HELLO

AILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

IRCRAFT PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN To Sarah~Allen, Katherine, and

Elizabeth for all their love and understanding John D. Anderson, Jr. ABOUT
THE AUTHOR John D. Anderson, Jr., was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
on October 1, 1937. He attended the University of Florida, graduating in
1959 with high honors and a Bache lor of Aeronautical Engineering
Degree. From 1959 to 1962, he was a lieutenant and task scientist at the
Aerospace Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. From
1962 to 1966, he attended the Ohio State University under the National
Science Foundation and NASA Fellowships, graduating with a Ph.D. in
aeronautical and astronautical engineering. In 1966, he joined the U.S.
Naval Ordnance Lab oratory as Chief of the Hypersonic Group. In 1973, he
became Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the
University of Maryland, and since 1980 has been professor of Aerospace
Engineering at Maryland. In 1982, he was desig nated a Distinguished
Scholarffeacher by the University. During 1986-1987, while on sabbatical
from the university, Dr. Anderson occupied the Charles Lindbergh chair at
the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. He
continues with the Museum in a part-time appointment as special
assistant for aerodynamics. In addition to his appointment in aerospace
engineering, in 1993 he was elected to the faculty of the Committee on
the History and Philosophy of Science at Maryland, and is an affiliate
faculty member in the Department of History. Dr. Anderson has published
seven books: Gasdynamic Lasers: An Introduc tion, Academic Press
(1976), A History of Aerodynamics and Its Impact on Flying Machines,
Cambridge University Press (1997), and with McGraw-Hill, Introduction to
Flight, 3d edition (1989), Modem Compressible Flow, 2d Edition (1990),
Fun damentals of Aerodynamics, 2d edition (1991), Hypersonic and High
Temperature Gas Dynamics (1989), and Computational Fluid Dynamics:
The Basics with Ap plications (1995). He is the author of over 120 papers
on radiative gasdynamics, re-entry aerothermodynamics, gas dynamic
and chemical lasers, computational fluid dynamics, applied aerodynamics,
hypersonic flow, and the history of aerodynamics. Dr. Anderson is in Who's
Who in America, and is a Fellow of the American Insti tute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics (AIAA). He is also a Fellow of the Washington Academy of

Air India General - Internal

use only
Sciences, and a member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta
Sigma, The American Society for Engineeri~g Education (ASEE), The
Society for the History of Technology, and the History of Science Society.
He has received the Lee Atwood Award for excellence in Aerospace
Engineering Education from the AIAA and the ASEE, and the Pendray
Award for Aerospace Literature from the AIAA. vii PREFACE There are a
number of books on airplane performance, and a number of books on
airplane design. Question: Where does the present book fit into the
scheme of things? Answer: Overlapping and integrating both subjects. On
one hand, this book gives a presentation of airplane performance at the
college level. It covers both static and accelerated performance topics. On
the other hand, this book also gives a presentation of airplane design,
with an emphasis on the philosophy and methodology of design. Some
emphasis is also placed on historical material and design case studies in
order to illustrate this philosophy and methodology. This book is not a
handbook for airplane design. It is intended to be used in courses in
airplane performance as a main text, and in courses in airplane design as
an introduction to the philosophy of design, and hence in conjunction with
an existing detailed text on airplane design. To paraphrase a popular
television commercial, this book is not intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design-rather it is intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design better. This author hopes that such
intentions are indeed achieved in the present book. The major features of
this book are as follows. 1. · This book is unique in that it is the first to
provide an integrated introductory treatment of both aircraft performance
and aircraft design-two subjects that are so closely connected that they
can be viewed as technological Siamese twins. 2. This book is intentionally
written in a conversational style, much like the author's previous texts, in
order to enhance the readers' understanding and enjoyment. 3. The book
is divided into three parts. Part I contains introductory material that is
important for an understanding of aircraft performance and design.
Chapter l deals with the history of aircraft design. It is important for
students and practitioners of aircraft design to understand this history
because the design of a new airplane is usually evolutionary; a new
airplane is frequently an evolutionary extension of one or more previous
designs. Even the most revolutionary of new airplane designs contain
some of the genes of almost all previous aircraft. Hence, Chapter l is an
essential part of this book. Other historical notes appear elsewhere in the
book. Chapters 2 and 3 are overviews of aerodynamics and propulsion,
respectively. These chapters focus on only those aspects of aerodynamics
and propulsion that are necessary for an understanding and application of
both aircraft performance (Part H) and aircraft design (Part III). However,
they serve a secondary function; they provide a self-contained overview of

Air India General - Internal

use only
theoretical and applied aspects of aerodynamics and propulsion that help
the reader obtain a broader perspective of these subjects. So Chapters 2
and 3, in addition to being essential to the material in Parts II and III, have
intrinsic educational value in and of themselves, no matter what may be
the reader's background. 4. Part II deals with static and accelerated
aircraft performance. The basic equations of motion are derived in
Chapter 4. These equations are then specialized for the study of static
performance (no acceleration) in Chapter 5, and are used in Chapter 6 in
their more general form for performance problems involving acceleration.
The material is presented in two parallel tracks: (1) graphical solutions,
and (2) closed-form analytical solutions. The value of each approach is
emphasized. ix X Preface 5. Parts I and II provide the material for a
complete one-semester course on aircraft performance at the junior-senior
level. 6. Parts I and II are sprinkled with "design cameos"-boxed
discussions of how the material being discussed at that stage is relevant
to aircraft design. These design cameos are a unique feature of the
present book. They are part of the overall integrated discussion of
performance and design that is a hallmark of this book. Irt addition, many
worked examples are included in Parts I and II as a means to support and
enhance the reader's understanding of and comfort level with the
material. Homework problems are included at the end of most of the
chapters, as appropriate to the nature of each chapter. 7. Part III is all
about aircraft design, but with a different style and purpose than existing
airplane design texts. Chapter 7 lays out an intellectual, almost
philosophical road map for the process of aircraft design. Then the
methodology is applied to the design of a propeller-driven airplane in
Chapter 8, and jet-propelled airplanes in Chapter 9. In addition, Chapters 8
and 9 are enhanced by important case histories of the design of several
historic airplanes~another dose of history, but with a powerful purpose,
namely to drive home the philosophy and methodology of aircraft design.
Part III is not a design handbook; rather, it provides an intellectual
perspective on design-a perspective that all airplane designers, past and
present, exhibit, whether knowingly or subconsciously. Part III is intended
for the first part of a senior design course. The complete book-Parts I, II,
and III-is intended to provide a unique "pre-design" experience for the
reader. I wanted to create a book that would work synergistically with
existing main-line design texts. As mentioned earlier, this book is not
intended to constitute a complete course in aircraft design; rather, its
purpose is to make such 'a course a better and more rewarding
experience for the student. 8. Although "history" is not in the title of this
book, another unique aspect is the extensive discussions of the history of
airplane design in Chapter 1 and the extensively researched historical
case studies presented in chapter~ 8 and 9. In this vein, the present book

Air India General - Internal

use only
carries _over some of the tradition and historical flavor of the author's
previous books, in particular some of the historical research contained in
the author's recent book, The History of Aerodynamics, and Its Impact
on,Flying Machines (see Reference 8). 9. There are carefully selected
homework problems at the end of most of the chapters-not an
overpowering number, but enough to properly reinforce the material in
the chapter. There is a Solutions Manual for the use of instructors.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute these solutions to students at
the discretion of the instructor. In addition, the answers to selected
problems are given at the end of the book. 10. Computer software for
aircraft performance and design calculations is intentionally not provided
with this book. This may be seen as bucking current trends with
engineering textbooks. But I want this book to provide a comfortable
intellectual experience for the reader, unencumbered by the need to learn
how to u~e someone else's software. The reader's experience with
software for these subjects will most likely come soon enough in the
classroom. However, much of the material in this book is ideally suited to
the creation of simple computer programs, and the reader should enjoy
the creative experience of writing such programs as he or she wishes. I
wish to acknowledge the author Enzo Angelucci and his wonderful book
Airplanes From the Dawn of Flight to the Present Day, published in English
by McGraw-Hill in 1973. The airplane drawings that appear in Chapter 1 of
the present book are taken from his book. I wish to thank the many
colleagues who have provided stimulating discussions during the time
that this book was being prepared, as well as the reviewers of the
manuscript. I also Preface thank Sue Cunningham, who has provided some
expert word processing for the manuscript. And most of all I thank Sarah-
Allen Anderson for being such a supportive and understanding wife during
the long time it has taken me to finish this project. So here it is-this
integrated treatment of aircraft performance and design. Try it on for size.
I hope that it fits comfortably and serves you well. If it does, then all my
labors will not have been in vain. John D. Anderson, Jr. September 1998 xi
CONTENTS Preface 1x PART 1 Preliminary Considerations 1 Chapter The
Evolution of the Airplane and Its Performance: A Short History 3 1.1
Introduction 3 1.2 Four Historical Periods of Airplane Design
Characteristics 6 1.2.1 Pre-Wright Era 6 1.2.2 Era of Strut-and-Wire
Biplanes 15 1.2.3 Era of the Mature, Propeller-Driven Airplane 23 1.2.4 Era
of the Jet-Propelled Airplane 33 1.3 Unconventional Designs (Innovative
Concepts) 43 1.4 Summary and the Future 47 Aerodynamics of the
Airplane: The Drag Polar 51 2.1 Introduction 51 2.2 The Source of
Aerodynamic Force 52 2.3 Aerodynamic Lift, Drag, and Moments 53 2.4
Aerodynamic Coefficients 57 2.5 Lift, Drag, and Moment Coefficients: How
They Vary 62 2.6 The Aerodynamic Center 70 2.7 NACA Airfoil

Air India General - Internal

use only
Nomenclature 73 2.8 Lift and Drag Buildup 78 2.8.1 Lift for a Finite Wing
78 2.8.2 2.8.3 Wing-Body Combinations 103 Drag 105 2.8.4 Summary 124
2.9 The Drag Polar 126 2.9.l More Thoughts on Drag 126 2.9.2 The Drag
Polar: What Is It and How Is It Used? 129 2.10 Historical Note: The Origin
of the Drag Polar-,Lilienthal and Eiffel 137 2.11 Summary 141 Some
Propulsion Characteristics 145 3.1 Introduction 145 3.2 Thrust and
Efficiency-The Tradeoff 146 3.3 The Reciprocating Engine/Propeller
Combin:ation 151 3.3.l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel Consumption
with Velocity and Altitude 154 3.3.2 The Propeller 156 3.4 The Turbojet
Engine 162 3.4.1 Variations of Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with
Velocity and Altitude 166 3.5 The Turbofan Engine 170 3.5.1 Variations of
Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 174 3.6
The Turboprop 178 3.6. l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel
Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 181 3.7 Miscellaneous Comments:
Afterbuming and More on Specific Fuel Consumption 183 3.8 Summary
185 xiv Contents [Link] 2 Airplane Performance 189 Chapter 4 The
Equations of Motion 191 4.1 Introduction 191 4.2 The Four Forces of Flight
192 4.3 The Equations of Motion 194 4.4 Summary and Comments 197
Chapter 5 Airplane Performance: Steady Flight 199 5 .1 Introduction 199 5
.2 Equations of Motion for Steady, Level Flight 201 5.3 Thrust Required
(Drag) 202 5.3.1 Graphical Approach 202 5.3.2 Analytical Approach 208
5.3.3 Graphical and Analytical Approaches: Some Comments 216 5.4 The
Fundamental Parameters: Thrust-to-Weight Ratio, Wing Loading, Drag
Polar, and Lift-to-Drag Ratio 216 5 .4.1 Aerodynamic Relations Associated
with Maximum CLf C0 , cf 12 /Co, and ct/co 218 5.5 Thrust Available and
the Maximum Velocity of the Airplane 226 5.5.1 Propeller-Driven Aircraft
227 5.5.2 Jet-Propelled Aircraft 229 5.5.3 Maximum Velocity 230 5.6 Power
Required 234 5.6. l Graphical Approach 235 5.6.2 Analytical Approach 236
5.7 Power Available and Maximum Velocity 239 5.7.l Propeller-Driven
Aircraft 239 5.7.2 Turbojet and Turbofan Engines 241 5.7.3 Maximum
Velocity 242 5.8 Effect of Drag Divergence on Maximum Velocity 244 5.9
Minimum Velocity: Stall and High-Lift Devices 252 5.9. l · Calculation of
Stalling Velocity: Role of(Cdmax 253 5.9.2 The Nature of Stall-Flow
Separation 255 5.9.3 High-Lift Devices 257 5.9.4 Interim Summary 263
5.10 Rate of Climb 265 5 .10.1 Graphical Approach 268 5.10.2 Analytical
Approach 270 5.10.3 Gliding (Unpowered) Flight 282 5.11 Service and
Absolute Ceilings 287 5.12 Time to Climb 290 5.12.1 Graphical Approach
290 5.12.2 Analytical Approach 292 5.13 Range 293 5.13.l Range for
Propeller-Driven Airplanes 296 5.13.2 Range for Jet-Propelled Airplanes
5.13.3 Other Considerations 299 5.14 Endurance 302 5.14.1 Endurance
for Propeller-Driven Airplanes 303 5.14.2 Endurance for Jet-Propelled
Airplanes 305 5.15 Range and Endurance: A Summary and Some General
Thoughts 305 5.15.1 More on Endurance 306 5.15.2 More on Range 308

Air India General - Internal

use only
5.15.3 Graphical Summary 309 5 .15 .4 The Effect of Wind 309 5.16
Summary 314 Chapter 6 Airplane Performance: Accelerated Flight 321 6.1
Introduction 321 6.2 Level Tum 322 6.2.l Minimum Tum Radius 329 6.2.2
Maximum Turn Rate 332 6.3 The Pull-up and Pulldown Maneuvers 297 336
6.4 Limiting Case for Large Load Factor 339 6.5 The V-n Diagram 341 6.6
Energy Concepts: Accelerated Rate of Climb 344 6.7 Takeoff Performance
353 6. 7 .1 Calculation of Ground Roll 355 6.7.2 Calcuiation of Distance
While Airborne to Clear an Obstacle 363 6.8 Landing Performance 367 6.8.
l Calculation of Approach Distance 368 6.8.2 Calculation of Flare Distance
370 6.8.3 Calculation of Ground Roll 370 6.9 Summary 375 PART 3
Airplane Design Chapter 7 The Philosophy of Airplane Design 381 7.1
Introduction 38] 7.2 Phases of Airplane Design 382 7 .2. l Conceptual
Design 382 7.2.2 Design 383 7.2.3 Detail Design 386 7.2.4 Interim
Summary 386 7.3 The Seven Intellectual Pivot Points for Conceptual
Design 387 7 .3. l Requirements 388 7.3.2 Weight of the Airplane-First
Estimate 389 7.3.3 7.3.4 7.3.5 7.3.6 7.3.7 7.3.8 7.3.9 Critical Performance
Parameters Configuration Layout 391 Better Weight Estimate 39 I
Performance Analysis 391 Optimization 392 Constraint Diagram 392
Interim Summary 395 Design of a Propeller-Driven 397 8.1 Introduction
397 391 Contents 8.2 Requirements 398 8.3 The Weight of an Airplane
and Its First Estimate 398 8.3. l Estimation of W,/ W0 399 8.3.2 Estimation
of W0 400 8.3.3 Calculation of W0 405 8.4 Estimation of the Critical
Performance Parameters 406 8.4. l Maximum Lift Coefficient 406 8.4.2
WingLoadingW/S 410 8.4.3 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio 4 J 2 8.5 Summary of
the Critical Performance Parameters 419 8.6 Configuration Layout 419
8.6.1 Overall Type of Configuration 420 8.6.2 Wing Configuration 420 8.6.3
8.6.4 Fuselage Configuration 431 Center-of-Gravity Location: First
Estimate 433 8.6.5 Horizontal and Vertical Tail Size 435 8.6.6 Propeller
Size 440 8.6.7 Gear, and Wing Placement 442 8.6.8 The Resulting Layout
448 8.7 A Better Weight Estimate 449 8.8 Performance Analysis 453 8.8. l
Power Required and Power Available Curves 453 8.8.2 Rate of Climb 455
8.8.3 Range 455 8.8.4 Stalling Speed 456 8.8.5 Landing Distance 456
8.8.6 Takeoff Distance 457 8.8.7 Interim Summary 458 8.9 Summary 458
8.10 Design Case Study: The Wright Flyer 458 8.11 Design Case Study:
The Douglas DC-3 463 of Jet-Propelled Airplanes 9.1 Introduction 488 9.2
The Design of Subsonicffransonic Jet-Fropelled Airplanes: A Case Study of
the 707 and 727 489 xvi 9.3 9.4 9.5 Contents 9.2.1 9.2.2 9.2.3 9.2.4
Design of the B-47-A Precursor to the 707 489 Design of the 707 Civil Jet
Transport 494 Design of the Boeing 727 Jet Transport 500 Interim
Summary 513 Subsonic Jet Airplane Design: Additional Considerations 516
Supersonic Airplane Design 519 9.4.1 9.4.2 9.4.3 Design of the F-16 519
Design of the SR-71 Blackbird 527 Design of the Lockheed F-22 Advanced
Tactical Fighter -538 Summary 542 Appendix A Standard Atmosphere, SI

Air India General - Internal

use only
Units 545 Appendix B Standard Atmosphere, English Engineering Units
557 Answers to Selected Problems 567 References 569 Postface 543 Index
573 AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN

3. Preliminary Considerations The their day was called head resistance.

were very conscious of the used which in formulas obtained from Octave
Chanute to estimate the head resistance for their machines. was a well-
known civil and railroad aeronautics. He in 1893 from around the world in
a book a classic----'-'you can still their intensive inventive work in 1900 to
prone while their ,rn1JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ

illustrate this philosophy and methodology. This book is not a handbook

for airplane design. It is intended to be used in courses in airplane
performance as a main text, and in courses in airplane design as an
introduction to the philosophy of design, and hence in conjunction with an
existing detailed text on airplane design. To paraphrase a popular
television commercial, this book is not intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design-rather it is intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design better. This author hopes that such
intentions are indeed achieved in the present book. The major features of
this book are as follows. 1. · This book is unique in that it is the first to
provide an integrated introductory treatment of both aircraft performance
and aircraft design-two subjects that are so closely connected that they

Air India General - Internal

use only
can be viewed as technological Siamese twins. 2. This book is intentionally
written in a conversational style, much like the author's previous texts, in
order to enhance the readers' understanding and enjoyment. 3. The book
is divided into three parts. Part I contains introductory material that is
important for an understanding of aircraft performance and design.
Chapter l deals with the history of aircraft design. It is important for
students and practitioners of aircraft design to understand this history
because the design of a new airplane is usually evolutionary; a new
airplane is frequently an evolutionary extension of one or more previous
designs. Even the most revolutionary of new airplane designs contain
some of the genes of almost all previous aircraft. Hence, Chapter l is an
essential part of this book. Other historical notes appear elsewhere in the
book. Chapters 2 and 3 are overviews of aerodynamics and propulsion,
respectively. These chapters focus on only those aspects of aerodynamics
and propulsion that are necessary for an understanding and application of
both aircraft performance (Part H) and aircraft design (Part III). However,
they serve a secondary function; they provide a self-contained overview of
theoretical and applied aspects of aerodynamics and propulsion that help
the reader obtain a broader perspective of these subjects. So Chapters 2
and 3, in addition to being essential to the material in Parts II and III, have
intrinsic educational value in and of themselves, no matter what may be
the reader's background. 4. Part II deals with static and accelerated
aircraft performance. The basic equations of motion are derived in
Chapter 4. These equations are then specialized for the study of static
performance (no acceleration) in Chapter 5, and are used in Chapter 6 in
their more general form for performance problems involving acceleration.
The material is presented in two parallel tracks: (1) graphical solutions,
and (2) closed-form analytical solutions. The value of each approach is
emphasized. ix X Preface 5. Parts I and II provide the material for a
complete one-semester course on aircraft performance at the junior-senior
level. 6. Parts I and II are sprinkled with "design cameos"-boxed
discussions of how the material being discussed at that stage is relevant
to aircraft design. These design cameos are a unique feature of the
present book. They are part of the overall integrated discussion of
performance and design that is a hallmark of this book. Irt addition, many
worked examples are included in Parts I and II as a means to support and
enhance the reader's understanding of and comfort level with the
material. Homework problems are included at the end of most of the
chapters, as appropriate to the nature of each chapter. 7. Part III is all
about aircraft design, but with a different style and purpose than existing
airplane design texts. Chapter 7 lays out an intellectual, almost
philosophical road map for the process of aircraft design. Then the
methodology is applied to the design of a propeller-driven airplane in

Air India General - Internal

use only
Chapter 8, and jet-propelled airplanes in Chapter 9. In addition, Chapters 8
and 9 are enhanced by important case histories of the design of several
historic airplanes~another dose of history, but with a powerful purpose,
namely to drive home the philosophy and methodology of aircraft design.
Part III is not a design handbook; rather, it provides an intellectual
perspective on design-a perspective that all airplane designers, past and
present, exhibit, whether knowingly or subconsciously. Part III is intended
for the first part of a senior design course. The complete book-Parts I, II,
and III-is intended to provide a unique "pre-design" experience for the
reader. I wanted to create a book that would work synergistically with
existing main-line design texts. As mentioned earlier, this book is not
intended to constitute a complete course in aircraft design; rather, its
purpose is to make such 'a course a better and more rewarding
experience for the student. 8. Although "history" is not in the title of this
book, another unique aspect is the extensive discussions of the history of
airplane design in Chapter 1 and the extensively researched historical
case studies presented in chapter~ 8 and 9. In this vein, the present book
carries _over some of the tradition and historical flavor of the author's
previous books, in particular some of the historical research contained in
the author's recent book, The History of Aerodynamics, and Its Impact
on,Flying Machines (see Reference 8). 9. There are carefully selected
homework problems at the end of most of the chapters-not an
overpowering number, but enough to properly reinforce the material in
the chapter. There is a Solutions Manual for the use of instructors.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute these solutions to students at
the discretion of the instructor. In addition, the answers to selected
problems are given at the end of the book. 10. Computer software for
aircraft performance and design calculations is intentionally not provided
with this book. This may be seen as bucking current trends with
engineering textbooks. But I want this book to provide a comfortable
intellectual experience for the reader, unencumbered by the need to learn
how to u~e someone else's software. The reader's experience with
software for these subjects will most likely come soon enough in the
classroom. However, much of the material in this book is ideally suited to
the creation of simple computer programs, and the reader should enjoy
the creative experience of writing such programs as he or she wishes. I
wish to acknowledge the author Enzo Angelucci and his wonderful book
Airplanes From the Dawn of Flight to the Present Day, published in English
by McGraw-Hill in 1973. The airplane drawings that appear in Chapter 1 of
the present book are taken from his book. I wish to thank the many
colleagues who have provided stimulating discussions during the time
that this book was being prepared, as well as the reviewers of the
manuscript. I also Preface thank Sue Cunningham, who has provided some

Air India General - Internal

use only
expert word processing for the manuscript. And most of all I thank Sarah-
Allen Anderson for being such a supportive and understanding wife during
the long time it has taken me to finish this project. So here it is-this
integrated treatment of aircraft performance and design. Try it on for size.
I hope that it fits comfortably and serves you well. If it does, then all my
labors will not have been in vain. John D. Anderson, Jr. September 1998 xi
CONTENTS Preface 1x PART 1 Preliminary Considerations 1 Chapter The
Evolution of the Airplane and Its Performance: A Short History 3 1.1
Introduction 3 1.2 Four Historical Periods of Airplane Design
Characteristics 6 1.2.1 Pre-Wright Era 6 1.2.2 Era of Strut-and-Wire
Biplanes 15 1.2.3 Era of the Mature, Propeller-Driven Airplane 23 1.2.4 Era
of the Jet-Propelled Airplane 33 1.3 Unconventional Designs (Innovative
Concepts) 43 1.4 Summary and the Future 47 Aerodynamics of the
Airplane: The Drag Polar 51 2.1 Introduction 51 2.2 The Source of
Aerodynamic Force 52 2.3 Aerodynamic Lift, Drag, and Moments 53 2.4
Aerodynamic Coefficients 57 2.5 Lift, Drag, and Moment Coefficients: How
They Vary 62 2.6 The Aerodynamic Center 70 2.7 NACA Airfoil
Nomenclature 73 2.8 Lift and Drag Buildup 78 2.8.1 Lift for a Finite Wing
78 2.8.2 2.8.3 Wing-Body Combinations 103 Drag 105 2.8.4 Summary 124
2.9 The Drag Polar 126 2.9.l More Thoughts on Drag 126 2.9.2 The Drag
Polar: What Is It and How Is It Used? 129 2.10 Historical Note: The Origin
of the Drag Polar-,Lilienthal and Eiffel 137 2.11 Summary 141 Some
Propulsion Characteristics 145 3.1 Introduction 145 3.2 Thrust and
Efficiency-The Tradeoff 146 3.3 The Reciprocating Engine/Propeller
Combin:ation 151 3.3.l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel Consumption
with Velocity and Altitude 154 3.3.2 The Propeller 156 3.4 The Turbojet
Engine 162 3.4.1 Variations of Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with
Velocity and Altitude 166 3.5 The Turbofan Engine 170 3.5.1 Variations of
Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 174 3.6
The Turboprop 178 3.6. l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel
Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 181 3.7 Miscellaneous Comments:
Afterbuming and More on Specific Fuel Consumption 183 3.8 Summary
185 xiv Contents [Link] 2 Airplane Performance 189 Chapter 4 The
Equations of Motion 191 4.1 Introduction 191 4.2 The Four Forces of Flight
192 4.3 The Equations of Motion 194 4.4 Summary and Comments 197
Chapter 5 Airplane Performance: Steady Flight 199 5 .1 Introduction 199 5
.2 Equations of Motion for Steady, Level Flight 201 5.3 Thrust Required
(Drag) 202 5.3.1 Graphical Approach 202 5.3.2 Analytical Approach 208
5.3.3 Graphical and Analytical Approaches: Some Comments 216 5.4 The
Fundamental Parameters: Thrust-to-Weight Ratio, Wing Loading, Drag
Polar, and Lift-to-Drag Ratio 216 5 .4.1 Aerodynamic Relations Associated
with Maximum CLf C0 , cf 12 /Co, and ct/co 218 5.5 Thrust Available and
the Maximum Velocity of the Airplane 226 5.5.1 Propeller-Driven Aircraft

Air India General - Internal

use only
227 5.5.2 Jet-Propelled Aircraft 229 5.5.3 Maximum Velocity 230 5.6 Power
Required 234 5.6. l Graphical Approach 235 5.6.2 Analytical Approach 236
5.7 Power Available and Maximum Velocity 239 5.7.l Propeller-Driven
Aircraft 239 5.7.2 Turbojet and Turbofan Engines 241 5.7.3 Maximum
Velocity 242 5.8 Effect of Drag Divergence on Maximum Velocity 244 5.9
Minimum Velocity: Stall and High-Lift Devices 252 5.9. l · Calculation of
Stalling Velocity: Role of(Cdmax 253 5.9.2 The Nature of Stall-Flow
Separation 255 5.9.3 High-Lift Devices 257 5.9.4 Interim Summary 263
5.10 Rate of Climb 265 5 .10.1 Graphical Approach 268 5.10.2 Analytical
Approach 270 5.10.3 Gliding (Unpowered) Flight 282 5.11 Service and
Absolute Ceilings 287 5.12 Time to Climb 290 5.12.1 Graphical Approach
290 5.12.2 Analytical Approach 292 5.13 Range 293 5.13.l Range for
Propeller-Driven Airplanes 296 5.13.2 Range for Jet-Propelled Airplanes
5.13.3 Other Considerations 299 5.14 Endurance 302 5.14.1 Endurance
for Propeller-Driven Airplanes 303 5.14.2 Endurance for Jet-Propelled
Airplanes 305 5.15 Range and Endurance: A Summary and Some General
Thoughts 305 5.15.1 More on Endurance 306 5.15.2 More on Range 308
5.15.3 Graphical Summary 309 5 .15 .4 The Effect of Wind 309 5.16
Summary 314 Chapter 6 Airplane Performance: Accelerated Flight 321 6.1
Introduction 321 6.2 Level Tum 322 6.2.l Minimum Tum Radius 329 6.2.2
Maximum Turn Rate 332 6.3 The Pull-up and Pulldown Maneuvers 297 336
6.4 Limiting Case for Large Load Factor 339 6.5 The V-n Diagram 341 6.6
Energy Concepts: Accelerated Rate of Climb 344 6.7 Takeoff Performance
353 6. 7 .1 Calculation of Ground Roll 355 6.7.2 Calcuiation of Distance
While Airborne to Clear an Obstacle 363 6.8 Landing Performance 367 6.8.
l Calculation of Approach Distance 368 6.8.2 Calculation of Flare Distance
370 6.8.3 Calculation of Ground Roll 370 6.9 Summary 375 PART 3
Airplane Design Chapter 7 The Philosophy of Airplane Design 381 7.1
Introduction 38] 7.2 Phases of Airplane Design 382 7 .2. l Conceptual
Design 382 7.2.2 Design 383 7.2.3 Detail Design 386 7.2.4 Interim
Summary 386 7.3 The Seven Intellectual Pivot Points for Conceptual
Design 387 7 .3. l Requirements 388 7.3.2 Weight of the Airplane-First
Estimate 389 7.3.3 7.3.4 7.3.5 7.3.6 7.3.7 7.3.8 7.3.9 Critical Performance
Parameters Configuration Layout 391 Better Weight Estimate 39 I
Performance Analysis 391 Optimization 392 Constraint Diagram 392
Interim Summary 395 Design of a Propeller-Driven 397 8.1 Introduction
397 391 Contents 8.2 Requirements 398 8.3 The Weight of an Airplane
and Its First Estimate 398 8.3. l Estimation of W,/ W0 399 8.3.2 Estimation
of W0 400 8.3.3 Calculation of W0 405 8.4 Estimation of the Critical
Performance Parameters 406 8.4. l Maximum Lift Coefficient 406 8.4.2
WingLoadingW/S 410 8.4.3 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio 4 J 2 8.5 Summary of
the Critical Performance Parameters 419 8.6 Configuration Layout 419
8.6.1 Overall Type of Configuration 420 8.6.2 Wing Configuration 420 8.6.3

Air India General - Internal

use only
8.6.4 Fuselage Configuration 431 Center-of-Gravity Location: First
Estimate 433 8.6.5 Horizontal and Vertical Tail Size 435 8.6.6 Propeller
Size 440

illustrate this philosophy and methodology. This book is not a handbook

for airplane design. It is intended to be used in courses in airplane
performance as a main text, and in courses in airplane design as an
introduction to the philosophy of design, and hence in conjunction with an
existing detailed text on airplane design. To paraphrase a popular
television commercial, this book is not intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design-rather it is intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design better. This author hopes that such
intentions are indeed achieved in the present book. The major features of
this book are as follows. 1. · This book is unique in that it is the first to
provide an integrated introductory treatment of both aircraft performance
and aircraft design-two subjects that are so closely connected that they
can be viewed as technological Siamese twins. 2. This book is intentionally
written in a conversational style, much like the author's previous texts, in
order to enhance the readers' understanding and enjoyment. 3. The book
is divided into three parts. Part I contains introductory material that is
important for an understanding of aircraft performance and design.
Chapter l deals with the history of aircraft design. It is important for
students and practitioners of aircraft design to understand this history
because the design of a new airplane is usually evolutionary; a new
airplane is frequently an evolutionary extension of one or more previous
designs. Even the most revolutionary of new airplane designs contain
some of the genes of almost all previous aircraft. Hence, Chapter l is an
essential part of this book. Other historical notes appear elsewhere in the
book. Chapters 2 and 3 are overviews of aerodynamics and propulsion,
respectively. These chapters focus on only those aspects of aerodynamics

Air India General - Internal

use only
and propulsion that are necessary for an understanding and application of
both aircraft performance (Part H) and aircraft design (Part III). However,
they serve a secondary function; they provide a self-contained overview of
theoretical and applied aspects of aerodynamics and propulsion that help
the reader obtain a broader perspective of these subjects. So Chapters 2
and 3, in addition to being essential to the material in Parts II and III, have
intrinsic educational value in and of themselves, no matter what may be
the reader's background. 4. Part II deals with static and accelerated
aircraft performance. The basic equations of motion are derived in
Chapter 4. These equations are then specialized for the study of static
performance (no acceleration) in Chapter 5, and are used in Chapter 6 in
their more general form for performance problems involving acceleration.
The material is presented in two parallel tracks: (1) graphical solutions,
and (2) closed-form analytical solutions. The value of each approach is
emphasized. ix X Preface 5. Parts I and II provide the material for a
complete one-semester course on aircraft performance at the junior-senior
level. 6. Parts I and II are sprinkled with "design cameos"-boxed
discussions of how the material being discussed at that stage is relevant
to aircraft design. These design cameos are a unique feature of the
present book. They are part of the overall integrated discussion of
performance and design that is a hallmark of this book. Irt addition, many
worked examples are included in Parts I and II as a means to support and
enhance the reader's understanding of and comfort level with the
material. Homework problems are included at the end of most of the
chapters, as appropriate to the nature of each chapter. 7. Part III is all
about aircraft design, but with a different style and purpose than existing
airplane design texts. Chapter 7 lays out an intellectual, almost
philosophical road map for the process of aircraft design. Then the
methodology is applied to the design of a propeller-driven airplane in
Chapter 8, and jet-propelled airplanes in Chapter 9. In addition, Chapters 8
and 9 are enhanced by important case histories of the design of several
historic airplanes~another dose of history, but with a powerful purpose,
namely to drive home the philosophy and methodology of aircraft design.
Part III is not a design handbook; rather, it provides an intellectual
perspective on design-a perspective that all airplane designers, past and
present, exhibit, whether knowingly or subconsciously. Part III is intended
for the first part of a senior design course. The complete book-Parts I, II,
and III-is intended to provide a unique "pre-design" experience for the
reader. I wanted to create a book that would work synergistically with
existing main-line design texts. As mentioned earlier, this book is not
intended to constitute a complete course in aircraft design; rather, its
purpose is to make such 'a course a better and more rewarding
experience for the student. 8. Although "history" is not in the title of this

Air India General - Internal

use only
book, another unique aspect is the extensive discussions of the history of
airplane design in Chapter 1 and the extensively researched historical
case studies presented in chapter~ 8 and 9. In this vein, the present book
carries _over some of the tradition and historical flavor of the author's
previous books, in particular some of the historical research contained in
the author's recent book, The History of Aerodynamics, and Its Impact
on,Flying Machines (see Reference 8). 9. There are carefully selected
homework problems at the end of most of the chapters-not an
overpowering number, but enough to properly reinforce the material in
the chapter. There is a Solutions Manual for the use of instructors.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute these solutions to students at
the discretion of the instructor. In addition, the answers to selected
problems are given at the end of the book. 10. Computer software for
aircraft performance and design calculations is intentionally not provided
with this book. This may be seen as bucking current trends with
engineering textbooks. But I want this book to provide a comfortable
intellectual experience for the reader, unencumbered by the need to learn
how to u~e someone else's software. The reader's experience with
software for these subjects will most likely come soon enough in the
classroom. However, much of the material in this book is ideally suited to
the creation of simple computer programs, and the reader should enjoy
the creative experience of writing such programs as he or she wishes. I
wish to acknowledge the author Enzo Angelucci and his wonderful book
Airplanes From the Dawn of Flight to the Present Day, published in English
by McGraw-Hill in 1973. The airplane drawings that appear in Chapter 1 of
the present book are taken from his book. I wish to thank the many
colleagues who have provided stimulating discussions during the time
that this book was being prepared, as well as the reviewers of the
manuscript. I also Preface thank Sue Cunningham, who has provided some
expert word processing for the manuscript. And most of all I thank Sarah-
Allen Anderson for being such a supportive and understanding wife during
the long time it has taken me to finish this project. So here it is-this
integrated treatment of aircraft performance and design. Try it on for size.
I hope that it fits comfortably and serves you well. If it does, then all my
labors will not have been in vain. John D. Anderson, Jr. September 1998 xi
CONTENTS Preface 1x PART 1 Preliminary Considerations 1 Chapter The
Evolution of the Airplane and Its Performance: A Short History 3 1.1
Introduction 3 1.2 Four Historical Periods of Airplane Design
Characteristics 6 1.2.1 Pre-Wright Era 6 1.2.2 Era of Strut-and-Wire
Biplanes 15 1.2.3 Era of the Mature, Propeller-Driven Airplane 23 1.2.4 Era
of the Jet-Propelled Airplane 33 1.3 Unconventional Designs (Innovative
Concepts) 43 1.4 Summary and the Future 47 Aerodynamics of the
Airplane: The Drag Polar 51 2.1 Introduction 51 2.2 The Source of

Air India General - Internal

use only
Aerodynamic Force 52 2.3 Aerodynamic Lift, Drag, and Moments 53 2.4
Aerodynamic Coefficients 57 2.5 Lift, Drag, and Moment Coefficients: How
They Vary 62 2.6 The Aerodynamic Center 70 2.7 NACA Airfoil
Nomenclature 73 2.8 Lift and Drag Buildup 78 2.8.1 Lift for a Finite Wing
78 2.8.2 2.8.3 Wing-Body Combinations 103 Drag 105 2.8.4 Summary 124
2.9 The Drag Polar 126 2.9.l More Thoughts on Drag 126 2.9.2 The Drag
Polar: What Is It and How Is It Used? 129 2.10 Historical Note: The Origin
of the Drag Polar-,Lilienthal and Eiffel 137 2.11 Summary 141 Some
Propulsion Characteristics 145 3.1 Introduction 145 3.2 Thrust and
Efficiency-The Tradeoff 146 3.3 The Reciprocating Engine/Propeller
Combin:ation 151 3.3.l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel Consumption
with Velocity and Altitude 154 3.3.2 The Propeller 156 3.4 The Turbojet
Engine 162 3.4.1 Variations of Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with
Velocity and Altitude 166 3.5 The Turbofan Engine 170 3.5.1 Variations of
Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 174 3.6
The Turboprop 178 3.6. l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel
Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 181 3.7 Miscellaneous Comments:
Afterbuming and More on Specific Fuel Consumption 183 3.8 Summary
185 xiv Contents [Link] 2 Airplane Performance 189 Chapter 4 The
Equations of Motion 191 4.1 Introduction 191 4.2 The Four Forces of Flight
192 4.3 The Equations of Motion 194 4.4 Summary and Comments 197
Chapter 5 Airplane Performance: Steady Flight 199 5 .1 Introduction 199 5
.2 Equations of Motion for Steady, Level Flight 201 5.3 Thrust Required
(Drag) 202 5.3.1 Graphical Approach 202 5.3.2 Analytical Approach 208
5.3.3 Graphical and Analytical Approaches: Some Comments 216 5.4 The
Fundamental Parameters: Thrust-to-Weight Ratio, Wing Loading, Drag
Polar, and Lift-to-Drag Ratio 216 5 .4.1 Aerodynamic Relations Associated
with Maximum CLf C0 , cf 12 /Co, and ct/co 218 5.5 Thrust Available and
the Maximum Velocity of the Airplane 226 5.5.1 Propeller-Driven Aircraft
227 5.5.2 Jet-Propelled Aircraft 229 5.5.3 Maximum Velocity 230 5.6 Power
Required 234 5.6. l Graphical Approach 235 5.6.2 Analytical Approach 236
5.7 Power Available and Maximum Velocity 239 5.7.l Propeller-Driven
Aircraft 239 5.7.2 Turbojet and Turbofan Engines 241 5.7.3 Maximum
Velocity 242 5.8 Effect of Drag Divergence on Maximum Velocity 244 5.9
Minimum Velocity: Stall and High-Lift Devices 252 5.9. l · Calculation of
Stalling Velocity: Role of(Cdmax 253 5.9.2 The Nature of Stall-Flow
Separation 255 5.9.3 High-Lift Devices 257 5.9.4 Interim Summary 263
5.10 Rate of Climb 265 5 .10.1 Graphical Approach 268 5.10.2 Analytical
Approach 270 5.10.3 Gliding (Unpowered) Flight 282 5.11 Service and
Absolute Ceilings 287 5.12 Time to Climb 290 5.12.1 Graphical Approach
290 5.12.2 Analytical Approach 292 5.13 Range 293 5.13.l Range for
Propeller-Driven Airplanes 296 5.13.2 Range for Jet-Propelled Airplanes
5.13.3 Other Considerations 299 5.14 Endurance 302 5.14.1 Endurance

Air India General - Internal

use only
for Propeller-Driven Airplanes 303 5.14.2 Endurance for Jet-Propelled
Airplanes 305 5.15 Range and Endurance: A Summary and Some General
Thoughts 305 5.15.1 More on Endurance 306 5.15.2 More on Range 308
5.15.3 Graphical Summary 309 5 .15 .4 The Effect of Wind 309 5.16
Summary 314 Chapter 6 Airplane Performance: Accelerated Flight 321 6.1
Introduction 321 6.2 Level Tum 322 6.2.l Minimum Tum Radius 329 6.2.2
Maximum Turn Rate 332 6.3 The Pull-up and Pulldown Maneuvers 297 336
6.4 Limiting Case for Large Load Factor 339 6.5 The V-n Diagram 341 6.6
Energy Concepts: Accelerated Rate of Climb 344 6.7 Takeoff Performance
353 6. 7 .1 Calculation of Ground Roll 355 6.7.2 Calcuiation of Distance
While Airborne to Clear an Obstacle 363 6.8 Landing Performance 367 6.8.
l Calculation of Approach Distance 368 6.8.2 Calculation of Flare Distance
370 6.8.3 Calculation of Ground Roll 370 6.9 Summary 375 PART 3
Airplane Design Chapter 7 The Philosophy of Airplane Design 381 7.1
Introduction 38] 7.2 Phases of Airplane Design 382 7 .2. l Conceptual
Design 382 7.2.2 Design 383 7.2.3 Detail Design 386 7.2.4 Interim
Summary 386 7.3 The Seven Intellectual Pivot Points for Conceptual
Design 387 7 .3. l Requirements 388 7.3.2 Weight of the Airplane-First
Estimate 389 7.3.3 7.3.4 7.3.5 7.3.6 7.3.7 7.3.8 7.3.9 Critical Performance
Parameters Configuration Layout 391 Better Weight Estimate 39 I
Performance Analysis 391 Optimization 392 Constraint Diagram 392
Interim Summary 395 Design of a Propeller-Driven 397 8.1 Introduction
397 391 Contents 8.2 Requirements 398 8.3 The Weight of an Airplane
and Its First Estimate 398 8.3. l Estimation of W,/ W0 399 8.3.2 Estimation
of W0 400 8.3.3 Calculation of W0 405 8.4 Estimation of the Critical
Performance Parameters 406 8.4. l Maximum Lift Coefficient 406 8.4.2
WingLoadingW/S 410 8.4.3 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio 4 J 2 8.5 Summary of
the Critical Performance Parameters 419 8.6 Configuration Layout 419
8.6.1 Overall Type of Configuration 420 8.6.2 Wing Configuration 420 8.6.3
8.6.4 Fuselage Configuration 431 Center-of-Gravity Location: First
Estimate 433 8.6.5 Horizontal and Vertical Tail Size 435 8.6.6 Propeller
Size 440

illustrate this philosophy and methodology. This book is not a handbook

for airplane design. It is intended to be used in courses in airplane
performance as a main text, and in courses in airplane design as an
introduction to the philosophy of design, and hence in conjunction with an
existing detailed text on airplane design. To paraphrase a popular
television commercial, this book is not intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design-rather it is intended to make a course in
handbook engineering design better. This author hopes that such
intentions are indeed achieved in the present book. The major features of

Air India General - Internal

use only
this book are as follows. 1. · This book is unique in that it is the first to
provide an integrated introductory treatment of both aircraft performance
and aircraft design-two subjects that are so closely connected that they
can be viewed as technological Siamese twins. 2. This book is intentionally
written in a conversational style, much like the author's previous texts, in
order to enhance the readers' understanding and enjoyment. 3. The book
is divided into three parts. Part I contains introductory material that is
important for an understanding of aircraft performance and design.
Chapter l deals with the history of aircraft design. It is important for
students and practitioners of aircraft design to understand this history
because the design of a new airplane is usually evolutionary; a new
airplane is frequently an evolutionary extension of one or more previous
designs. Even the most revolutionary of new airplane designs contain
some of the genes of almost all previous aircraft. Hence, Chapter l is an
essential part of this book. Other historical notes appear elsewhere in the
book. Chapters 2 and 3 are overviews of aerodynamics and propulsion,
respectively. These chapters focus on only those aspects of aerodynamics
and propulsion that are necessary for an understanding and application of
both aircraft performance (Part H) and aircraft design (Part III). However,
they serve a secondary function; they provide a self-contained overview of
theoretical and applied aspects of aerodynamics and propulsion that help
the reader obtain a broader perspective of these subjects. So Chapters 2
and 3, in addition to being essential to the material in Parts II and III, have
intrinsic educational value in and of themselves, no matter what may be
the reader's background. 4. Part II deals with static and accelerated
aircraft performance. The basic equations of motion are derived in
Chapter 4. These equations are then specialized for the study of static
performance (no acceleration) in Chapter 5, and are used in Chapter 6 in
their more general form for performance problems involving acceleration.
The material is presented in two parallel tracks: (1) graphical solutions,
and (2) closed-form analytical solutions. The value of each approach is
emphasized. ix X Preface 5. Parts I and II provide the material for a
complete one-semester course on aircraft performance at the junior-senior
level. 6. Parts I and II are sprinkled with "design cameos"-boxed
discussions of how the material being discussed at that stage is relevant
to aircraft design. These design cameos are a unique feature of the
present book. They are part of the overall integrated discussion of
performance and design that is a hallmark of this book. Irt addition, many
worked examples are included in Parts I and II as a means to support and
enhance the reader's understanding of and comfort level with the
material. Homework problems are included at the end of most of the
chapters, as appropriate to the nature of each chapter. 7. Part III is all
about aircraft design, but with a different style and purpose than existing

Air India General - Internal

use only
airplane design texts. Chapter 7 lays out an intellectual, almost
philosophical road map for the process of aircraft design. Then the
methodology is applied to the design of a propeller-driven airplane in
Chapter 8, and jet-propelled airplanes in Chapter 9. In addition, Chapters 8
and 9 are enhanced by important case histories of the design of several
historic airplanes~another dose of history, but with a powerful purpose,
namely to drive home the philosophy and methodology of aircraft design.
Part III is not a design handbook; rather, it provides an intellectual
perspective on design-a perspective that all airplane designers, past and
present, exhibit, whether knowingly or subconsciously. Part III is intended
for the first part of a senior design course. The complete book-Parts I, II,
and III-is intended to provide a unique "pre-design" experience for the
reader. I wanted to create a book that would work synergistically with
existing main-line design texts. As mentioned earlier, this book is not
intended to constitute a complete course in aircraft design; rather, its
purpose is to make such 'a course a better and more rewarding
experience for the student. 8. Although "history" is not in the title of this
book, another unique aspect is the extensive discussions of the history of
airplane design in Chapter 1 and the extensively researched historical
case studies presented in chapter~ 8 and 9. In this vein, the present book
carries _over some of the tradition and historical flavor of the author's
previous books, in particular some of the historical research contained in
the author's recent book, The History of Aerodynamics, and Its Impact
on,Flying Machines (see Reference 8). 9. There are carefully selected
homework problems at the end of most of the chapters-not an
overpowering number, but enough to properly reinforce the material in
the chapter. There is a Solutions Manual for the use of instructors.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute these solutions to students at
the discretion of the instructor. In addition, the answers to selected
problems are given at the end of the book. 10. Computer software for
aircraft performance and design calculations is intentionally not provided
with this book. This may be seen as bucking current trends with
engineering textbooks. But I want this book to provide a comfortable
intellectual experience for the reader, unencumbered by the need to learn
how to u~e someone else's software. The reader's experience with
software for these subjects will most likely come soon enough in the
classroom. However, much of the material in this book is ideally suited to
the creation of simple computer programs, and the reader should enjoy
the creative experience of writing such programs as he or she wishes. I
wish to acknowledge the author Enzo Angelucci and his wonderful book
Airplanes From the Dawn of Flight to the Present Day, published in English
by McGraw-Hill in 1973. The airplane drawings that appear in Chapter 1 of
the present book are taken from his book. I wish to thank the many

Air India General - Internal

use only
colleagues who have provided stimulating discussions during the time
that this book was being prepared, as well as the reviewers of the
manuscript. I also Preface thank Sue Cunningham, who has provided some
expert word processing for the manuscript. And most of all I thank Sarah-
Allen Anderson for being such a supportive and understanding wife during
the long time it has taken me to finish this project. So here it is-this
integrated treatment of aircraft performance and design. Try it on for size.
I hope that it fits comfortably and serves you well. If it does, then all my
labors will not have been in vain. John D. Anderson, Jr. September 1998 xi
CONTENTS Preface 1x PART 1 Preliminary Considerations 1 Chapter The
Evolution of the Airplane and Its Performance: A Short History 3 1.1
Introduction 3 1.2 Four Historical Periods of Airplane Design
Characteristics 6 1.2.1 Pre-Wright Era 6 1.2.2 Era of Strut-and-Wire
Biplanes 15 1.2.3 Era of the Mature, Propeller-Driven Airplane 23 1.2.4 Era
of the Jet-Propelled Airplane 33 1.3 Unconventional Designs (Innovative
Concepts) 43 1.4 Summary and the Future 47 Aerodynamics of the
Airplane: The Drag Polar 51 2.1 Introduction 51 2.2 The Source of
Aerodynamic Force 52 2.3 Aerodynamic Lift, Drag, and Moments 53 2.4
Aerodynamic Coefficients 57 2.5 Lift, Drag, and Moment Coefficients: How
They Vary 62 2.6 The Aerodynamic Center 70 2.7 NACA Airfoil
Nomenclature 73 2.8 Lift and Drag Buildup 78 2.8.1 Lift for a Finite Wing
78 2.8.2 2.8.3 Wing-Body Combinations 103 Drag 105 2.8.4 Summary 124
2.9 The Drag Polar 126 2.9.l More Thoughts on Drag 126 2.9.2 The Drag
Polar: What Is It and How Is It Used? 129 2.10 Historical Note: The Origin
of the Drag Polar-,Lilienthal and Eiffel 137 2.11 Summary 141 Some
Propulsion Characteristics 145 3.1 Introduction 145 3.2 Thrust and
Efficiency-The Tradeoff 146 3.3 The Reciprocating Engine/Propeller
Combin:ation 151 3.3.l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel Consumption
with Velocity and Altitude 154 3.3.2 The Propeller 156 3.4 The Turbojet
Engine 162 3.4.1 Variations of Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with
Velocity and Altitude 166 3.5 The Turbofan Engine 170 3.5.1 Variations of
Thrust and Specific Fuel Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 174 3.6
The Turboprop 178 3.6. l Variations of Power and Specific Fuel
Consumption with Velocity and Altitude 181 3.7 Miscellaneous Comments:
Afterbuming and More on Specific Fuel Consumption 183 3.8 Summary
185 xiv Contents [Link] 2 Airplane Performance 189 Chapter 4 The
Equations of Motion 191 4.1 Introduction 191 4.2 The Four Forces of Flight
192 4.3 The Equations of Motion 194 4.4 Summary and Comments 197
Chapter 5 Airplane Performance: Steady Flight 199 5 .1 Introduction 199 5
.2 Equations of Motion for Steady, Level Flight 201 5.3 Thrust Required
(Drag) 202 5.3.1 Graphical Approach 202 5.3.2 Analytical Approach 208
5.3.3 Graphical and Analytical Approaches: Some Comments 216 5.4 The
Fundamental Parameters: Thrust-to-Weight Ratio, Wing Loading, Drag

Air India General - Internal

use only
Polar, and Lift-to-Drag Ratio 216 5 .4.1 Aerodynamic Relations Associated
with Maximum CLf C0 , cf 12 /Co, and ct/co 218 5.5 Thrust Available and
the Maximum Velocity of the Airplane 226 5.5.1 Propeller-Driven Aircraft
227 5.5.2 Jet-Propelled Aircraft 229 5.5.3 Maximum Velocity 230 5.6 Power
Required 234 5.6. l Graphical Approach 235 5.6.2 Analytical Approach 236
5.7 Power Available and Maximum Velocity 239 5.7.l Propeller-Driven
Aircraft 239 5.7.2 Turbojet and Turbofan Engines 241 5.7.3 Maximum
Velocity 242 5.8 Effect of Drag Divergence on Maximum Velocity 244 5.9
Minimum Velocity: Stall and High-Lift Devices 252 5.9. l · Calculation of
Stalling Velocity: Role of(Cdmax 253 5.9.2 The Nature of Stall-Flow
Separation 255 5.9.3 High-Lift Devices 257 5.9.4 Interim Summary 263
5.10 Rate of Climb 265 5 .10.1 Graphical Approach 268 5.10.2 Analytical
Approach 270 5.10.3 Gliding (Unpowered) Flight 282 5.11 Service and
Absolute Ceilings 287 5.12 Time to Climb 290 5.12.1 Graphical Approach
290 5.12.2 Analytical Approach 292 5.13 Range 293 5.13.l Range for
Propeller-Driven Airplanes 296 5.13.2 Range for Jet-Propelled Airplanes
5.13.3 Other Considerations 299 5.14 Endurance 302 5.14.1 Endurance
for Propeller-Driven Airplanes 303 5.14.2 Endurance for Jet-Propelled
Airplanes 305 5.15 Range and Endurance: A Summary and Some General
Thoughts 305 5.15.1 More on Endurance 306 5.15.2 More on Range 308
5.15.3 Graphical Summary 309 5 .15 .4 The Effect of Wind 309 5.16
Summary 314 Chapter 6 Airplane Performance: Accelerated Flight 321 6.1
Introduction 321 6.2 Level Tum 322 6.2.l Minimum Tum Radius 329 6.2.2
Maximum Turn Rate 332 6.3 The Pull-up and Pulldown Maneuvers 297 336
6.4 Limiting Case for Large Load Factor 339 6.5 The V-n Diagram 341 6.6
Energy Concepts: Accelerated Rate of Climb 344 6.7 Takeoff Performance
353 6. 7 .1 Calculation of Ground Roll 355 6.7.2 Calcuiation of Distance
While Airborne to Clear an Obstacle 363 6.8 Landing Performance 367 6.8.
l Calculation of Approach Distance 368 6.8.2 Calculation of Flare Distance
370 6.8.3 Calculation of Ground Roll 370 6.9 Summary 375 PART 3
Airplane Design Chapter 7 The Philosophy of Airplane Design 381 7.1
Introduction 38] 7.2 Phases of Airplane Design 382 7 .2. l Conceptual
Design 382 7.2.2 Design 383 7.2.3 Detail Design 386 7.2.4 Interim
Summary 386 7.3 The Seven Intellectual Pivot Points for Conceptual
Design 387 7 .3. l Requirements 388 7.3.2 Weight of the Airplane-First
Estimate 389 7.3.3 7.3.4 7.3.5 7.3.6 7.3.7 7.3.8 7.3.9 Critical Performance
Parameters Configuration Layout 391 Better Weight Estimate 39 I
Performance Analysis 391 Optimization 392 Constraint Diagram 392
Interim Summary 395 Design of a Propeller-Driven 397 8.1 Introduction
397 391 Contents 8.2 Requirements 398 8.3 The Weight of an Airplane
and Its First Estimate 398 8.3. l Estimation of W,/ W0 399 8.3.2 Estimation
of W0 400 8.3.3 Calculation of W0 405 8.4 Estimation of the Critical
Performance Parameters 406 8.4. l Maximum Lift Coefficient 406 8.4.2

Air India General - Internal

use only
WingLoadingW/S 410 8.4.3 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio 4 J 2 8.5 Summary of
the Critical Performance Parameters 419 8.6 Configuration Layout 419
8.6.1 Overall Type of Configuration 420 8.6.2 Wing Configuration 420 8.6.3
8.6.4 Fuselage Configuration 431 Center-of-Gravity Location: First
Estimate 433 8.6.5 Horizontal and Vertical Tail Size 435 8.6.6 Propeller
Size 440

Air India General - Internal

use only