective is to understand the dynamics involved when an aircraft enters into a stall scenario
and the impacts power and high-lift surfaces have on how quickly an aircraft enters a stall, and what
the corresponding lift coefficient is at the point of stall.
The final test conducted is surrounding phugoid oscillations and observing the period, amplitude, and
details regarding the phenomenon.
All the above tests were completed using the Piper PA-44 Seminole. As in section 3, all the same
parameters for the aircraft will remain the same for these tests.

4.1 - Stability
This test was consistent of the aircraft being flown at a constant speed and altitude, and being trimmed
such that the pilot was not required to make any inputs or corrections to the primary control surfaces
to maintain straight and level flight. Once this was achieved, the position of the trim wheel was
recorded as a percentage of total available trim, along side the amount of fuel on board. IAS was also
captured. This was completed a total of 6 times all at differing speeds.
The objective of this test is to draw a correlation between the trim position, lift coefficient as well as a
relation between the aerodynamic centre, centre of gravity and the aircraft’s neutral point.
The dry weight of the aircraft including all people and miscellaneous payloads was recorded as being
1464 kg.
Table 4 below shows the raw data collected of fuel, IAS, and trim position in mm away from neutral.
Altitude: 3500 ft Fuel (US gal) IAS (knots) Trim Position (mm)
1 50 156 +10
2 49 145 +9
3 47 137 +5
4 46 128 +2
5 46 113 Neutral
6 44 85 -10
Table 4 - Table of Raw Data Collected

From this data, we can calculate the lift coefficient for each trim position through,

C =
( S)
W

L
1 2
ρV
2
Measurements are first converted into SI units prior to calculation giving the below table of converted
variables.
 Altitude: 3500 ft Weight (N) IAS (m/s) Trim Position (mm)
1 15724.77 80.24 +10
2 15697.51 74.58 +9
3 15643 70.47 +5
4 15615.74 65.84 +2
5 15615.74 58.13 Neutral
6 15561.22 43.72 -10
Table 5 - Converted Experimental Data for Calculation

Other constant parameters for this test are,

ρ3500 =1.088

S=17.1
Calculating C L for these parameters is identical to that shown in section 2.2.2. As such one example
will be outlined with the remaining cases tabulated.

Calculating C Lfor the first trim position of +10 mm, the wet weight for this test was 15724.77 N, IAS
was recorded as 80.24 m/s.
This gives,

C L+ 10mm =
( 15724.77
17.1 )
=0.2625
1
( 1.088 ) ( 80.24 )2
2
Following this, the below table was calculated outlining C L for each trim position.

Altitude: 3500 ft Trim Position IAS (m/s) CL

1 +10 80.24 0.2625
2 +9 74.58 0.3033
3 +5 70.47 0.3386
4 +2 65.84 0.3872
5 Neutral 58.13 0.4968
6 -10 43.72 0.8750
Table 6 - Calculated Lift Coefficients for Trim positions

To draw a correlation between the impact on trimming surfaces and the effective lift coefficient, the
resulting data was plotted below in figure 2.
 Figure 2 - CL vs Trim Position

From the information shown in figure 2, we can make the connection that while the lift coefficient
stabilizes around 0.3033 at +9 mm of trim through to 0.3872 at +2 mm of trim, the neutral point will
be located towards the middle of the plateau around +5.5mm of trim with the centre of gravity located
1
around 9.5 mm of trim. The aerodynamic centre is usually located at around chord.
4
4.2 -Stalling
The testing conducted in this section was done so with the objective to investigate the effects high-lift
devices have on an aircraft stalling behaviour as well as investigating if having applied thrust during a
stall scenario also impacts the aircrafts behaviour.
The tests which were conducted included inducing a stall at a set altitude with various power and flap
configurations. Once the aircraft entered into a stall, the IAS was recorded in conjunction with the
fuel at the time of stall and what the aircraft configuration was. For this test the dry weight of the
PA44 Seminole was 1693.4 kg

The 4 scenarios were all tested at 4000 ft and the configurations were stalling with no power and no
flaps, power with no flaps, no power with flaps, and power with flaps.
The data captured during these tests is shown table 7.

Altitude: 4000 ft Fuel (US Gal) Stall Speed (knots)

No Power / No Flaps 61 68
Power On / No Flaps 60.2 54
No Power / Flaps Extended 59.7 54
Power On / Flaps Extended 58 52
Table 7 - Stalling Test Raw Data
To understand the impact both the power setting and flap extension play on the aircrafts stall
behaviour, it is required to calculate the C L at each scenario, at the moment of stall.

This is done in the identical manner as calculated above. First by converting measurements into SI
units, then through using,

C Lstall =
( WS )
1 2
ρ V
2 4000
Where ρ 4000=1.0694 .

Using this equation, with the converted values, we have C L at stall for each scenario as shown in table
8.

Altitude: 4000 ft Wet Weight (N) Stall Speed (m/s) C LStall

No Power / No Flaps 18236.25 34.97 1.6301
Power On / No Flaps 18214.95 27.77 2.5818
No Power / Flaps Ext. 18201.64 27.77 2.5800
Power On / Flaps Ext. 18156.38 26.75 2.7753
Table 8 - Table of Converted Measurements and Calculated Lift Coefficient

This result shows that through the use of high-lift devices and/or thrust, the stalling characteristics of
an aircraft can be substantially modified. Aside from lowering the actual speed at which it stalled, an
observation was made that the stall with no power or flaps came on quite suddenly and was
substantially sharper than those with either thrust or flaps.

When both power and flaps were used, the stall was very delayed and vastly more subtle compared
to the unaided stall.

This observation along with the calculations above, show the impact high-lift devices have on stalling
characteristics.

4.3 -Phugoid Oscillation

This test is designed to demonstrate a Phugoid Oscillation, record the period, and detail observations
into how the aircraft is initially engaged into a long period oscillation along its lateral axis. The
duration of oscillation, as well as any damping characteristics which were observed followed by how
the oscillation was recovered.
The oscillation was initiated by the pilot raising the aircrafts attitude to around 10 ° nose up, then
suddenly letting go of the yoke. From here the aircraft was left to begin the oscillation without
interruption.
This was initiated at approximately 3,140 ft travelling 100 knots where the pilot released the yoke.
The plane then levelled off to 0° nose level at 3,260 ft and 91 knots after 6 seconds. This is T-0 for the
oscillation. the nose then began to lower to -10° below the horizon until it returned back to 0° nose
level at 2,960 ft and 121 knots at 23 seconds into the oscillation and T+16 from the first peak.
At 39 seconds after initiation, the aircraft returned back to nose level, 3,140 ft and 100 knots, this was
one period completed at T+32. The nose then dipped below the horizon to approx. -5° , and levelled
off at 2980 ft and 115 kts at 55 seconds, this is the second trough of the oscillation and is T+44 from
the first peak. The oscillation stopped at 75 seconds, an altitude of 3080 ft, and IAS of 103 kts. The
time from the first peak through to the second peak was T+64 seconds.
This can then be averaged to give a period of 32 seconds.
The oscillation was observed to be very slow, and while the damping effects were very minimal, the
pilot was not required to provide any recovery intervention and the aircraft was able to self-recover
after a given amount of time.

4.4 -Short Period Oscillations

Due to the high damping nature of short period oscillations, the pilot was unable to demonstrate this
oscillation, or have it sufficient enough to record for analysis.
These oscillations typically only last a few seconds, while undergoing a rapid pitch about the centre of
gravity. Damning time is usually on the order of 1 second to halve the amplitude, and as such it rather
difficult to demonstrate reliably for analysis. [3]

References

[1] FlugzeugInfo.net, "Diamond Aircraft DA40 Star Technical Specifications," [Online]. Available:
http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/acdata_php/acdata_da40_en.php.

[2] Flugzeuginfo.net, "Piper PA44 Seminole Technical Specifications," [Online]. Available:

http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/acdata_php/acdata_piper_pa44_en.php.

[3] AVSTOP, [Online]. Available: http://avstop.com/ac/flighttrainghandbook/dynamicstability.html.

5. Appendix
Calculations for this report were completed in MATLAB. Below is the code which was used for
numerical analysis of the data captured.