Elements of Airplane Performance

ME 4021 : Flight Dynamics

Fazle Rabbi Sir
Introduction
 To early aeronautical engineers, the main concern was simply to lift or
otherwise propel the airplane from the ground.
 During pre- World War I era, there was a rapid development of aviation
and the airborne performance of the airplane suddenly became the
primary importance.
 Some obvious question asked about a design-
 What is the maximum speed of the airplane?
 How fast can it climb to a given altitude?
 How far can it fly on a given tank of fuel?
 How long can it stay in the air?
 Answered to these and similar question constitute the study of Airplane
Performance
Aerodynamic Forces
 The aerodynamic forces and
moments exerted on a body
moving through a fluid stem

Lift
from two sources:

 The pressure distribution

Drag Thrust
 The shear stress distribution

 Four natural forces acting on :

 Lift

Weight
 Drag
 Propulsive Thrust
 Weight
Lift, Drag, Moment Coefficient

The variation of L, D, M depend on-

1. Free stream velocity V∞
2. Free stream density ρ∞
3. The wing span area S
4. Angle of attack α
5. Shape of the airfoil
6. Viscosity coefficient μ∞
7. Compressibility index a∞

L  f (V ,   , S ,   , a )
We can write
L  ZVa  b S d ae  f
For dimensional analysis approach, we can write
where Z, a, b, d, e, and f are dimensionless constant.
Lift, Drag, Moment Coefficient

Substitutes,
Drag Polar
 The drag polar is a curve that shows the relationship between the drag
coefficient and lift coefficient for a full aircraft. This relationship is expressed
by an equation that can be represented by a graph called drag polar.
 The drag polar of an aircraft can be obtained from the total drag generated in
it. The total drag is obtained from the sum of parasite drag with the wave drag
and the induced drag due to lift generation of the aircraft.
CD = CD,e+ CDw + Cdi

CD = CD,e + (1)

CD= Induced Drag

CD,e = Parasite Drag
CL = Lift Coefficient
e = Span efficiency factor
AR = Aspect Ratio
Drag Polar Di = L Sin α i = Lα i

Incompressible flow theory predicts-

αi = CL / (π.AR) [AR= b2/S]

So that, Di = Lαi = L. {CL / (π.AR)}

Di= q∞ . S. {CL2 / (π.AR)} ; [L=q∞ . S. CL ]

(Di / q∞ . S)= {CL2 / (π.AR)}

CD,i = {CL2 / (π.AR)}

For all wings, span efficiency factor e can

be define such that,

CD,i = {CL2 / (π.e.AR)}

Drag Polar
Parasite drag change with angle of attack. So that a reasonable
approximation for this function is
C D,e =C D,0 + r
r = Oswald efficiency factor
The Eqn (1) becomes,
CD = CD,0 + (r+ )
CD,0 = Parasite coefficient at zero lift
Drag Polar
Equation of Motion

 Lift L, perpendicular to the flight path direction

 Drag D, parallel to the flight path direction
 Weight W, vertically toward the center of earth
 Thrust T, inclined at an angle α T with respect to the flight path
direction
Equation of Motion
 Forces Parallel to flight path:

 Forces Perpendicular to flight path:

Equation of Motion
 Horizontal Flight Ɵ=0

 Constant velocity

 Straight trajectory
Thrust Required
(for level, unaccelerated flight)
Minimum Thrust Required
Minimum Thrust Required
Thrust required curve with associated angle of attack variation
Minimum Thrust Required

At minimum thrust required, zero lift drag equals drag due to lift
Problem : 01
A light, single engine, propeller driven, private plane as the CP-1, having the following
characteristic;

Wingspan= 35.8 ft
Wing area= 174 ft2
Normal gross weight= 2950 lb
Fuel capacity= 65 gal of aviation gasoline
Power plant= One piston engine of 230 hp at sea level
Free stream velocity= 200 ft/s
Free stream density= 0.002377 lb/ft3
Specific fuel consumption= 0.45 lb/(hp).(h)
Parasite drag coefficient C D,0= 0.025
Oswald efficiency factor= 0.8
Propeller efficiency= 0.8
Calculate the thrust required at sea level.
Solution : 01
W 2950
CL    0.357
1 1
 V2 S (0.002377)( 200) 2 (174)
2 2
b2 (35.8) 2
AR    7.37
S 174
C L2 (0.357) 2
CD  CD,0   0.025   0.0319
eAR  (0.8)( 7.37)
L C 0.375
 L   11 .2
D CD 0.0319
W 2950
TR    263lb
L 11 .2
D
Power.required ,
PR  TRV  263  200  52600lb. ft / s
Thrust Available and Maximum Velocity
Power Required
(for level and unaccelerated flight)
Power Required
Power Required
Power Available and Maximum Velocity
P= Shaft brake power
η = Propeller efficiency
PA= Power available

P A= η x P
 Altitude Effects on Power Required and Available
and also Thrust Available

Subscript 0 designate
Sea level condition

But altitude effect for thrust available

 Rate of Climb
• How fast can the airplane climb
• How long does it take to reach
a certain altitude.

The vertical velocity is called rate of climb, R/C

Excess Power

max imum.execcss. power

Max R/C =
W
 Gliding Flight

sin  D L
Gliding angle :  Minimum angle :  min  ( ) max
cos  L D
1
tan  
L
D
Problem: 02
 The maximum lift to drag ratio for CP-1 is 13.6. Calculate the
minimum glide angle and the maximum range along the ground
covered by the CP-1 in a power off glide that start at an altitude of
10,000 ft.
Solution: 02
 Absolute and Service Ceilings

 As altitude increases, the maximum excess power decreases.

 In turn, the maximum R/C decreases
 There is some altitude high enough at which P A curve becomes tangent to
PR curve.
 Here, zero excess power, hence zero rate of climb, R/C=0
 The altitude at which max R/C=0, is defined as Absolute Ceiling of
airplane
 The altitude at which max R/C=100, is defined as Service Ceiling of
airplane
 Time to Climb
Rate of Climb= Vertical velocity of an airplane
Again, velocity is the rate of the change of distance

h  altitude
dh
R/C 
dt
dh
dt 
R/C
Integratin g 
 h1toh2
h2
dh
t
h1
R/C
h2
dh
t
0
R/C
 Range and Endurance
 Range is technically define as the total distance (measured with respect
to the ground) transversed by the airplane on a tank of fuel.
 Endurance is define as the total time that an airplane stays in the air on a
tank of fuel.
lb.of . fuel
SFC 
 Specific fuel consumption: (bhp )( h)

lb.of . fuel
 ( SFC )( hpR )
 Endurance: h

 Maximum endurance for a propeller

3 driven airplane occurs when the
C 2 L
airplane is flying at a velocityCsuch
D
that is maximum.
lb.of . fuel ( SFC )( hpR )

 Range: mi V

 Maximum range for a propeller

C L driven airplane occurs when the airplane is
CD
flying at a velocity such that is maximum.
Relationship between condition for maximum endurance and
maximum range.
Breguet Formulas
Propeller driven Airplane
lb of fuel
Specific fuel consumption: SFC , c 
( ft .lb / s )( s )

Let, c= Specific fuel consumption

P= Engine power
dt= Small increment of time
lb of fuel ft .lb
c.P.dt  ( s )  lb of fuel
So that, ( ft .lb / s)( s ) s

Let, W0= Gross weight of airplane (fuel and payload)

Wf= Weight of the fuel load
W1= Weight of the airplane without fuel.
Now, W1  W0  W f
 dW f  dW  cPdt
dW
 dt   ............(i )
cP
 Range and Endurance
When, t=0, W=W0 (fuel tanks full)
t=E, W=W1 (fuel tanks empty)
Integrating,

E is the endurance in second

Multiplying V∞ both side of equation (i),

We have or,

When, s=0,W=W0 (fuel tanks full)

s=R, W=W1 (fuel tanks empty)
Integrating,

R is the range in consistent units

 Breguet Formulas
Propeller-Driven Airplane

For, Steady Conditions PA  PR  DV

PA DV
P



P= Brake Power

Multiplying W/W and, putting W=L for steady and level flight

Assume η, L/D=CL/CD and c are constant throughout the flight

It is called Breguet Range Formula

 Breguet Formulas
Propeller-Driven Airplane

From endurance equation, recall P=DV∞/η and W=L

Assume CL, CD, c, η, and ρ∞ (at constant altitude) are all constant

It is called Breguet Endurance Formula

Takeoff Performance
 The running length along the ground required by an airplane, starting
from zero velocity to gain flight speed and lift from the ground is
called the ground roll or liftoff distance, sLO
From Newton’s 2nd law,
dV
F  ma  m
dt
F
dV  dt
m
v t
F
Integratin g ,  dV   dt
0
mo
F Vm
V  tt 
m F
F
As, ds  Vdt  t.dt
m
s t
F
Integratin g ,  ds   t.dt
0
m0
F t2 V 2m
s . 
m 2 2F
 Takeoff Performance(Continue)
Resistance force, R=μr (W-L)

Where, μr =coefficient of rolling

Applying Newton’s 2nd law,
for takeoff, T and W const
but L and D varies with velocity

We know, where,

h=height of the wing above ground

• When an airplane is flying close to the ground, the strength of wing tip vortex is
diminished because of interaction with the ground. Which also reduce downwash
and induce drag. This phenomena is called ground effect.
• The reduced drag in the presence of ground effect is accounted by φ where, φ ≤1
 Takeoff Performance(Continue)
Effective constant force acting during takeoff,

Consider, V=VLO(liftoff velocity) and m=W/g

To ensure safety margin, liftoff velocity is taken

20 percent higher than stall velocity.

Thus

For further simplification, assume T >> D or R during takeoff

Ignoring D and R compared to T, We have
Landing Performance
 For landing, thrust, T = 0
So that,

Integrating, s=sL when t=0 and

s=0 when t=t

Vm
As, t  F so that,
Recalling, m=W/g and F=-[D + μr (W – L)]0.7VT
Landing Performance(Continue)
 To maintain factor of safety,

So that,

 Modern jet transports utilize thrust reversal during the landing ground
roll.
The equation for landing will be,

Assuming TR constant, thus ground roll for landing