AIRCRAFT STABILITY AND CONTROL

PART A

Unit 3 07 Hrs

Static Longitudinal Stability and Control-Stick Free

Introduction, Hinge moment parameters, Control surface floating characteristics and

aerodynamic balance, Estimation of hinge moment parameters, The trim tabs, Stick-free
Neutral point, Stick force gradient in unaccelerated flight, Restriction on aft C.G.

The Control Hinge Moment

To rotate any aerodynamic control surfaces, elevator, aileron or rudder, about its hinge, it is
necessary to apply a force to it to overcome the aerodynamic pressures that resist the motion.
The force that has to be applied to the control surface must be known with precision if the
control system that connects the primary controls in the cockpit to the aerodynamic surface is
to be designed correctly.

Here we will be primarily interested in the elevator hinge moment, but the procedure is the
same for the aileron or the rudder (or most other flapped control). If the hinge moment is
designated by He, then the hinge moment coefficient is defined as:

Generally we assume that the hinge moment depends linearly on the tail angle-of-attack, the
elevator deflection, and the deflection of an additional surface at the end of the elevator called
the tab. Thus the hinge moment can be represented as:

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i.e.,

When the control stick is released (i.e., not held by the pilot), elevator is set free and the
stability and control characteristics of the airplane is affected. For simplicity we will assume that
both δt and Ch0 are equal to zero. Then for the case when the elevator is allowed to be zero:

Chα and Chδe are called as the hinge moment characteristics.

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Page 3 of 11
Stick Forces

F = fn (He)
The work required to displace the control stick is equal to the work in moving the control
surface to the desired deflection angle.
i.e., Fls δs = Heδe

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i.e., the magnitude of stick force increases with the size of the airplane and the square of the
airplane’s speed.

The control system must be designed in such a way that the magnitudes of control forces are
within acceptable limits. Too large control forces will make it difficult to handle the airplane. On
the other hand, too small control forces may result in over stressing the airplane during
manoeuvres.

Trim Tabs

Trim tabs are provided to zero out the stick force at the trimmed flight speed. The trim tab is
generally located at the trailing edge of the control surface. They are usually operated
electrically or hydraulically.

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Stick Force Gradient

Another important parameter in the design of a control system is stick force gradient. The stick
force gradient is a measure of the change stick force needed to change the speed of the
airplane. To provide the airplane with speed stability, the stick force gradient must be negative.
i.e.,

The need for negative gradient can be appreciated by examining the trim point in the figure
above. If the airplane slows down, a positive stick force occurs that rotates the nose of the
airplane downward, which causes the airplane to increase its speed back to the trim velocity. If
the airplane exceeds the trim velocity, a negative (i.e., pull) stick force causes the airplane nose
to pitch up, which causes the airplane to slow down. The negative stick force gradient provides
the pilot and airplane with speed stability. The larger the gradient, the more resistant the
airplane will be to disturbances in flight speed. If the airplane’s speed stability is low, the pilot
would have to continuously monitor and control the airplane’s speed. This would be highly
undesirable from the piloting point of view.

Aerodynamic Balancing
The floating characteristics of a control surface, and hence the stick force, depend on the hinge-
moment characteristics. Too low values of the hinge-moment would make the control highly
sensitive to small disturbances. Too high values of the hinge-moment would make the controls
sluggish to operate. Therefore, careful design of the hinge-moment parameters Chα and Chδe is
necessary to achieve a proper balance between these two conflicting requirements. The control
of hinge-moment parameters is called aerodynamic balancing.

When the hinge-line is at the control surface leading edge, both C hα and Chδe are negative. If the
hinge-line is moved further aft, both Chα and Chδe become more positive, because the control
surface forward of the hinge-line produces an opposing moment to that produced by the

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surface aft of the hinge-line. The net hinge-moment, which is the algebraic sum of these two
moments, is greatly reduced. This type of aerodynamic balance is called as set-back hinge
balance (figure-a below). However, one has to be careful because too much area forward of the
hinge-line may tend to overbalance the control at some flight conditions that may affect the
pilot’s feel of the aircraft.

Horn balance (figure-b below) is similar to set-back hinge, except that all the area ahead of the
hinge-line is concentrated on one part of the surface. The horn balance makes both Chα and Chδe
less negative though the effect on C hδe is more pronounced than in case of a set-back hinge
method.

The internal balance (figure-c) is a modification of the set-back hinge method. The inside of the
airfoil is vented to the external pressures so that pressures acting on the balancing area provide
the necessary balancing effect. The effectiveness of this balance can be increased by sealing the
gap between the leading edge of the control surface and the structure of the airfoil. The
amount of balance can be adjusted by properly venting the seal. This type of balance has
greater effect on Chδe than on C hα.

The shapes of the leading and trailing edges of the control surface also have effect on the hinge
moment parameters Chα and Chδe. For example, beveling the trailing edge (figure-d above)
alters the parameter Chδe because the pressure distribution over the control surface is altered.

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The above methods of balancing (except the beveled trailing edge) are based on the pressure
changes on the control surface ahead of the hinge-line. An alternate way of balancing the
control surface is by deploying an additional control surface called the balance tab. The balance
tab is much smaller in size as compared to the elevator and is deflected in the opposite
direction (figure-e above). Even though the balance tab is small size, the pressure changes
caused by its deflection produce appreciable moments about the elevator hinge-line. Since the
balance tab moves only when the elevator is moved, it has little or no effect on C hα. The balance
tab has an added advantage that it can always provide just the right amount of balancing as
needed. Hence the possibility of control surface overbalance is almost ruled out in this case.
However, it has a minor disadvantage that an opposite deflection of the balance tab results in a
small lift loss and hence a small reduction in overall control effectiveness.

Estimation of Hinge Moment Parameters

The control surface hinge moments are predicted in practice by two general methods. One of
these is a semi analytical-empirical method and the other utilizes test of a geometrically similar
scale model in the wind tunnel. Prediction of control surface hinge moments, analytically from
the lifting line theory, has never proved accurate enough for practical use, probably because of
the strong influence of the boundary layer, neglected in these calculations. All methods for
predicting control surface hinge moments are subject rather large errors and are quite
unreliable, except possibly for the method of measuring the hinge moments at large scale in
the wind tunnel.

A method for obtaining a first approximation to the hinge moment parameters C hα and Chδe has
been developed for the case of aerodynamic balance by the set back hinge. This method would
be relatively simple if setting back the hinge were the only variable. Unfortunately, these
parameters are also affected seriously by the ratio of the control chord to the total airfoil
chord, the airfoil section used, the nose shape of the control surface, the gap at the control
surface nose and the aspect ratio of the surface upon which the control acts. In estimating the
final hinge moments, each of these variables must be dealt with, and therefore considerable
error is accumulated during the process.

It has been found convenient to develop the two dimensional hinge moment parameters first
and then to correct them for the effects of three dimensions by the lifting line theory.

Forward and Aft Limits of C.G. Position

The various control position and force gradients impose limits on the acceptable range of travel
of the vehicle center of gravity.

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Rearward Limits

1. The vehicle must be statically stable; i.e., the cg must be ahead of the basic and control free
neutral points.

2. The sensitivity of vehicle velocity to control position must not be too small; i.e., the cg must
be sufficiently far ahead of the basic neutral point.

3. The sensitivity of vehicle normal acceleration to control force must not be too small; i.e.,
the cg must be sufficiently far ahead of the control free neutral point.

Forward Limits

1. The vehicle must be trimmable at CLmax; i.e., the cg must not be so far forward that there is
insufficient elevator power to trim the vehicle at maximum lift coefficient.

2. The sensitivity of vehicle normal acceleration to control force must not be too high; i.e., the
cg must not be so far forward that excessive control force is required to perform maneuvers
for which the vehicle is intended.

VTU Questions
VTU: Dec 13 – Jan 14

VTU: June/July 14

VTU: Dec 15 – Jan 16

VTU: June/July 16

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VTU: Dec 14 – Jan 15 (Question-4)

Numerical (VTU Dec 14 – Jan 15)

The contribution of the horizontal tail to C m0 and Cmα can be calculated by subtracting the wing-
fuselage contribution from the wing-fuselage-tail contribution.

We know that,

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Comments:
1. Cmαt obtained was positive in sign, which does not seem to be correct. This anomaly may be
because of the incorrect Cmcg values provided.
2. The tail incidence angle obtained seems to be relatively high. This could be reduced by
appropriately increasing the tail volume ratio, VH, by increasing the tail area, St, and/or the
tail arm, lt
3. Another method of reducing the tail incidence angle could be by increasing the tail
efficiency factor, η. This could be achieved by suitably positioning the tail above the FRL
(e.g., a “T-tail”)

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