Exercises Lecture 3

How aircraft fly

Ir. Jos Sinke

Tim van Leeuwen
Delft University of Technology

K. Terwolbeck - CC - BY
 AE1110x - Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering

Exercise 1
Please name some of the pioneers of aviation correctly.

Figure 1: Some of the pioneers of aviation.

Exercise 2
Below you see a picture of an aircraft flying at an altitude of 11.5 kilometres. Suppose that at
some point both its engines fail, and the aircraft is forced to glide to the ground. Given that the
glide ratio of the aircraft is 14, what airports is the plane capable of reaching (neglect the additional
distance flown due to turning)?

Figure 2: The aircraft, with the available airports and their distances.

A) A
B) A and B
C) A, B and C
D) A, B, C and D
E) A, B, C, D, and E
F) A, B, C, D, E and F

Exercise 3
Again consider the aircraft of the previous problem, which had a glide ratio of 14. What will be for
this aircraft the glide angle (in degrees)? (Provide your answer with three decimals)

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 AE1110x - Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering

Exercise 4
An aircraft flies with an groundspeed of 80 metres per second, whilst experiencing a 54 kilometre
per hour headwind. What is its airspeed (in metres per second)?

Figure 3: Image courtesy of Jorge GT, CC - BY - NC - SA.

Exercise 5
A pilot wants to fly to the North with a ground speed of 120 m/s, so he flies with an airspeed
of 120 m/s. Unfortunately, he forgets about the wind: he experiences a 20 m/s wind from the
North-West (so at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the intended heading). For this situation,
compute the aircraft’s ground speed (in kilometres per hour).

Exercise 6
A general aviation aircraft, with a wing surface area of 18 square metres, flies at sea level with
a speed of 180 kilometres per hour. Its lift curve is shown below. Given that lift equals weight
for this aircraft and that the aircraft flies at a 8 degree angle of attack, what is its mass (in
kilograms)?

Figure 4: The lift curve of the aircraft of question 6.

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 AE1110x - Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering

Exercise 7
An cruising Airbus A320 (m = 58,000 kg) with a wing surface area of 123 m2 flies at altitude of 8
kilometres, with an airspeed of 800 kilometres per hour. Determine the lift coefficient in this flight
condition.

Exercise 8 W
For an aircraft, the ’wing loading’ is defined as Wing loading = S . You will now calculate this
so-called wing loading for a fully loaded Boeing 747-400.
1) Using the internet, look up the wing surface area (in square metres) of a Boeing 747-400.
2) In case the aircraft flies with its mass equal to the so-called maximum take-off weight, determine
the wing loading (in Newton per square metre) of this Boeing 747-400.

Exercise 9
Regarding the use of flaps and slats, which of the following statements is true?
A) Flaps are leading-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during landing.
B) Flaps are leading-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during take-off.
C) Flaps are trailing-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during landing.
D) Flaps are trailing-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during take-off.
E) Slats are leading-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during landing.
F) Slats are leading-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during take-off.
G) Slats are trailing-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during landing.
H) Slats are trailing-edge high lift devices, usually only deployed during take-off.

Exercise 10
Which of the following ’solutions’ could reduce the drag of an aircraft? (Multiple answers can be
correct)
A) Reduce the wing surface area
B) Fly slower
C) Fly lower
D) Increase the number of engines
E) Reduce the aircraft weight

Exercise 11
Below you see a picture of a so-called Prandtl plane, which has an unusual wing shape.

Figure 5: A Prandtl plane.

Complete the following statement: "This unusual wing shape is designed to reduce ..."

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 AE1110x - Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering

Exercise 12
In the figure below you see the hypothetical lift-drag polar of an aircraft.

Figure 6: A hypothetical lift-drag polar.

For this aircraft, determine the maximum glide ratio.

Exercise 13
Suppose that the lift-drag polar of the previous problem belongs to a 32,000 kilogram aircraft with
an average wing chord of 3.5 metres and a wingspan of 30 metres. At a certain moment this
aircraft flies in cruise at a speed of 300 ft/s, with an air density of 1.0 kilogram per cubic metre.
For this flight condition, determine the aircraft drag in Newton.

Exercise 14
Suppose a clever engineer manages to save 500 kilograms of weight on the seats and carpet of
an aircraft. What other aircraft components could be made lighter as a result? Select the two
components that would change the most.
A) The vertical tail
B) The wings
C) The landing gear
D) The horizontal tail
E) The aircraft winglets

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 AE1110x - Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering

Exercise 15
The Lockheed U2 is an American reconnaissance aircraft, used primarily in the 1970s. Please
consult the internet for information on this aircraft and then answer the following question.

Figure 7: The Lockheed U2. Image courtesy of James Gordon, CC - BY - NC

This aircraft is a typical example of an aircraft flying:

A) Low and slow
B) Low and fast
C) High and slow
D) High and fast

Exercise 16
The Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, has a maximum take-off weight of around
575 tonnes. In a two-class configuration the aircraft caries 644 passengers. Additionally, it can
take with it 20 tonnes of cargo in its cargo holds.
1) Assume that the average passenger weighs 80 kilograms and takes with him/her 25 kilograms of
hand luggage, and that the cargo holds are filled up. What percentage of the total mass consists
of payload, when the aircraft takes off with maximum take-off weight?
2) The maximum fuel capacity of an A380 is 323,546 litres of jet fuel. If the aircraft takes off
with maximum fuel capacity (for a long flight) at maximum take-off weight, what percentage of
the aircraft mass consists of fuel?

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