Historical perspective

Dr. Albert F. Zahm – 1930

Dr. Albert F. Zahm, one of America's pioneers in
scientific aeronautics. Dr. Zahm has made a series
of inventions in this science, was the first to
develop a modern aerodynamic laboratory and has
written a history of aerial navigation, as well as a
great number of scientific papers and reports. Dr.
Zahm, at present, holds the Daniel Guggenheim
Chair of Aeronautics in the Library of Congress.
Representation of stability by Zahm
Frederick Lanchester

 Whilst crossing the Atlantic on a voyage to the United States,

Lanchester studied the flight of herring gulls, seeing how
they were able to use motionless wings to catch up-currents
of air. He measured various birds to see how the centre of
gravity compared with the centre of support and, as a result
of his deliberations, he eventually formulated his circulation
theory of flight; the basis of aerodynamics and the foundation
of modern aerofoil theory. In1892 — Lanchester began
working seriously on Auronautics theory of flight and
powered flight (eleven years before the first successful
powered flight)
In 1897 he presented papers entitled Theory of Stability (Patent 3608),
1897 and “The soaring of birds and the possibilities of mechanical flight”
to the Physical Society, but these were also rejected! clearly he was too
advanced for them and this time. Giving up was not in Fred’s nature — he
persisted, working alongside his major pioneering developments in
automotive design and self-funded, pursued further developments in
flight.

He realized that powered flight required an engine with a much greater

power-to-weight ratio than any existing engine. He proposed to design
and build such an engine, but, again, was advised that no one would take
him seriously. Again, discouraged by the attitude to his aeronautical
theory, he focused on automobile development for the next ten year, but
continued to developed his theories and experiments alongside this,
developing a theory of flight based on the twisting flow of air or ‘vortex’
caused by the friction of the air moving over the slender shape of the
wings. Today this principle is exploited to reduce drag and increase
efficiency through the use of winglets.
His book was not well received in England, but created interest in
Germany where the scientist Ludwig Prandtl mathematically confirmed
the correctness of Lanchester’s vortex theory. In his second volume,
Lanchester turned his attention to aircraft stability, Aerodonetics
(Lanchester 1908), developing his phugoid theory which contained a
description of oscillations and stalls. During this work he outlined the
basic layout used in most aircraft since then. Wider recognition of
Lanchester’s contribution to aeronautical science was not recognized
until the end of his life.
 Octave Chanute

 Octave Chanute was a French-American civil engineer and aviation pioneer. He

provided many budding enthusiasts, including the Wright brothers, with help and
advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments.
 Let us hope that the advent of a successful flying machine, now only dimly foreseen
and nevertheless thought to be possible, will bring nothing but good into the world;
that it shall abridge distance, make all parts of the globe accessible, bring men into
closer relation with each other, advance civilization, and hasten the promised era in
which there shall be nothing but peace and good-will among all men.
 Otto lilienthal

The most significant pre-Wright brothers aeronautical experimenter was the German
glider pioneer Otto Lilienthal. Between 1891 and 1896, he built and flew a series of
highly successful full-size gliders. During this period, Lilienthal made close to 2,000
brief flights in 16 different designs based on aerodynamic research he conducted in
the 1870s and 1880s. Like the example in the National Air and Space Museum
collection, most were monoplanes with stabilizing tail surfaces mounted at the rear.
Control was achieved by shifting body weight fore-and-aft and from side-to-side.

Beyond his technical contributions, he sparked aeronautical advancement from a

psychological point of view, as well by unquestionably demonstrating that gliding
flight was possible. He was a great inspiration to the Wright brothers in particular.
They adopted his approach of glider experimentation and used his aerodynamic data
as a starting point in their own research.
 Samuel Pierpont Langley
 Samuel Pierpont Langley was an American astronomer, physicist,
inventor of the bolometer and aviation pioneer. In addition to
becoming the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, he was
also a professor of astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh, where
he was the director of the Allegheny Observatory.
https://www.historynet.com/samuel-langley-aviation-pioneer.htm
On the first flight attempt, October 7, 1903, the craft failed to fly and
dropped into the Potomac River immediately after launch. On the second
attempt, December 8, the craft collapsed after launch and again fell into
the river. Rescuers pulled Manly unhurt from the water each time.
Glenn Curtiss inventor of modern
ailerons

Wright Brothers had already made the first successful controlled flight
of a manned aircraft. The Wright Brothers, however, had not allowed
public viewing of the flight, and their tendency toward secrecy and
continued distrust of the press had resulted in little public notice of the
event. It was a mistake that would cost them dearly. On March 12,
1908, the A.E.A. "Red Wing" made the first public flight in America of a
heavier-than-air machine with Casey Baldwin at the controls. The craft
took off from the frozen surface of Keuka Lake and remained aloft for
20 seconds, covering a distance of 318 feet, 11 inches, before it went
down on one wing and crashed. Two months later, the "White Wing"
with Curtiss flying it, covered a distance of 1,017 feet in controlled
flight. This success was made possible by the addition of "horizontal
rudders" (Bell's term) to the wingtips, a precursor of the aileron.
Capitain FERBER
BASIC CONCEPTS OF STABILITY
Stability: How an aircraft reacts to disturbances
while in flight

Types of stability:
 Static (positive, neutral, negative)
 Dynamic
 Inherent
Dynamic stability
+ve damping,-ve damping and SAS
Boeing 737 Max (MCAS software)
Degree of dynamic stability and PIO
Inherent Stability

Built in characteristics to enable the airplane to be either stable or

unstable

Stability may be built into each aircraft axis creating

 Longitudinal stability
 Lateral stability
 Directional stability
Longitudinal Stability
 Stability around the lateral axis
 Also known as pitch stability
Longitudinal Stability
 Longitudinal stability is affected by:

 1. Size and position of horizontal stabilizer

 2. Position of the C of G
Longitudinal Stability
Centre of Gravity (C of G)

 C of G too far forward

◦ Required loading on the horizontal tail surfaces to

maintain angle of attack increases

◦ Overall weight of aircraft increases

◦ Stall speed increases

Longitudinal Stability
 C of G too far aft

◦ Decreased longitudinal stability because centre of

gravity is behind the centre of pressure

◦ Violent stall characteristics

◦ Poor stall recovery (very dangerous!)

◦ Stall speed decreases

Longitudinal Stability
 A - C of G too far
forward
 STALL SPEED
INCREASES

 B - C of G too far
aft
 STALL SPEED
DECREASES
Lateral Stability
Lateral stability is created through
1. Dihedral
2. Keel effect
3. Sweepback wings
Lateral Stability
Dihedral
 The angle that each wing
makes with the
horizontal of the aircraft
 The lowered wing will
produce more lift and will
roll back into place

 Downgoing wing
 = greater angle of attack
 = increased lift
Lateral Stability
Keel Effect
◦ When disturbed, weight of the aircraft acts like a pendulum
to swing aircraft back into position
◦ Natural feature of high wing aircraft
◦ Weight of the aircraft lies under the wings
Lateral Stability
Sweepback
◦ Leading edge of the wing slopes backward
◦ When one wing is dropped, the lowered wing produces more
lift than the raised wing and the original position is restored
Directional Stability
 Stability around the vertical or normal axis
Directional Stability
Vertical Tail Surface (fin and rudder)
 Airplanes have a tendency to fly directly into the relative
airflow due to the vertical tail surface
 When disturbed the relative airflow will hit the side of the
vertical tail surface and push it back into position
Longitudinal static stability
Contribution of Aircraft Components
towards stability
 Wing
 Tail plane
 Fuselage
 Propulsion system
Wing contribution
Wing contribution to the pitching moment
 Resolving the component wrt to Cg point we
get
Conclusion
Flow field created by the wing
 Tail contribution
Aft tail contribution to the pitching moment
Canard-Forward tail surface
Power effects
 Propellers
 Gas turbine engines
Stick fix neutral point
Influence of CG on longitudinal static
stability