B.

Tech – ANE R-22

MRCET CAMPUS (AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION – UGC, GOVT. OF INDIA)

Department of AERONAUTICAL
ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE

Prepared by:

Dr. M. Mohammed Mohaideen

Professor
Department of ANE
mohammedmohaideen@[Link]

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
[Link] – ANE R-22

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE

DIGITAL NOTES
[Link] (R-22 Regulation)
(II YEAR – II SEM)
(2023-24)

DEPARTMENT AERONAUTCAL ENGINEERING

MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING &

TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous Institution – UGC, Govt. of India)
Recognized under 2(f) and 12 (B) of UGC ACT 1956
(Affiliated to JNTUH, Hyderabad, Approved by AICTE - Accredited by NBA & NAAC – ‘A’ Grade - ISO 9001:2015 Certified)
Maisammaguda, Dhulapally (Post Via. Hakimpet), Secunderabad – 500100, Telangana State, India

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
 [Link] – ANE R-22

Department of AERONAUTICAL ENGIERRING

Vision

➢ Department of Aeronautical Engineering aims to be indispensable source in

Aeronautical Engineering which has a zeal to provide the value driven
platform for the students to acquire knowledge and empower themselves to
shoulder higher responsibility in building a strong nation.

Mission

➢ The primary mission of the department is to promote engineering education and

research. To strive consistently to provide quality education, keeping in pace with
time and technology. Department passions to integrate the intellectual, spiritual,
ethical, and social development of the students for shaping them into dynamic
engineers.

QUALITY POLICY

➢ Impart up-to date knowledge to the students in Aeronautical area to make them
quality engineers. Make the students experience the applications on quality
equipment and tools. Provide systems, resources, and training opportunities to
achieve continuous improvement. Maintain global standards in education, training,
and services.

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
 [Link] – ANE R-22

PROGRAM OUTCOMES
(PO’s)
Engineering Graduates will be able to:

➢ Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering

fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex
engineering problems.

➢ Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, review research literature, and analyze

complex engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first
principles of mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering sciences.

➢ Design / development of solutions: Design solutions for complex engineering

problems and design system components or processes that meet the specified
needs with appropriate consideration for the public health and safety, and the
cultural, societal and environmental considerations.

➢ Conduct investigations of complex problems: Use research-based knowledge and

research methods including design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of
data, and synthesis of the information to provide valid conclusions.

➢ Modern tool usage: Create, select, and apply appropriate techniques, resources,
and modern engineering and IT tools including prediction and modeling to complex
engineering activities with an understanding of the limitations.

➢ The engineer and society: Apply reasoning informed by the contextual knowledge
to assess societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent
responsibilities relevant to the professional engineering practice.

➢ Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of the professional

engineering solutions in societal and environmental contexts, and demonstrate the
knowledge of, and need for sustainable development.

➢ Ethics: Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
 [Link] – ANE R-22

responsibilities and norms of the engineering practice. Individual and team work:
Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader in diverse teams,
and in multidisciplinary settings.

➢ Communication: Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with

the engineering community and with society at large, such as, being able to
comprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, make effective
presentations, and give and receive clear instructions.

➢ Project management and finance: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of

the engineering and management principles and apply these to one’s own work, as
a member and leader in a team, to manage projects and in multidisciplinary
environments.

➢ Life- long learning: Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability to
engage in independent and life-long learning in the broadest context of
technological change.

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
 [Link] – ANE R-22

PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES – Aeronautical Engineering

➢ PEO1 (PROFESSIONALISM & CITIZENSHIP): To create and sustain a community of learning
in which students acquire knowledge and learn to apply it professionally with due
consideration for ethical, ecological and economic issues.

➢ PEO2 (TECHNICAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS): To provide knowledge-based services to satisfy

the needs of society and the industry by providing hands on experience in various
technologies in core field.

➢ PEO3 (INVENTION, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY): To make the students to design,

experiment, analyze, and interpret in the core field with the help of other multi-
disciplinary concepts wherever applicable.

➢ PEO4 (PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT): To educate the students to disseminate research

findings with good soft skills and become a successful entrepreneur.

➢ PEO5 (HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT): To graduate the students in building national

capabilities in technology, education and research

PROGRAM SPECIFIC OUTCOMES – Aeronautical Engineering

➢ To mold students to become a professional with all necessary skills, personality and sound
knowledge in basic and advance technological areas.

➢ To promote understanding of concepts and develop ability in design manufacture and

maintenance of aircraft, aerospace vehicles and associated equipment and develop
application capability of the concepts sciences to engineering design and processes.

➢ Understanding the current scenario in the field of aeronautics and acquire ability to apply
knowledge of engineering, science and mathematics to design and conduct experiments in
the field of Aeronautical Engineering.

➢ 4. To develop leadership skills in our students necessary to shape the social,

intellectual, business and technical worlds.

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
COURSE STRUCTURE & SYLLABUS [Link]: AEROANUTICAL ENGINNERING R22

MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

II Year B. TECH – II- SEM ANE L/T/P/C
3/-/3/3
(R22A2110) AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE:

1. To equip the students with fundamental understanding of aircraft performance in various
flight regimes.
2. To familiarize the concepts and parameters affecting flight performance.
UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE‐ THE FORCE SYSTEMS OF THEAIRCRAFT
The role and design mission of an aircraft. Specification of the performance requirements and
mission profile. Importance of performance analysis, estimation, measurement, operational
safety and economy. The Standard Atmosphere. Off‐standard and design atmosphere.
Measurement of air data. Air data computers. Equations of motion for performance ‐ the aircraft
force system. The propulsive forces ‐ the thrust production engines, power producing engines,
variation of thrust, propulsive power and specific fuel consumption with altitude and flight speed.
UNIT – II: CRUISE PERFORMANCE
Maximum and minimum speeds in level flight. Range and endurance with thrust production, and
power producing engines. Cruise techniques ‐ constant angle of attack, constant Mach number;
constant altitude, methods‐ comparison of performance. The effect of alternative fuel flow laws,
weight, altitude and temperature on cruise performance. Cruise performance with mixed
power‐plants.
UNIT – III: CLIMB & DESCENT PERFORMANCE
Climb and descent techniques, safety considerations, performance analysis‐ maximum climb
gradient,climb rate. Energy height and specific excess power, optimal climbs ‐ minimum time,
minimum fuel climbs. Measurement of climb performance. Descent performance in aircraft
operations. Effect of wind on climb and descent performance.
UNIT – IV: MANEUVER PERFORMANCE
Accelerated motion of aircraft ‐ equations of motion‐ the maneuver envelope. Longitudinal
maneuvers the pull‐up, push over maneuvers. Lateral maneuvers‐ turn performance‐ turn rates,
turn radius‐ limiting factors. Maneuver boundaries, Maneuver performance of military aircraft,
transport aircraft.
UNIT‐V: TAKE‐OFF AND LANDING‐ SAFETY REQUIREMENTS ‐ FLIGHT PLANNING
Estimation of take‐off distances. The effect on the take‐off distance with respect to weight,
wind,runway conditions, ground effect. Take off safety factors. The estimation of landing
distances, the discontinued landing, baulked landing, air safety procedures and requirements on
performance. The effect on the landing distance, of weight, wind, runway conditions, ground
effect. Fuel planning, fuel requirement, trip fuel, reserve and tankering.

TEXT BOOKS:
Eshelby, M.E., Aircraft Performance; Theory and Practice, AIAA Education Series, AIAA, 2000,
ISBN: 1‐56347‐398‐4

Malla Reddy College of Engineering and Technology [Link]

COURSE STRUCTURE & SYLLABUS [Link]: AEROANUTICAL ENGINNERING R22

REFERENCE BOOKS:
1. Raymer, D.P., Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, third edition, AIAA
Education Series, AIAA, 1999,ISBN: 1‐56347‐281‐0.
2. Yechout, T.R. et al., Introduction to Aircraft Flight Mechanics, AIAA Education Series,
AIAA,2003, ISBN:1‐56347‐577‐4.

Outcomes:
1. The student will have a clear understanding of the fundamental concept leading to aircraft
performance including military and passenger aircraft.

Malla Reddy College of Engineering and Technology [Link]

 AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
(R22A2110)
Course Coverage Summary

Unit Title of the Unit Topics of the Unit Name of The Text Book Chapt Page No
No er No
The Role And Design Mission Of An Aircraft, Eshelby, M.E., I &2 1-9
Specification Of The Performance Requirements Aircraft Performance; 10-37
And Mission Profile, Importance Of Performance
Analysis, Estimation, Measurement, Operational
Safety And Economy, The Standard Atmosphere,
I Introduction to Off-Standard And Design Atmosphere.
Aircraft Measurement Of Air Data. Air Data Computers
Performance-The Equations Of Motion For Performance, The aircraft Aircraft Performance& Design 4 191-201
Force Systems of force system, J.D. Anderson
The Aircraft
The Propulsive Forces - The Thrust Production Eshelby, M.E., 3 53- 60
Engines, Power Producing Engines Aircraft Performance;
Variation Of Thrust, Propulsive Power And Aircraft Performance& Design 3 170-174
specific Fuel Consumption With Altitude And J.D. Anderson
Flight Speed
Maximum And Minimum Speeds In Level Flight, Aircraft Performance& Design 5 293-305
Range And Endurance With Thrust Production, J.D. Anderson
And Power Producing Engines.

Cruise Techniques - Constant Angle Of Attack, Eshelby, M.E., 4 63-83

II Cruise Performance Constant Match Number; Constant Altitude, Aircraft Performance;
Methods- Comparison Of Performance, The Effect
Of Alternative Fuel Flow Laws, Weight, Altitude
And Temperature On Cruise Performance, Cruise
Performance With Mixed Power-Plants
III Climb and Descent Climb And Descent Techniques, Safety Eshelby, M.E., 5 84-94
Performance Considerations, Performance Analysis, Maximum Aircraft Performance;
Climb Gradient, Climb Rate,
Energy Height And Specific Excess Power, Aircraft Performance& Design 6 345-352
J.D. Anderson
Optimal Climbs - Minimum Time, Minimum Fuel Eshelby, M.E., 5 95-105
Climbs, Measurement Of Climb Performance. Aircraft Performance;
Descent Performance In Aircraft Operations. Effect
Of Wind On Climb And Descent Performance
Accelerated Motion Of Aircraft - Equations Of Aircraft Performance& Design
Motion- The Manoeuvre Envelope, J.D. Anderson 6 321-341
Longitudinal Manoeuvres- The Pull-Up, Push Over
IV Manoeuvre [Link] Manoeuvres-
Performance Turn Performance- Turn Rates, Turn Radius-
Limiting Factors.
Manouvre Boundaries, Manoeuvre Performance Of Eshelby, M.E.,
Military Aircraft, Transport Aircraft Aircraft Performance;
Estimation Of Take-Off Distances. Aircraft Performance& Design
The Effect On The Take-Off Distance wrt weight, J.D. Anderson 6 353-370
wind, Runway Conditions, Ground Effect. Take-
Off Safety Factors, The Estimation Of Landing
V Take- off and Distances,
Landing – The Discontinued Landing, Baulked Landing, Air
Safety Safety Procedures And Requirements On Eshelby, M.E.,
Requirements _ Performance. The effect on landing distances of Aircraft Performance
Flight Planning weight ,wind, runway conditions, ground effect,
Fuel planning , fuel requirement , trip fuel , reserve
and tankering
 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

R18
Code No: R18A2110
MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous Institution – UGC, Govt. of India)
II [Link] II Semester Regular Examinations, October/November 2020
Aircraft Performance
(AE)
Roll No

Time: 2 hours Max. Marks: 70

Answer Any Four Questions
All Questions carries equal marks.
***
1 Describe the mission profile for a combat military aircraft with the neat
sketch. Explain in detail about performance estimation, performance
measurement and operational performance for combat military aircraft.
2 a) Explain in detail about measurement of air data and the instruments
associated with it.
b) Explain the significance of various aircraft speeds related to flight.
3 Write short note on the range of an aircraft and derive the expression for
both turbojet and propeller driven airplanes
4 Discuss about the effect of weight, altitude and temperature on cruise
performance and effect of alternative fuel flow laws
5 Explain about effect of wind on climb and descent performance
6 Derive expression for rate of descent and glide angle for thrust producing
engines
7 Derive an expression for turn radius and turn rate with neat fig
8 Explain the effect of flight variables on the take-off distances.
**********

[II year – II sem ] Page 8

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

R17
Code No: R17A2107
MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous Institution – UGC, Govt. of India)
II [Link] II Semester Supplementary Examinations, October/November 2020
Aircraft Performance
(AE)
Roll No

Time: 2 hours Max. Marks: 70

Answer Any Four Questions
All Questions carries equal marks.
***
1 What for aircraft performance measurement is required? Show with the help of
diagrams typical military aircraft mission profiles and commercial aircraft mission
profiles.
2 a. Discuss vertical structure of the atmosphere and its various layers through a
diagram.
b. Explain air data computer system using a diagram.
3 Explain the constant angle of attack, constant Mach number cruise method. Draw the
plots for both the conditions and explain by drawing neat sketch.
4 a. Derive the expression for maximum endurance and range for propeller driven
airplane.
b. What do you understand by cruise performance with mixed power plant? How this
method is different from the individual methods? Explain with diagram.
5 Obtain the expression for turn radius and turn rate for pull up and pushover manoeuver.
6 a. Draw the turn manoeuvrability energy diagram for an aircraft and explain its salient
features. How these features are significant for determination of the performance of
an aircraft?
b. Discuss on the effect of wind on climb and descent performance.
7 a. Explain fuel planning and how the weight is categorized depend on the fuel
planning.
b. Derive and explain approximate expression for the ground distance with the wind
which may be head or tail wind.
8 Determine the performance characteristics of long range ballistic trajectories.
**********

[II year – II sem ] Page 9

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

R15
Code No: R15A2106
MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous Institution – UGC, Govt. of India)
II [Link] II Semester Supplementary Examinations, October/November 2020
Aircraft Performance
(AE)
Roll No

Time: 2 hours Max. Marks: 75

Answer Any Four Questions
All Questions carries equal marks.
***
1 Derive the expression for drag polar and also explain about the drag reduction

methods with neat sketch

2 Explain in detail about measurement of air data and instruments associated with it.

3 Discuss about maximum and minimum speeds in level flight with neat sketch and

appropriate relation.

4 Define range of an aircraft and derive the expression for range of the turbojet

airplane.

5 Explain V-n diagram with a neat sketch

6 Calculate the maximum rate of climb of the given jet airplane at sea level and the angle

of climb W= 1,00,000 N, S= 50 m2 drag polar CD= 0.018+0.042CL2 and T=0.35W.

7 Explain the process of landing with the help of a diagram and discuss the

estimation of the landing distances

8 Explain in detail about long-range cruise trajectory.

******

[II year – II sem ] Page

10
 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

Code No: R15A2106 R15

MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous Institution – UGC, Govt. of India) II [Link] II Semester
Regular/Supplementary Examinations, April/May 2018 Aircraft Performance

(AE)
Roll No
Time: 3 hours Max. Marks: 75
Note: This question paper contains two parts A and B
Part A is compulsory which carriers 25 marks and Answer all questions.
Part B Consists of 5 SECTIONS (One SECTION for each UNIT). Answer FIVE
Questions, Choosing ONE Question from each SECTION and each Question carries 10
marks.

PART – A (25 Marks)

1. (a) What is the significance of off-standard atmosphere? (2M)

(b) Write the expressions for lift, drag and side force coefficients. (3M)
(c) What is the effect of weight on cruise performance? (2M)
(d) Give the expressions for endurance of a jet engine and propeller engine. (3M)
(e) What is instantaneous turn? (2M)
(f) Write the equations of motion for accelerated flight? (3M)
(g) What is the effect of weight of an aircraft on take-off distance? (2M)
(h) Define tankering (3M)
(i) What are the types of rockets? (2M)
(j) What are design features of rockets? (3M)
PART – B (50 Marks)
SECTION – I
2. Derive an equation for the total drag condition and drag reduction methods. (10M)
(OR)
3. Explain the variation of thrust, propulsive power and specific fuel consumption with flight
speed. (10M)
SECTION – II
4. Explain the effect of altitude and temperature on cruise performance.
(10M) (OR)
5. Explain the constant altitude cruise techniques and compare it with the other cruise
techniques. (10M)
SECTION – III
6. Obtain the relation for the Radius of turn and turn rate for a level turning flight. (10M)
(OR)
7. Explain in detail, the effect of wind on climb and descent performance. (10M)
SECTION – IV
8. (a) Write the differences between discontinued landing and baulked landing. (5M)
(b) Explain in detail about ground effect? (5M)

(OR)

[II year – II sem ] Page

11
 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

9. Calculate total take off distance for Gulfstream airplane at standard sea level assuming a
take-off gross weight of 80,000lb .The design features of the airplane are
s=950ft2,AR=7,Cdo=0.015and K= 0.06with the added information that the wing span is 75ft
.Assume that the variation of engine thrust with the velocity during takeoff is obtained with
constants where k* 1=27,700 lb k* 2=21.28lb s/ ft2 and k* 3=1.117x10-2 lb s/ [Link] height of
the wing above the ground during the ground roll is [Link] the runway is dry concrete
,with μr=0.02 (10M)
SECTION – V
10. Explain the missile performance in boost glide. (10M)
(OR)
11. Explain about long range cruise trajectory(10M)

[II year – II sem ] Page 9

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

II [Link] II SEMESTER – AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE

MODEL PAPER – I
MAXIMUM MARKS: 70
Max Marks70
i. Answer only one question among the two questions in choice.
ii. Each question answer (irrespective of the bits) carries 10M.

1) Explain the factors to be considered in the estimation of performance of an aircraft and

how the estimation is carried out
OR
2) Describe the mission of a military aircraft with the required sketches
3) Derive an expression for range and endurance for aircraft with thrust producing engines
with the necessary equations
OR
4) Explain the cruising method of constant angle of attack and constant mach number and
explain about the effect of alternative fuel flow laws

5) Explain the equations of motion of an aircraft with thrust producing engines in a climb
.Derive the expressions for climb gradient and climb rate
OR
6) (a)Describe the phases of descending flight through a diagram and
(b) Discuss the various criteria that govern the manner in which the aircraft is flown in
each phase

7) Derive an equation for pull up and pull down maneuver

OR
8) Discuss Maneuver performance of military aircraft, transport aircraft.

9) Discuss the space available and space required for take – off performance with required
sketches]
OR

10) Explain the process of take –off with the help of a diagram and discuss how take-off
distances are estimated

[II year – II sem ] Page 10

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

II [Link] II SEMESTER – AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
MODEL PAPER – II
MAXIMUM MARKS: 70
Max Marks: 70
i. Answer only one question among the two questions in choice.
ii. Each question answer (irrespective of the bits) carries 10M.

1) For international standard atmosphere , explain variation of temperature ,

pressure variation with altitude with the help of neat and proper diagram .Also
define lapse rate ,stratosphere and troposphere
OR
2) Explain minimum drag speed , minimum power speed and describe their
importance in aircraft performance studies

3) Derive Breguet range equation and discuss about the constant altitude ,
constant mach number
OR
4) Discuss the comparison of cruise methods and explain through diagrams how
range function and endurance function vary with relative speed

5) Explain V-N diagram with a neat sketch

OR
6) Describe the equations of motion of an aircraft undergoing lateral maneuver or level
turn and derive an expression for radius of turn. Discuss with the help of a diagram
the maneuver boundaries for turning performance

7) Describe the equations of motion of an aircraft undergoing lateral maneuver or level

turn and derive an expression for radius of turn. Discuss with the help of a diagram
the maneuver boundaries for turning performance
OR

8) What are the reasons for the maneuver performance of an aircraft to be limited by
the structural strength of the airframe? Discuss the main elements of a typical
maneuver envelope with the help of a schematic diagram
OR
9) Explain the process of landing with the help of a diagram and discuss the estimation
of the landing distances
OR

10) Define the performance classes used to classify aircraft in meeting the requirements
of certificate of airworthiness. What are the issues relating to discontinued landing

[II year – II sem ] Page 11

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

II [Link] II SEMESTER – AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
MODEL PAPER – III
MAXIMUM MARKS: 70
Max Marks: 70
i. Answer only one question among the two questions in choice.
ii. Each question answer (irrespective of the bits) carries 10M.

1) What for aircraft performance measurement is required ?Show with the help of
diagrams typical military aircraft mission profiles
OR
2) Discuss aircraft force system needed for formulating the performance equations of
motion

3) Derive an expression for range and endurance for aircraft with thrust producing
engines
OR
4) Discuss about the effect of WAT (weight, altitude ,and temperature ) on cruise
performance

5) Explain about the measurement of best climb performance (b) Discuss descent
Performance in aircraft operations
OR
6) (a)Explain about effect of wind on climb and descent performance.

7) Explain in detail about accelerated motion of aircraft

OR
8) Derive an expression for turn radius and turn rate with neat fig

9) What are the phases into which the flight is divided for the purpose of flight planning
?Explain with the help of diagram the airfield distances available for take-off
OR
10) (a) Explain the effect on the take-off distances of the flight variables
(b) Find lift to drag ratio when drag coefficient at zero lift is 0.2 density of air at 10 km is
0.4135kg/cubic meter and speed of aircraft is [Link] mass of the aircraft is
5000kg area of wing plan form is 5sqm and its AR is 6, span efficiency factor is 1

[II year – II sem ] Page 12

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

II [Link] II SEMESTER – AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
MODEL PAPER – IV
MAXIMUM MARKS: 70
Max Marks: 70
i. Answer only one question among the two questions in choice.
ii. Each question answer (irrespective of the bits) carries 10M.

1) (a) Discuss vertical structure of the atmosphere and its various layers through a
diagram
(b) Explain air data computer system using a diagram
OR
2) Derive the expression for drag polar and also explain about the drag reduction
methods with requires figures

3) (a) An aircraft with wing loading of 1500N/sqm is gliding from an altitude of 4 km.
What is the glide angle corresponding to minimum rate of descent. If zero lift drag
coefficient is 0.2? what is the equilibrium glide velocity associated with the descent
(b) Write shortly about the climbing flight and also write short notes on weight
estimation of the aircraft
OR
4) Write short note on the endurance of an aircraft and derive the expression for both
turbojet and propeller driven airplanes

5) (a) Explain about maximum climb gradient, climb rate

(b) Explain about the effect of wind on climb and descent performance
OR
6) Derive an expression for specific excess power

7) (a) An F-22 is performing a 5-g pull up at 10,000 ft and 500 kn true airspeed what is the
turn rate and turn radius

(b) Explain pull up maneuver

OR
8) Explain in detail about Maneuver boundaries

[II year – II sem ] Page 13

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

9) Calculate total take off distance for Gulfstream _like airplane at standard sea level
assuming a take-off gross weight of 73,000lb .The design features of the airplane are
s=950ft2,AR=5.92,Cdo=0.015and K= 0.08with the added information that the wing span
is 75ft .Assume that the variation of engine thrust with the velocity during takeoff is
given by equation (6.74) .where k*1=27,700 lb k*2=21.28lb s/ ft2 and k*3=1.117x10-2 lb
s/ [Link] height of the wing above the ground during the ground roll is [Link]
the runway is dry concrete ,with μr=0.04(example 6.6 in aircraft performance J.D
ANDERSON)
OR
10) Explain about fuel planning , flight planning

[II year – II sem ] Page 14

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

II [Link] II SEMESTER – AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE
MODEL PAPER – V
MAXIMUM MARKS: 70
Max Marks: 70
i. Answer only one question among the two questions in choice.
ii. Each question answer (irrespective of the bits) carries 10M.

1) (a)Explain about the off standard and design atmosphere (b)Explain about the pressure
height relation ship
OR
2) Derive the equations of motion for steady level flight

3) (a)Explain about the air data computers with the required sketches
(b)Define range, endurance, the drag force, the side force and the overall drag force D
OR
4) (a)Explain about the cruising performance with the comparison of three cruise
technique methods
(b) Estimate the maximum range at 30,000ft for the gulfstream IV. Also calculate the
flight velocity to obtain this [Link] maximum usable fuel weight is 29,500 lb .The
thrust specific fuel consumption of the Rolls Royce Tay turbofan at 30,000 ft is 0.69 lb of
fuel consumed per hour per pound of thrust (example 5.19 aircraft performance J.D
ANDERSON)

6) Derive the expression for rate of climb and also explain the graphical approach

OR
7) Explain about the effect of wind on climb and descent performance.

8) (a)Explain about the V-n diagram with neat sketch

OR
8) (a) Explain in detail about Turn performance- turn rates, turn radius- limiting factors.

9) Explain about the landing performance with neat sketch

OR
10) (a)Explain baulked landing(b) Discuss air safety procedures and requirements on landing
performance

[II year – II sem ] Page 15

 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING – MRCET (UGC Autonomous)

UNIT - I
INTRODUCTION TO AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE- THE FORCE SYSTEMS
OF THE AIRCRAFT
The role and design mission of an aircraft, specification of performance
requirements

 Performance can be used as a measure of the capability of the aircraft in many ways.
 Performance can be defined as a measure of the ability of the aircraft to carry out a
specified task.
 In the case of a civil transport aircraft it determines an element of the cost of the
operation of the aircraft and hence it contributes to its economic viability as a transport
vehicle.
 In military combat operations, time, maneuver and radius of action are some of the
more critical performance parameters in the overall evaluation of the effectiveness and
air superiority of the aircraft.
 Performance can also be regarded as a measure of safety.
 An aircraft has an excess of thrust over drag it can increase its energy by either climbing
or accelerating if the drag exceeds the thrust then it will be losing energy as it either
decelerates or descends.
 In safe flight the thrust must not be committed to a decrease of energy that would
endanger it so that at all critical points in the mission thrust must exceed the drag. This
is a consideration of the performance aspect of the airworthiness of the aircraft.
 The design of an aircraft starts from the statement of the flight path related
performance that the aircraft is expected to achieve.
 The basic statement of the performance will be concerned with the payload the aircraft
will be required to carry and the mission profile it will be required to fly.
 The payload of a civil transport aircraft may be defined in the terms of no. of
passengers, tonnage of freight, volume of freight or as combinations of freight and
passengers.
 The definition of military aircraft mission payloads may cover a wide range of
possibilities including personnel, troops, support equipment and supplies in transport
aircraft and internally carried stores, externally carried stores and sensor pods on
combat aircraft.
 Aircraft performance is a measurement of how well the plane flies. Many factors affect
how the plane flies: its weight, the atmospheric conditions, pressure, temperature,
humidity, even the runway at takeoff.

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 Aircraft performance will tell you the speeds the plane can hope to achieve in different
conditions. Aircraft must be able to operate safely throughout their flight regime in such
a way that a safe outcome will result from specified malfunctions (e.g. power unit
failure), occurring at any point throughout the flight range. Even though modern aircraft
are designed and built according to strict standards which are laid down by national and
international authorities due to off design conditions or some unexpected climatic
changes may result in poor performance of aircraft.

 In the present study the performance will be based on flight path of aircraft in
atmosphere which depends upon the mission profile of aircraft.

 Performance of an aircraft changes based upon its role and mission. In broad terms the
aircraft role and mission can be classified into Civil Operations, which are commercial
flights transporting passengers or cargo from one location to another, or Military
Operations, which are concerned with defensive or offensive, flight operations or their
associated support operations.

 Civil operations are fundamentally, intended to profit making while military operations
are more concerned with the need to achieve their objectives than with the cost of
doing so; this distinction points to the different performance criteria that will need to be
applied to the mission.

Mission profile

 The design requirements stipulate the required performance of the new airplane. The
airplane performance is critically dependent on several parameters, especially
(1) Maximum lift coefficient (CLmax);
(2) lift-to-drag ratio L/ D, usually at cruise;
(3) Wing loading W / S; and
(4) Thrust-to-weight ratio T / W.

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 A typical mission profile of a civil transport aircraft is shown in the above figure.

The primary mission is to fly a payload from the departure point to the destination.
This requires the aircraft to takeoff from the departure point, climb to the cruising
height and cruise to the destination, where the aircraft descends and lands.

 If the aircraft be unable to land the destination when it arrives, it will have to divert to an
alternate airfield and the flight plan will need to include provision for the diversion.

 Once the mission profile and the payload of the aircraft have been specified the
design process can commence. From the performance standpoint the total design
process extends from the initial project design estimations right through to the
delivery of the aircraft into service.
 In the final phase the aircraft is prepared for its operational role. The overall
procedure can be divided into 3 broad areas:

 Performance estimation
 Performance measurement
 Operational performance

Performance estimation
 Performance estimation involves the prediction of the capabilities of the aircraft from the
considerations of its aerodynamic design, power plant and operating environment.

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It can be applied to

1) The design of new type of aircraft

2) Modification of existing aircraft type in respect to design changes affecting its
aerodynamic characteristics or power plant or
3) To supplement or extend the full scale measured performance of an aircraft type
for conditions outside those already established

 Performance estimation process begins with the proposal of some performance target.
 Initially the estimation will centre on individual elements of the flight path. Performance
estimation is usually based on the assumption of a simple atmosphere model, the
international standard atmosphere (ISA). This is a linearised model of the temperature
atmosphere which represents the mean global atmosphere state with respect to
seasonal changes and latitude and is used as the basis for aircraft design.

Performance measurement
A performance measurement is required for the three main purposes: It is required for three
main purposes:
 To verify that the aircraft achieves the estimated design performance targets;

 To demonstrate that the aircraft can satisfy the safety criteria set down in the
airworthiness requirements; and

 To provide validated performance data for the performance section of the flight
manual.

 The performance of the aircraft is measured in development trials and compared with
the estimated performance where there is difference in the characteristics of the
aircraft and of the power plant can be measured and compared with those used in the
models.
 As the design of the aircraft is developed and the flight trials show that it is meeting its
performance targets, data was measured for submission to the airworthiness authority
for the certification of the aircraft.
 As a part of the certification process validated performance data are required for the
performance section of the flight manual, known as the flight performance manual or
the operating data manual(ODM), which contains the information of the performance
of the aircraft needed by the operator for flight planning.

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Operational Performance
 The basic requirements for the safe flight are that the space required for the aircraft to
maneuver should never exceed the space available, and that the aircraft carries
sufficient fuel for the flight these fundamental requirements form the basis of
performance planning and fuel planning.
 Performance planning: It is a part of the flight plan mode in advance of the flight
ensures that at any point in the flight the aircraft has sufficient performance to be able
to maneuver within the space available. The space required for any given maneuver is a
function of the weight of the aircraft and the space required increases as the weight
increases.
 Fuel planning: It ensures that the aircraft carries sufficient fuel for the mission, taking
into account reserves for contingencies, diversions and safety. Since the fuel required
for the mission will depend on the takeoff weight of the aircraft the fuel planning must
follow the flight planning.

Operational Safety and Economy

 Any transport operation carried out by an aircraft must be shown to be safe. The basic
requirements for safe flight are that the space required for the aircraft to manoeuvre
should never exceed the space available and the aircraft carries sufficient fuel for the
flight; these fundamental requirements form the basis of performance planning and fuel
planning.

The Standard Atmosphere, Off-standard and design atmospheres

 It is important to understand the definition of various altitudes that are usually used to
analyze/compare the performance of flying vehicles in standardatmosphere.

 The International Standard Atmosphere is only a model for use in the estimation and
measurement of aircraft performance. The real atmosphere encountered at any
particular time and place will generally not conforms to the ISA model but will have its
own temperature at datum pressure and its own temperature-height profile. The datum
of the real atmosphere is usually taken to be an arbitrary height – for example, mean
sea level at which the pressure will vary with time and the temperature – height profile
may range between arctic winter and tropical summer. Any atmosphere that does not
confirm to the ISA profile is referred to as an off-standard atmosphere.

 The gravitational force experienced by any aircraft varies with altitude. Also, an air-
craft experiences variation in aerodynamic forces with altitude.

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 This is simply because of the fact that the atmospheric properties viz; Pressure, density
and Temperature (P,
 ρ, T) also changes with altitude. Aerodynamic forces are strong function of these
atmospheric properties (P, ρ, T). It is a necessity to specify the altitude that will help in
postulating gravitational and aerodynamic forces explicitly.

 Absolute altitude (ha) – The altitude as measured from the center of the earth
 Geometric altitude (hg ) – The altitude as measured from the mean sea level
 Geo-potential altitude (h) – The geometric altitude corrected for the gravity variation.
We will discuss this later in detail.
 From Figure 1, it can be concluded that the absolute altitude is the sum of geometric
altitude and mean radius of the earth. Mathematically, this relationship can be
numeralized

Figure 1: Schematic diagram representing geometric altitude and absolute altitude

ha = hg + r (1)

where, r is the mean radius of earth.

Acceleration due to gravity and altitude relationship

 Now that various concepts about altitudes are familiarized, the variations of
acceleration due to gravity with altitude needs to be understood. It can be obtained
using Newton’s universal law of gravitation.

1. If gravitational acceleration at the sea level is go and the local gravitational constant is
g for a given absolute altitude ha; then the relationship between g and go follows

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Geo-potential and geometric altitudes

1. The hydrostatic equation of an infinitesimal fluid is given by
dP = −ρgdhg (3)

where, P - hydostatic pressure (P a), ρ - fluid density

kg/m3 and
g - Acceleration (m/s2) due to gravity corresponding to the geometric altitude hg
2. In order to obtain the hydrostatic pressure (P ) at a particular geometric altitude (hg ),
the above expression has to be integrated. Density and acceleration due to gravity are
functions of altitude makes integration a bit more complex/difficult.

3. In order to simplify this integration, the concept of geo-potential altitude (h) has been
introduced. We will consider this concept next.

Geo-potential altitude (h)

1. It is a fictitious altitude corrected for the gravity variation, which is typically used to
ease the integration process (Equation 3). In simple terms, it can be called as “gravity
adjusted height”. The adjustment uses Earth’s mean sea level as reference.
2. Now we can rewrite the hydrostatic equation, by replacing the geometric altitude with
geo-potential altitude (h).
dP = −ρgodh (4)

Where, go is the acceleration due to gravity at mean sea level.

3. Using the two hydrostatic equations, viz, Equation 3 & Equation 4, we can derive the
relationship between geometric and geo-potential altitude

4. Integrating dh from sea level up to any given value of h (different from hg ) at a given
point in atmosphere where geometric altitude is hg , we get

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Figure 2: Plot representing variation of temperature with altitude

The troposphere: This is the region closest to the earth’s surface. It is characterized by
turbulent conditions of air. The temperature decreases linearly at an approximate rate of 6.5
K / km. The highest point of the troposphere is called tropopause. The height of the
tropopause varies from about 9 km at the poles to about 16 km at the equator.

The stratosphere: This extends from the tropopause to about 50 km. High velocity winds may
be encountered in this region, but they are not gusty. Temperature remains constant up to
about 25 km and then increases. The highest point of the stratosphere is called the
stratopause.

The mesosphere: The mesosphere extends from the stratopause to about 80 km. The
temperature decreases to about -900 C in this region. In the mesosphere, the pressure and
density of air are very low, but the air still retains its composition as at sea level. The highest
point of the mesosphere is called the mesopause.

The ionosphere or thermosphere: This region extends from the mesopause to about 1000
km. It is characterized by the presence of ions and free electrons. The temperature increases

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to about 0° C at 110 km, to about 1000° C at 150 km and peak of about 1780° C at 700 km
(Ref.2.1). Some electrical phenomena like the aurora borealis occur in this region.

The exosphere: This is the outer fringe of the earth’s atmosphere. Very few molecules are
found in this region. The region gradually merges into the interplanetary space.

International Standard Atmosphere (ISA)

 Need for ISA and agency prescribing it The properties of earth’s atmosphere like
pressure, temperature and density vary not only with height above the earth’s
surface but also with the location on earth, from day to day and even during the day.
As mentioned in section 1.9, the performance of an airplane is dependent on the
physical properties of the earth’s atmosphere.
 Hence, for the purpose of comparing (a) the performance of different airplanes and
(b) The performance of the same airplane measured in flight tests on different days, a
set of values for atmospheric properties have been agreed upon, which represent
average conditions prevailing for most of the year, in Europe and North America.
Though the agreed values do not represent the actual conditions anywhere at any
given time, they are useful as a reference. This set of values called the International
Standard Atmosphere (ISA) is prescribed by ICAO (International Civil Aviation
Organization). It is defined by the pressure and temperature at mean sea level

Measurement of air data

 The essential requirements in the measurement of aircraft performance are first, the
knowledge of the state of the atmosphere in which the aircraft is flying and secondly the
relative motion between the aircraft and the air mass. This information is collected by
the air data system.

 The air data system of an aircraft in fig 1.11 consists of a pitot-static installation to sense
the airflow pressures from which height, airspeed and Mach number are derived. An air
thermometer from which the air temperature can be determined and in some cases
airflow direction detectors (ADD) which sense the local flow directions relative to the
aircraft body axes are part of the system.

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 Both the air data computer and the mechanical instruments use the same basic
calibration equations to convert the measured data into a suitable form for operational
use. The calibration equation will be developed in the subsequent sections. The units
used in the display of air data are usually the foot for measurement of height and the
knot for airspeed since international regulation requires primary flight instruments to be
calibrated in these units.

Various Speeds
1. Indicated Air Speed (IAS):

 The speed indicated by the airspeed indicator in the cockpit, which is based on the
Pitot - static tube attached to the airplane.

2. Calibrated Air Speed (CAS):

 The indicated airspeed correct for the position and instrument errors. In standard
atmospheric conditions, this is equal to the True Air Speed (TAS).

3. Equivalent Air Speed (EAS):

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 The calibrated air speed corrected for adiabatic and compressibility effects. The al-
titude effects are included in this speed.

 To explain the three airspeed, let us assume that an aircraft is in cruise at an al- titude
of h, where the density is ρ, dynamic pressure is q and the corresponding velocity is v.
Now if we want to simulate the same dynamic pressure at mean sea level (qo), the
corresponding velocity is known as equivalent air speed.

4. True Air Speed (TAS)

The airspeed of the airplane relative to the undisturbed air.

True Air Speed (TAS) & Equivalent Air Speed (EAS) relation
 Suppose an airplane is flying at an altitude (ha) and experiencing dynamic pressure (Pa).
We define equivalent airspeed as that speed with which the aircraft needs to fly at sea
level to duplicate the actual dynamic pressure (ha) at a given altitude. so, we can write;

The relationship between true airspeed and indicated airspeed is given by Equation 3.

Hence,
where,
ρo - Density of air at sea level
ρ - Density of air at a given altitude

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Pitot - static tube

Figure 3: Schematic diagram representing the function of Pitot-Static tube

1. A schematic drawing of a pitot-static tube is presented in the Figure 1. It consists of two

concentric tubes, say A and B.

2. The rear ends of these two tubes are connected to a differential pressure sensor.
Typically a pressure sensor is a micro electro-mechanical device that is capable of
measuring pressure and provides an equivalent analog output.

3. The front end of the tube A is open to free stream to trap the total pressure (Po)
during the flight.

4. Whereas tube B is a closed mouth tube having equally spaced peripheral holes to
communicate with the surrounding air. Thus, tube B will be capturing the static
pressure (Ps).

5. The output of the pressure sensor is usually in volts (V ). In order to use this setup
for velocity measurement, one has to calibrate the pressure sensor. Once the
calibration chart is available for the specific pressure sensor, we can convert voltage
(V ) to Pascal (P a).

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Air data computers

 The measurement of the air data has been considered in terms of individual, mechanical
instruments each providing an indication of one air data parameter. In many
applications, the air data instruments have been replaced by an air data computer that
carries out all the functions of the air data instruments. In addition it applies the known
corrections to give the airspeed, altitude and air temperature in their most convenient
form either for display to the pilot or to be transmitted to other systems on the aircraft.

THE FORCE SYSTEM OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE EQUATIONS OF MOTION

The equations of motion for performance
 The equations of motion of the aircraft are statements of Newton‘s law, F = ma, in each
of three mutually perpendicular axes. The general force F is the sum of the components
of a system of forces acting on the aircraft, which results in the inertial force, ma. The
system of forces acting on the aircraft can be categorized into four groups; the
gravitational forces, Fg, the aerodynamic forces, Fa, and the propulsive forces, Fp, which
result in the inertial forces, F1, so that the statement of Newton‘s law becomes,

 There will also be a system of moments acting on the aircraft but, as these do not affect
the flight path directly, they do not need to be taken into account in the equations of
motion for performance. Each group of forces acts in its own axis system and needs to
be resolved into the velocity axis system before the equations of motion for
performance.
 Each group of forces acts in its own axis system and needs to be resolved into the
velocity axis system before the equations of motion can be developed. The axis systems
are described in full in Appendix A and the full equations of motion for aircraft
performance are developed in Appendix B. Only a summary of the characteristics of the
forces and the equations of motion will be considered here.

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 The majority of performance analysis is based on the longitudinal equation of

motion in which the term, Fn – D, is known as the excess thrust and provides the
increase in potential energy (climb), or the increase in kinetic energy
(acceleration).
 The equations of motion stated above are written in terms of aircraft with thrust-
producing engines. If the ai4rcraft haspower-pr4oducing engines, which drive
propellers to convert the power in to thrust, then the equations must be
converted into their power form; this will be considered later in the section on
propulsive forces.
 The movement of a given airplane through the atmosphere, insofar as it is
responding to the four forces of flight. This movement is governed by a set of
equations called the equations of motion.
 The equations of motion for an airplane are simply statements of Newton's
second law, namely

F=ma

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Consider an aircraft flying a curvilinear path as shown in Fig. below. To fly a curved path, a net
force (Fnet), composed of force components parallel and perpendicular to the flight path, must
exist. In applying Newton’s 2nd law, acceleration parallel (linear) to the flight path is dV/dt—
centripetal acceleration is V2/r, where r is the radius of curvature of the curvilinear path.
Lift, drag, thrust, and weight are the four forces acting on an aircraft

Fig:4: Aircraft flying a curvilinear path

 A few points to remember about the figure:

1. Lift and drag, are the components of the aerodynamic force perpendicular and parallel
to the relative wind (V∞).
2. The x axis is a body-fixed axis, aligned with the ‘‘reference line’’ of the aircraft.
3. The aircraft’s angle of attack (α) is between the x axis and the relative wind.

4. In general, the thrust vector is not aligned with the aircraft’s reference line. Rather, it is
displaced through an angle φT , called the thrust angle.
5. The flight path angle (γ) is the angle between the horizon and the relative wind.

6. The pitch angle (θ) is the angle between the aircraft’s reference line and the horizon. It
is sometimes referred to as pitch attitude or the deck angle (on transports, the cargo
deck is usually taken as the aircraft’s reference line).

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Fig:5: Forces and angles acting on an aircraft in flight

Summing forces, parallel and perpendicular to the flight path, yields the following.

The aircraft force system

 In the development of the equation of motion, the forces acting on the aircraft
are represented as simple force terms and appear as constants.
 However, the forces stated in eqn (3.1) and in the equations of motion are not simple
forces but depend on the performance variables, aircraft weight, airspeed (or flight
Mach number) and the state of the atmosphere. In particular, the aerodynamic
forces and the propulsive forces are of great importance to the performance of the
aircraft. Their characteristics will define, for example, the airspeeds for best climb
rate and gradient and for optimum range or endurance in the cruise part of the flight.
 Each group of forces can be considered in turn to determine how its characteristics
very with the flight variables.

The inertial forces, f1

 The inertial forces arise from the mass of the aircraft and its acceleration. The
accelerations may be linear accelerations or result from the combination of the forward
speed of the aircraft with its rates of pitch and turn. The inertial forces act in the velocity
axis system, which is discussed fully in Appendix B.

The gravitational forces, fg

 The gravitational force acts downwards in the Earth axis system and is the product of
the aircraft mass, m, and the acceleration due to gravity, g. It may be referred to either
as weight, W, or ass the product mg; each form of reference has its own applications
within the theory and practice of aircraft performance.

The aerodynamic forces, fa

 The aerodynamic forces arise from the relative motion between the aircraft and the air
mass in which it is flying; they act in the wind axis system.

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 It will be assumed that the reader is familiar with the concepts of aerodynamics and this
treatment will only consider the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft that are directly
applicable to the study of performance.

 The dynamic pressure of the airflow, q, may be considered in terms of either airspeed or
Mach number,

 Whilst either form may be used when considering the non-dimensional aerodynamic forces,
the form involving the mach number is particularly useful when considering operational
performance. If the airspeed is considered in terms of the flight Mach number, then the
temperature of the atmosphere is implicit in the statement of the Mach number and the
atmosphere pressure can be considered independently. Since altitude is related uniquely to
the static pressure of the atmosphere, the altitude becomes a basic variable of the
aerodynamic forces. Therefore, the forces need to be considered only in terms of their
variation with aircraft weight, flight Mach number and altitude a rather than in terms of
aircraft weight, airspeed, altitude and temperature.

 The aerodynamic forces that concern performance are the lift, L, the drag, D, and the side
force, Y. In the case of an air4craft, the speed of flight is relatively high and the non-
dimensional flow variables that characterize the flow are,



The Reynolds number,
 Typically the flight value of Re is large, 10 to 10 , and the flow can be treated as continue
flow. If the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft have been determined from
experimental sources (e.g. wind tunnels), any Reynolds number effects should have been
accounted for before being used in any performance estimation process. It is unlikely that
the Reynolds number will influence the analysis of the full scale flight performance of the
aircraft significantly, except in extreme cases.

The Mach number, M = V/a

 This may vary from almost zero up to a typical maximum of 2.2 for conventional aircraft;
higher Mach number is possible but raises special problems. Since this treatment of
performance is concerned mainly with subsonic flight, the supersonic flow characteristics
will not be considered in depth. Only in the transonic region, where the Mach numbers Will
the effects be considered. In flight up to Mach number of 0.5 the flow can be regarded as
incompressible and Mach number effects ignored; for

 0.5<M<0.8 compressibility becomes significant and may lead to small changes in the lift
and drag force characteristics. For most subsonic aircraft the critical Mach number
occurs typically around M = 0.8; at this Mach number the local flow at points on the
aircraft becomes supersonic and shock waves begin to form.

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 This effect starts the change from subsonic to supersonic flow and affects the
characteristics of both the lift and drag forces, leading to significant effects on the
performance of the aircraft. March number is one of the most important variables of
performance and its effect on the aerodynamic forces needs to be considered

Lift, drag, side force

 The aerodynamic force exerted on a body immersed in airflow is due to the two hands
of nature which are in direct contact with the surface of the body; these two hands of
nature are the pressure and shear stress distributions acting all over the exposed
surface of the body. The pressure and shear stress distributions exerted on the surface
of an airfoil due to the airflow over the body are sketched; pressure acts locally
perpendicular to the surface, and shear stress acts locally parallel to the surface. The net
aerodynamic force on the body is due to the pressure and shear stress distributions
integrated over the total exposed surface area.

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The component of R perpendicular to the free-stream velocity is the lift and the component of
R parallel to the free-stream direction is the D. The force perpendicular to the other two is
called the side force. The side force concept is mostly used in connection with turning aircraft.

Total airplane drag- estimation, drag reduction methods.

 Drag is simply force that opposes the motion of an aircraft through the air. However it
does have separate components that comprise it.
 Total Drag produced by an aircraft is the sum of the Profile drag, Induced drag, and
Parasite drag. Total drag is primarily a function of airspeed. The airspeed that produces
the lowest total drag normally determines the aircraft best-rate-of-climb
speed, minimum rate-of-descent speed for autorotation, and maximum endurance
speed.

 Profile Drag is the drag incurred from frictional resistance of the blades passing through
the air. It does not change significantly with angle of attack of the airfoil section, but
increases moderately as airspeed increases.

 Induced Drag is the drag incurred as a result of production of lift. Higher angles of attack
which produce more lift also produce increased induced drag. In rotary-wing aircraft,

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induced drag decreases with increased aircraft airspeed. The induced drag is the portion
of the Total Aerodynamic Force which is oriented in the direction opposing the
movement of the airfoil.

 Parasite Drag is the drag incurred from the non lifting portions of the aircraft. It includes
the form drag and skin friction associated with the fuselage, cockpit, engine cowlings,
rotor hub, landing gear, and tail boom to mention a few. Parasite drag increases with
airspeed.
 The graphic illustrates the different forms of drag versus airspeed:

 Curve "A" shows that parasite drag is very low at slow airspeeds and increases
with higher airspeeds. Parasite drag goes up at an increasing rate at airspeeds
above the midrange.

 Curve "B" shows how induced drag decreases as aircraft airspeed increases. At a
hover, or at lower airspeeds, induced drag is highest. It decreases as airspeed
increases and the helicopter moves into undisturbed air.

 Curve "C" shows the profile drag curve. Profile drag remains relatively constant
throughout the speed range with some increase at the higher airspeeds.

 Curve "D" shows total drag and represents the sum of the other three curves. It
identifies the airspeed range, line "E", at which total drag is lowest. That airspeed

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is the best airspeed for maximum endurance, best rate of climb, and minimum
rate of descent in autorotation.

(Total drag) = (parasite drag) + (wave drag) + (induced drag)

 For the subsonic transport, the elements labeled wing, body, empennage, engine
installations, interference, leaks, undercarriage, and flaps are the contributors to the
zero-lift parasite drag; that is, they stem from friction drag and pressure drag (due to
flow separation). The element labeled lift-dependent drag (drag due to lift) stems from
the increment of parasite drag associated with the change in angle of attack from the
zero-lift valve, and the induced drag. Note that most of the drag at cruise is parasite
drag, whereas most of the drag at takeoff is lift-dependent drag, which in this case is
mostly induced drag associated with the high lift coefficient at takeoff.

 For the supersonic transport, more than two-thirds of the cruise drag is wave drag-a
combination of zero-lift wave drag and the lift-dependent drag (which is mainly wave
drag due to lift). This dominance of wave drag is the major aerodynamic characteristic of
supersonic airplanes. At takeoff, the drag of the supersonic transport is much like that of
the subsonic transport, except that the supersonic transport experiences more lift-
dependent drag. This is because the low-aspect-ratio delta wing increases the induced
drag, and the higher angle of attack required for the delta wing at takeoff (because of
the lower lift slope) increases the increment in parasite drag due to lift.

The propulsive forces - the thrust production engines, power producing engines,

 There are two basic forms of power plant used for aircraft propulsion

The thrust-producing power plant, which produces its propulsive force directly by increasing the
momentum of he airflow through the engine, and

The power-producing power plant, which produces shat power that is then turned into a propulsive
force by a propeller.


Each form of power plant has different characteristics and needs to be considered separately.

The thrust-producing power plant


The usual from of thrust-producing engine is the turbojet or turbofan, although rocket could be
included in this category.
 The turbojet or turbofan engine uses atmospheric air as its working fluid and, with the
addition of fuel, burns the air to increase its energy.
 The high-energy air is then expelled through a nozzle with increased momentum
to produce the thrust force.

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 In simplified terms, the turbojet engine can be considered to produce thrust by

increasing the momentum of its internal flow stream. The net propulsive force, Fn, is the
difference between the stream force entering the engine and the stream force exiting
the engine. The thrusts produced at the exit plane of the nozzle is known as the gross
thrust, Fg, and is equal to the rate of change of momentum of the exhaust gas flow, Fg =
mVj. The flow into the intake also contributes to the engine thrust. In this case, the
momentum of the flow is lost as the air enters the engine.

 The force due to the intake flow, known as the momentum drag, Dm, is equal to the rate of
change of momentum in the intake airflow, Dm = mV. The net propulsive thrust is given by

 The net thrust of the power plant will be affected by the flight Mach number and
altitude. It is not possible to postulate any precise function that will relate thrust to
Mach number or altitude for all thrust-producing power plants. However, simple
relationships can be developed that will enable the general characteristic of the thrust
variation with Mach number and altitude to be deduced. From above eqution the net
thrust can be expressed as,

The power-producing power plant

 The power-producing power plant delivers its power through a rotating shaft to a
propeller that converts the power into propulsive thrust. The power plant may be either
a piston engine or a gas turbine that converts the energy of its gas flow into shaft-power
rather than into thrust. In either case the shaft-power output is not greatly affected by
airspeed and, to a first-order approximation, the power can be regarded as independent
of airspeed.
 The shaft-power, P, is converted into thrust, T, by the propeller. In the process, losses
occur and the thrust-power produced will be less than the shaft-power delivered. The
propeller efficiency, n, is the ratio of the thrust-power output to the shaft-power input
so that,

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Where V is the true airspeed.

This implies that the propulsive thrust increases as airspeed decreases at constant engine
power and that the thrust will become infinite at zero airspeed. In practice, the propeller
efficiency will vary with airspeed and a constant engine shaft-power produces a finite thrust at
zero airspeed, known as the Static Thrust, which decreases as the airspeed increases. The
propeller efficiency, n, is a characteristic of an individual propeller and depends on the Advance
ratio, J, of the propeller, and the Power coefficient, Cp, of the engine.

 The propeller Advance ratio is given by 

 And the engine Power coefficient by,

Where n is the rotational speed in rad/s and is the

propeller diameter.

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 The propulsive thrust is a function of airspeed, eqn. The equation is now written in the form. 

Or, rearranging and writing in terms of equivalent airspeed gives

 Thrust is the propulsive force which moves an aircraft through the air. Thrust is used
to overcome the drag of an airplane, and to overcome the weight of a rocket. Thrust
is generated by the engines of the aircraft through some kind of propulsion system.
 Thrust is a mechanical force, so the propulsion system must be in physical contact with
a working fluid to produce thrust. Thrust is generated most often through

the reaction of accelerating a mass of gas. Since thrust is a force, it is a vector quantity
having both a magnitude and a direction. The engine does work on the gas and
accelerates the gas to the rear of the engine; the thrust is generated in the opposite
direction from the accelerated gas. The magnitude of the thrust depends on the amount
of gas that is accelerated and on the difference in velocity of the gas through the engine.

 To accelerate the gas, we have to expend energy. The energy is generated as heat by
the combustion of some fuel. The thrust equation describes how the acceleration of
the gas produces a force. The type of propulsion system used on an aircraft may vary
from airplane to airplane and each device produces thrust in a slightly different way.
The four principal propulsion systems: the propeller, the jet engine, the ramjet, and
the rocket.

 Reciprocating engine is the rotating crankshaft-this is the means by which the engine's
power is transmitted to the outside world-a wheel axle in the case of an automobile, or
a propeller in the case of an airplane. The power output of the engine is directly
proportional to the rpm. Third, the amount of force applied by the burned gas on the
face of the piston after combustion will affect the work performed during each power
stroke. Hence, the higher the pressure in the cylinder during the power stroke, the

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larger will be the power output. An average pressure which is indicative of the pressure
level in the cylinder is defined as the mean effective pressure Pe· Therefore, we can state
that the power output from the engine to the crankshaft, called the shaft brake power
P, is given by equation (a) below

 The thrust generated by the engine is due to the net resultant of the pressure and shear
stress distributions acting on the exposed surface areas, internal and external, at each
point at which the gas contacts any part of the device. The calculation of jet engine
thrust is carried out infinitely more simply by drawing a control volume around the
engine, looking at the time rate of change of momentum of the gas flow through the
engine, and using Newton's second law to obtain the thrust.

(a)

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The measurable primary output from a jet engine is thrust, whereas that for a piston engine is
power. Therefore, for a turbojet the specific fuel consumption is based on thrust rather than
power; to make this clear, it is frequently celled the thrust specific fuel consumption. We
denote it by ct, and it is defined as

ct = weight of fuel burned per unit thrust per unit time

Variation of propulsive power and specific fuel consumption with altitude and flight speed.
 Consider the engine mounted on an airplane. As the airplane velocity V∞ is changed, the
only variable affected in power Eq. is the pressure of the air entering the engine
manifold, due to the stagnation of the airflow in the engine inlet. (Sometimes this is
called a ram effect.) In effect, as V∞ increases, this "ram pressure" is it is reflected as an
increase in Pe in Eq. which in tum increases P via Eq. For the high-velocity propeller-
driven fighter airplanes of World War II, this effect had some significance. However
today reciprocating engines are used only on low-speed general aviation aircraft and the
ram effect can be ignored. Hence Power is reasonably constant with V∞. Similarly SFC is
also constant with V∞.

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variation of thrust and specific fuel consumption with altitude and flight speed.
Consider the mass flow of air mair· The mass flow of air entering the inlet is ∞ A1 V∞ , where
A1 is the cross-sectional area of the inlet. As V∞. is increased, Vj stays essentially the same; the
value of Vj is much more a function of the internal compression and combustion processes
taking place inside the engine than it is of V∞. Hence, the difference Vj - V∞ tends to decrease
as V∞. Increases. From thrust eq with V∞. increasing but Vj staying about the same, the value
of T is decreased. These two effects tend to cancel in thrust eq, and therefore we might expect
the thrust generated by a turbojet to be only a weak function of V∞..

 Here the thrust for a typical small turbojet is given as a function of flight Mach number
for two altitudes, sea level and 40,000 ft, and for three different throttle settings
(denoted by different compressor rpm values) at each altitude. Note that, especially at
altitude, T is a very weak function of Mach number.

 There is a strong altitude effect on thrust, as can be seen by examining thrust eq. Again,
we note that mair = ∞A1V∞; hence mair is directly proportional to ∞. As the altitude
increases, ∞ decreases. In turn, from thrust eq where T is almost directly proportional
to mair, thrust also decreases with altitude. Indeed, it is reasonable to express the
variation of T with altitude in terms of the density ratio  /0, where p is the density at a
given altitude and 0 is sea-level density.

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UNIT - II
CRUISE PERFORMANCE
Introduction
 The cruise performance of an aircraft is one of the fundamental building blacks of the
overall mission.
 In the cruising segment of the mission, both height and airspeed are essentially constant
and the (airspeed) aircraft is required to cover distance in the most expedient manner.
 Usually, the majority of the fuel carried in the aircraft will be used during the cruise.
 The distance that can be flown, on the time that the aircraft can remain aloft, on a given
quantity of fuel are important factors in the assessment of the cruise performance

Maximum and minimum speeds in level flight

 By definition, the thrust available curve is the variation of TA with velocity at a given
throttle setting and altitude. For the throttle full forward, (TA)max is obtained. The
maximum thrust available curve is the variation of (TA)max with velocity at a given
altitude. For turbojet and low-bypass-ratio turbofans, we have seen that at subsonic
speeds, the thrust is essentially constant with velocity. Hence, for such power plants,
the thrust available curve is a horizontal line, as sketched in Figure below.
Thrust

 In steady, level flight, the maximum velocity of the airplane is determined by the
highspeed intersection of the thrust required and thrust available curves.
 Finding Vmax from the intersection of the thrust required and thrust available curves, as
shown in above Figure, is a graphical technique. An analytical method for the direct
solution of Vmax follows from the velocity Eq through thrust required. For steady, level
flight, TR = TA.

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For flight at Vmax, the thrust available is at its maximum value. Hence,

TR = (TA )max ---- 2.1

In Eq., replacing V∞ with Vmax and TR with (TA )max, and taking the plus sign in the quadratic
expression because we are interested in the highest velocity, we have

The above equation allows the direct calculation of the maximum velocity. Moreover, being an
analytic equation, it clearly points out the parameters that influence V max· Note in Eq. 2.2 that
depends on (1) the maximum thrust-to-weight ratio (TA)max/W, (2) wing loading W/S, the drag
polar via CD,o and K, and altitude via ∞.

From this equation we see that

1. Vmax increases as (TA) max, W increases.
2. Vmax increases as W / S increases.
3. Vmax decreases as CD.o and/or K increases.

When the aircraft is cruising in trim the equations of motion of a conventional aircraft

The above equations can be reduced to the simple statements

Range and endurance with thrust production, and power producing engines

Definitions of range and endurance

 Range (R) is the horizontal distance covered, with respect to a given point on the
ground, with a given amount of fuel. It is measured in km.
 Endurance (E) is the time for which an airplane can remain in air with a given amount of
fuel. It is measured in hours.

Cruising efficiency can be measured in terms of either the range or the endurance of
the aircraft.

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The Specific Air Range (SAR) is defined as the horizontal distance flown per unit of fuel
consumed and the Specific Endurance (SE) is defined as the time of flight per unit of fuel
consumed.

The distance travelled, x, in still air is given by the time integral of the true airspeed, V, so that

And in cruising flight the true airspeed is usually quoted in knots, or nautical miles per hour
(nm/hour)

In addition, during cruise, fuel is burned and the fuel mass flow, Qf, will determine the rate of
change of mass of the aircraft,

 The above definition of range is very general and terms like safe range and gross still air
range are commonly used. These terms include details of the flight plan and are
explained in the subsequent subsections.

The fuel mass flow is usually quoted in kg/hour and is negative since the mass of the aircraft
decreases with time as fuel is burned.

 Cruising efficiency can be measured in terms of either the range or the endurance of the
aircraft. The specific Air Range (SAR) is defined as the horizontal distance flown per unit
of fuel consumed.

 Where V=dx/dt is the velocity and Qf =-dm/dt fuel burned during cruise

The Specific Endurance (SE) is defined as the time of flight per unit of fuel consumed.

If the aircraft is powered by thrust producing engines the fuel flow is seen to be a function of
engine thrust which in cruise is equal to drag.
L=W

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The specific fuel consumption, C is defined as the fuel flow per unit thrust

By using steady level flight equations and eq 2.5 in SAR and SE equation with suitable
integration we get

If the aircraft has power-producing engines which produce shaft power with negligible residual
thrust, the power is converted into propulsive thrust by a propeller. In this case, the
performance equation is written in terms of thrust power available and drag power required for
cruising flight,

Where η is propeller efficiency

The specific fuel consumption is defined in power terms as

Cruise method 1
Constant angle of attack, constant Mach number

 In this method, the air pressure must be allowed to decrease to allow for the decrease
in air craft weight as fuel is consumed, thus

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 This implies that the aircraft must be allowed to climb during the cr4uise to maintain the
parameter W/p constant and the method is known as the Cruise-Climb technique. Since
the angle of attack is constant throughout the cruise the lift coefficient, and hence lit-
drag ratio. L/D, will be constant. The constant Mach number implies flight at constant
true airspeed.

 Let the range under cruise method 1 be then from above equation,

This becomes,

 This expression is the best known expression for the range of an aircraft and is known as
the Breguet Range expression.
 Although it offers the optimum performance in terms of distance flown on a given fuel
load there are practical reasons that make its application to flight operations difficult,
and further consideration of this cruise method is necessary.
 As weight decreases during the cruise the variables on the right side of above equation has to
compensate. So, by using three variables (Pressure, Mach number and Coefficient of lift) thus
three methods can be considered to compensate reduction in weight by varying one variable
with other two constants.

Cruise method 2: Constant angle of attack, Constant altitude

 In this case, the Mach number, or true airspeed, must be reduced during cruise, so that

 This implies that the lift coefficient and lift-drag ratio, will be constant during the cruise
and that substituting for airspeed in SAR equation then range under cruise method 2 is

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 The endurance of the aircraft in cruise method 1 is same as cruise method2.

Cruise method 3: Constant Mach number, Constant altitude

 In this case, the angle of attack must be allowed to decrease as the weight decreases to
maintain constant W/CL 1

 Assuming that the aircraft is cruising at a speed greater than its minimum drag speed,
then the decrease in lift coefficient during the cruise will cause the drag coefficient and
hence the drag force to decrease. This will require a progressive decrease in the thrust
required to maintain the Mach number or true airspeed constant. Since the lift-drag
ratio will not be constant, the range will need to be found by integrating the drag over
the weight change during cruise.

Now for an aircraft with a parabolic drag polar.

 Substituting in above equation and integrating gives,

Now

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And, similarly,

Methods- comparison of performance

 It has been possible to write the range and endurance attained by each method of cruise in the
form of a product of a range factor and a range function, and of endurance factor and
endurance function, giving

 The range functions are compared for a fuel ratio of 1.5 and shows that the cruise-climb is the
optimum method which gives 10% better range than the other methods.
 The comparison between the cruise methods for endurance shows less disparity but favours the
constant angle of attack methods.

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The effect of alternative fuel flow laws

 The range and endurance functions developed above have used the simple fuel flow
law, above equation which assumes that the fuel flow is proportional only to net thrust.
It was accepted that this fuel flow law is idealized, probably not full describing the
characteristics of the engine, and that a more realistic law should be applied. If an
alternative fuel flow law is considered, for example above equation then it may produce
different optimum operating airspeeds.

Above equation states a fuel flow law of the form:

where n may vary from 0.2 for a turbojet to about 0.6 for hybass ratio turbofan.

If SAR and SE equations are written in terms of Mach number and the alternative fuel flow
substituted they give,

When these expressions are differentiated, they give the airspeeds for maximum SAR and SE to
be,

The effect of weight, altitude and temperature on cruise performance

 For a given final weight of the aircraft, the increase in initial weight implies an increase
in the fuel available for the cruise; it is this that extends the range not the weight of the
aircraft itself.
 An increase in air temperature increases the range since the TAS (True Air Speed) is
increased and the aircraft flies further in given time, during which it burns the same
quantity of fuel. If the specific fuel consumption is a function of air temperature then
the effect of the temperature may be lessened and the range may even decrease as
temperature increases.
 Increasing altitude will produce an increase in the range as the ambient relative
pressure decreases. In the troposphere, the effect will be reduced by the accompanying
decrease of temperature with altitude and further affected by any dependency of the
SFC on air temperature.

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Cruise performance with mixed power-plants.

 Turboprop is the engine which converts the turbine shaft power into thrust by using
propeller and the exhaust gases convert into thrust using nozzle.
 By using cruise-climb range expressions for thrust and power producing engines cruise
performance of mixed power plants in terms of Range can be obtained as

 Where π is the proportion of the thrust derived from the shaft power in the overall
thrust of the power plant and CP and CT are the specific fuel consumptions based on the
shaft power and net thrust respectively.

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UNIT - III
CLIMB AND DESCENT PERFORMANCE

Climb and descent techniques

 Climb is a phase in the overall mission of the aircraft in which the aircraft increases its
height to the required cruising level from takeoff and in a descent phase the aircraft
decreases its height from the end of the cruise to the landing. Climb performance is
important from both economic and flight safety point of view. The descent is less critical
than the climb economically since the aircraft will be operating at low thrust and hence
low fuel flow.
 In these phases of flight, the difference between the propulsive thrust and the airframe
drag is used to change the potential and kinetic energy of aircraft. If the thrust exceeds
drag the aircraft will climb and if drag exceeds thrust then aircraft will descend.
 The fuel required to climb to a given height can be minimized by the use of the correct
climb technique. A climb or a descent will usually be performed with reference to an
indication either of airspeed or of Mach number.
 The constant EAS climb implies, as the aircraft climbs, the ambient air density will be
decreasing and the true airspeed will be increasing thus the aircraft will be accelerating
throughout climb.
 A constant Mach number results in a constant TAS and there is no acceleration.
 Steady state climb and descent can be measured in terms of rate or gradient. The rate
of climb is the vertical, dH/dt. The gradient of climb is 2 is defined by

 Where the height, H, is geopotential height.

Climb and descent performance analysis

 The power plant of the aircraft may be thrust producing or power producing. Thrust-
producing engineers, turbojets and turbofans, produce thrust that is relatively constant
with small change of airspeed in subsonic flight. Power-producing engines, piston
engines or turbo-shaft engineers, produce shaft power, which is relatively constant with
change of airspeed, and which needs to be converted into propulsive thrust by a
propeller. The differing characteristics of these power plants lead to different criteria for
optimum climb performance and each need to be considered separately.

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Safety Considerations
 The safety of the aircraft depends on its ability to climb above obstructions at all points
on the flight path. Sufficient excess thrust must be available to ensure that the aircraft
can meet certain minimum gradients of climb in any of the safety critical segments of
the flight. Several safety-related considerations will affect the choice of the flight path in
the descent. Among them are the attitude of the aircraft, the rate of change of cabin
pressure and the need for the engines to supply power for airframe services.

Performance analysis- Aircraft with Thrust producing engines

 The equations of motion of an aircraft with thrust-producing engines in a climb or
descent can obtained using equation 1.1. In a straight, wings level, climb in which the
flight path gradient is constant the equations of motion can be written as

 If the aircraft has a normal takeoff thrust-to-weight ratio of about 0.3 then the rates of
climb will be low enough to assume that the acceleration associated with the rate of
climb is negligible. The climb can then be assumed to be made either at constant
airspeed or constant Mach number. Also the gradient of climb and descent will be low
enough to allow the assumption that 2=1 and the equation can be simplified as

 The excess thrust [FN-D] provides the gradient of climb,

 If the thrust is constant the best gradient of climb will be obtained by flying at the
minimum drag speed. Using eq 3.1 in 3.6 leads to an expression for the best rate of
climb,

 The above equation indicates that the airspeed for the best rate of climb occurs when
the excess thrust power [ FN V ], over drag power, [ DV ] is a maximum. Since the ideal
thrust power increases linearly with true airspeed, the best rate of climb is predicted to
be at airspeed greater than the minimum drag speed.

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 The climb and descent performance can best be analysed in a general manner by
considering a dimensionless form of the performance equation

Maximum Climb Gradient

 By differentiating eq 3.8 the relative airspeeds for best climb or descent performance
can be found. From eq 3.8 the gradient of climb is given by

 For maximum gradient 2 = 0, which occurs when u=1 if is constant, and confirms that
the steepest climb occurs at the minimum drag speed. In the special case of gliding
flight, in which = 0, flight at the minimum drag speed will give the shallowest glide
angle, which will give the greatest range of glide; this speed is used when cruising
between thermals. The minimum glide angle will be

Climb Rate
 From eq 3.8 the rate of climb is given by

 For maximum rate of climb = 0 and the relative airspeed for best rate of climb is found
to be a function of dimensionless thrust,

 In gliding flight, the minimum sink rate is attained by flying at a relative airspeed of
4
u/√3 which is the minimum power speed of the aircraft. Flying at this speed will
maximize the time (or endurance) of gliding flight and is the speed used for climbing in
thermals.
Performance analysis- Aircraft with Power producing engines
 The generalized performance equation for climb and descent is given from equations of
motion for aircraft with power-producing engines as

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Where λ is the dimensionless power given as =

From eq 3.13 the gradient is given by

Climb performance in aircraft operations

 One of the usual ways of determining the best climbing performance is by partial climbs.
This technique consists of flying a number of short climb segments through a datum
height. Each of the climbs is flown at a different airspeed around the predicted speed
for best climb performance. The measured rates of climb are corrected for change of
aircraft weight due to the consumption of fuel during the series of climbs. So that the
performance relates to a common standard aircraft weight. The measured climb rate
and climb gradient can then be plotted against airspeed to give the actual airspeeds for
best performance under the weight, altitude and temperature conditions of the test.
From these measured data the airspeeds at which optimum climb performance is
achieved can be found.
 An alternative method is to measure the maximum excess thrust or power by level
accelerations. In this technique, the aircraft is flown as slowly as possible in level flight;
maximum thrust or power is selected and the airspeed recorded in a level acceleration
to maximum airspeed. From the acceleration, the excess thrust or power can be
deduced and thus so can that speeds for best climb performance.
 The level acceleration method is best suited to aircraft with thrust-producing engines
and the partial climb method is best suited to aircraft with power producing engines
since the best climb speeds tend to be towards the lower end of their speed range.

Minimum fuel climbs

 The fuel consumed in the climb can be expressed in terms of the specific climb, SC, as

 If the fuel flow is measured during the flight trails to determine the optimum climb
speed, then the specific climb function can be formed to give the airspeed for a
minimum fuel climb.

Descent performance in aircraft operations

 If the propulsive thrust is less than the airframe drag then the aircraft will decelerate or
descend. The aircraft has wide range of descent flight paths like shallow descent, steep
descent which occurs by changing thrust and drag. In the special case of gliding flight, in
which there is no propulsive thrust, the descent will be determined based on lift-drag
ratio.

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 A descent can be produced by flying at airspeed less than the minimum drag speed; the
aircraft will not have a stable flight path. The stability of flight path occurs when the
flight path gradient can be controlled by the use of elevator control only. If the aircraft is
flying at airspeed greater than the minimum drag speed then the flight path gradient of
descent can be increased (steepened) by increasing airspeed. This is achieved by nose
down pitch change with no adjustment in engine thrust setting. The optimization of the
descent is not straightforward as the optimization of the climb.
 In transport operations it would be undesirable to make a very steep, high airspeed
descent since this would entail a steep nose-down attitude that could be
uncomfortable, if not dangerous to persons in the cabin. In addition the rate of increase
of cabin pressure during descent must be kept to a reasonably low value to prevent
discomfort due to the re-pressurization of the passenger’s ear passages. The rate of
change of cabin pressure should not exceed the equivalent of 300 ft/min at sea level.
This implies that, if the cabin pressurized to the equivalent of 8000 ft pressure height,
the descent to sea level should not take less than 24 min regardless of the pressure
height from which the aircraft descends. An exception to this general rule is the
emergency descent following the loss of cabin pressure. In this case, the aircraft must
descend to a safe altitude as quickly as possible and the highest rate of descent must be
used.

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 There are several phases of a typical descent flight path from cruising altitude down to
landing. Each phase of the descent has different criteria that govern the manner in
which the aircraft is flown. Figure above shows the phases of atypical descent.

Effect of wind on climb and descent performance

 Wind is the relative velocity between the general air mass and the ground. Wind can be
assumed to have only a horizontal component of velocity but due to ground profile
vertical velocity components are also to be considered where sloping or undulating
ground occurs. So, in the present case the aircraft will be taken to be operating over
ground level so that only horizontal component will be considered.
 The performance relative to the ground will be affected by the wind which is known as
perceived performance seen by the observer, from either the aircraft or ground and
which affects the ability of the aircraft to clear ground-based obstructions.
 An extreme case of the wind effect on the flight path is that of Wind-Shear, in which the
rate of change of wind velocity is very large. Wind-shear is caused by severe
meteorological conditions associated with rainstorms that create very strong local
downdraughts, known as a microburst, which spread out rapidly as they contact ground.
This results in localized changes in wind speed and direction that may be large and occur
very suddenly. Wind shear risks aircraft final approach or after takeoff climb. To recover
to its original position need a quick response in both engine thrust and angle of attack.
Wind shear warning systems are used to make early response which will minimize the
effect of wind shear encounter.

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UNIT – IV
MANEUVER PERFORMANCE:

Accelerated motion of aircraft - equations of motion- the manoeuvre envelope

 An aircraft can be said to be in manoeuvring flight when its flight path is in a continuous
change of state and in which there is an inertial force due to acceleration.

Longitudinal manoeuvres- the pull-up, push over manoeuvres.

 Consider an airplane initially in straight and level flight, where L = W. The pilot suddenly
pitches the airplane to a higher angle of attack such that the lift suddenly increases.
Because L > W, the airplane will arch upward, as sketched in Fig. below. The flight path
becomes curved in the vertical plane, with a turn radius R and turn rate dθ/dt. This is
called the pull-up maneuver.

Pull up maneuver

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Assuming instantaneous pull-up is initiated from straight and level horizontal flight; this
corresponds to ϴ=0.


 The instantaneous turn radius is given by

 The instantaneous turn rate is

Pull down maneuver

An airplane initially in straight and level flight is suddenly rolled to an inverted position, such
that both L and W are pointing downwards.

 The instantaneous turn radius is given by

 The instantaneous turn rate is

Lateral manoeuvres- turn performance- turn rates, turn radius- limiting factors.
 The flight path and forces for an airplane in a level turn are sketched in Fig. Here, the
flight path is curved, in contrast to the rectilinear motion. By definition, a level turn is
one in which the curved flight path is in a horizontal plane parallel to the plane of the
ground; that is, in a level turn the altitude remains constant. The relationship between
forces required for a level turn is illustrated in below fig. Here, the airplane is banked
through the roll angle φ. The magnitude of the lift L and the value of φ are adjusted such
that the vertical component of lift, denoted by L cosφ, exactly equals the weight, or

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Level turn

 Under this condition, the altitude of the airplane will remain constant. Hence, Eq.
applies only to the case of a level turn; indeed, it is the necessary condition for a level
turn.

 For a level turn, the governing equation of motion is

 The two performance characteristics of greatest importance in turning flight are

1. The turn radius R.

2. The turn rate = dψ / dt , where ψ is defined in Fig. The turn rate is simply the local angular
velocity of the airplane along the curved flight path.

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For a level turn

the ratio L/ W is an important parameter in turning performance; it is defined as the load factor
n, where

 To obtain an expression for the turn radius, insert m = W/g in Eq. and solve for R.

 By trigonometric calculations we get

To obtain the smallest possible R, we want

1. The highest possible load factor (i.e., the highest possible L / W).
2. The lowest possible velocity.
To obtain an expression for the turn rate ω, return to Fig. and recall from physics that angular
velocity is related to R and V∞ as

To obtain the largest possible turn rate, we want

1. The highest possible load factor.
2. The lowest possible velocity
 Structural design limits of a given airplane represent a practical, mechanical constraint
on the load factor. Stalling velocity is a constraint on the minimum value of V∞ for R and
w.

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Maneuver boundaries, Manoeuvre performance of military aircraft, transport

aircraft.
 The effect of manoeuvres on the flight path performance of civil transport aircraft is
generally not very significant. They spend only very low proportion of their time in
turning flight and, since the maximum bank angle is typically 20 0 the turns are generally
low rate. The only case in which the effect of turning would be significant to a transport
aircraft in terms of its effect on flight safety is a turn made with marginal excess thrust
available.
 Military transport aircraft may be required to manoeuvre more aggressively than civil
aircraft and sustained turning performance may be significant in the operational profile
of the mission. Requires higher rate of pitch and fuel consumption during manoeuvres.
The design criteria for such aircraft should be sustaining high g manoeuvres with high
rate of turns. Complex manoeuvres combing turning with pull-ups and acceleration will
also need to be considered to establish the limits of aircraft in air – air combat
situations.

The Maneuver envelope

 The maneuver performance of the aircraft will be limited by the structural strength of
the airframe; there are two basic reasons for this.
 The pressure loading produced by the dynamic pressure of the airflow increases with
the square of the airspeed and with it the air loads on structural com opponents of the
aircraft. This is particularly obvious in the case of the deflection of devices such as flaps
or landing gear into the airstream. The design maximum dynamic equivalent airspeed,
EAS.
 The normal acceleration associated with maneuvering flight produces structural loads in
the airframe. The maximum allowable load factor in a maneuver is determined by the
load bearing capability of the airframe structure.
 These limitations do not always apply universally. Since the configuration of the
airframe may be changed for certain parts or the flight, for example by the lowering of
the landing gear or the deflection of flaps, the structural loading and strength limits may
be affected. Therefore, different maximum airspeed and load factor limitations may
exist for each configuration. The design maneuver envelope, or n-V diagram, describes
the design limitations on airspeed and load factor.
 The structural strength of the airframe must be capable of sustaining the structural
loading generated by flight maneuvers and gusts at a given air4raft weight5 and by the
dynamic pressure of the airflow at the maximum permissible airspeed. The load factor
limits and maximum airspeeds depend on the role of the aircraft.
 A military combat aircraft requires a high level of maneuverability and, therefore, the
capability of sustaining a high load factor. In addition, it will be called upon to perform
the maneuvers over a wide range of airspeeds. These requirements lead to the need for
a strong airframe to withstand the combined aerodynamic and maneuver loading; this
implies that the airframe will be relatively heavily constructed.

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 A large, subsonic, transport aircraft need only low maneuverability and can meet the
entire maneuver and gust loading requirements with a relatively low load factor.

 The airspeed is likely to be limited by a sub sonic Mach number, which may enable a
relatively low maximum EAS to be scheduled. These considerations lead to a much
lower structural strength requirement and, consequently, a lighter airframe
construction.
 Fig above shows the main elements of a typical maneuver envelope. Although the
maneuver envelopes for civil and military aircraft differ in detail, the definitions of the
boundaries and the principal airspeeds are similar enough to be generalized.

Transport aircraft maneuver performance

 The effect of maneuvers on the flight path performance of civil transport aircraft its
generally not very significant. They spend only a very low proportion of their time in
tur4ning flight and since the maximum bank angle used in the turn is typically 20*, the
turns are generally of very low rate. The effect of such turns on the overall performance
is minimal. En-route turns, which are generally associated with heading changes, are
usually made through angles of less than 900. If the aircraft is stacked in the hold during
the descent to landing it is required to fly an oval flight path, with a 180* turn at each
turn, known as the holding pattern. The holding pattern turn is flown at Rate1, or 3*/s,
and takes one minute. This is probably the most sustained turn that the aircraft will be

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required to carry out in normal operations and will be flown at a speed commensurate
with flight safety and air traffic control considerations. This speed should be losing to
the maximum endurance speed if possible.
 The rate and radius of the turns made by aircraft with differing airspeeds can be used to
advantage in control of air traffic. The smaller regional‘aircraft, often turbo-props, can
fly at lower speeds than the big jets and can use bank angles up to 30* compared with
the normal maximum of 20* in the case of the big jets. This enables the regional aircraft
to turn at a higher rate and with a smaller radius. These differences in performance can
be used to aid the separation and flow of traffic in airport terminal areas.
 The only case in which the effect of turning would be significant to a transport aircraft,
in terms of its effect on flight safety, is a turn made with marginal excess thrust
available. For example, during the after-take-off climb with one engine inoperative, the
additional drag due to the turn may decrease the already small gradient of climb.
Similarly, the sustained pull-up is not a maneuver associated with civil transport
operations. The most significant pitching maneuvers, other than the transition at take-
off and the flare on landing, will be transient maneuvers between the limb and cruising
states or between cruising and descending flight.

Military aircraft maneuver performance

 Military transport aircraft may be required to maneuver more aggressively than civil
aircraft and sustained turning performance may be significant in the operational profile
of the mission. Although pure pull-ups are still unlikely to be more than transient
maneuvers in path, they may extend, in the case of tactical transport aircraft, to pop-up‘
maneuvers from low-level flight that would demand a higher rate of pitch than the
simple gradient changing maneuver. The increased fuel burned due to the turning
maneuvers may need to be accounted for in the analysis of the fuel requirement for the
mission.
 The combat aircraft (or the aerobatic aircraft) spends a significant proportion of its
mission time in maneuvering flight and the design criterion for the aircraft is that it will
be capable of sustaining high-g maneuvers with high rates op turn. In the design phase
of the development of the aircraft, estimates will be needed of the thrust required to
achieve the design target maneuvers combining turning with pull-ups and acceleration
will also need to be considered to establish the limits of the aircraft in air-to-air combat
situations. The performance in these maneuvers will be part of the design specification
of the aircraft. However, in service combat maneuvers will be developed from
combinations of the three basic maneuvers to take advantage of the performance
equalities peculiar to the aircraft. It is unlikely that such maneuvers could be foreseen at
the design stage, but their development in service through experience of the aircraft, is
a necessary phase of the maintenance of the aircraft air superiority.

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UNIT-V
TAKE-OFF AND LANDING- SAFETY REQUIREMENTS - FLIGHT PLANNING

Take-off performance:
 Consider an airplane standing motionless at the end of a runway. This is denoted by
location O in Fig. 6.12. The pilot releases the brakes and pushes the throttle to
maximum takeoff power, and the airplane accelerates down the runway. At some
distance from its starting point, the airplane lifts into the air. How much distance does
the airplane cover along the runway before it lifts into the air? This is the central
question in the analysis of takeoff performance. Called the ground roll (or sometimes
the ground run) and denoted by sg in Fig. 5.1, it is a major focus of this section.
However, this is not the whole consideration.

 The total takeoff distance also includes the extra distance covered over the ground after
the airplane is airborne but before it clears an obstacle of a specified height. This is
denoted by sa in Fig. 5.1.

 The height of the obstacle is generally specified to be 50 ft for military aircraft and 35 ft
for commercial aircraft.

 The sum of s g and sa is the total takeoff distance for the airplane.

 The ground rolls g is further divided into intermediate segments, as shown in Fig.5.2.
These segments are defined by various velocities, as follows:

Fig: 5:1:

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Fig: 5:2:

 As the airplane accelerates from zero velocity, at some point it will reach the
stalling velocity Vstall, as noted in Fig above
 The airplane continues to accelerate until it reaches the minimum control speed
on the ground, denoted by Vmcg in Fig. 5.2. This is the rr1inimum velocity at
which enough aerodynamic force can be generated on the vertical fin with
rudder deflection while the airplane is still rolling along the ground to produce a
yawing moment sufficient to counteract t.'1at produced when there is an engine
failure for a multiengine aircraft
 If the airplane were in the air (without the landing gear in contact with the
ground), the minimum speed required for yaw control in case of engine failure is
slightly greater than Vmcg· This velocity is called the minimum control speed in
the denoted by Vmca in Fig. 5.2 For the ground roll shown in Fig. 5.2, Vmca is
essentially a reference speed-the airplane is still on the ground when this speed
is reached.
 The airplane continues to accelerate until it reaches the decision speed, denoted
by V1 in Fig. This is the speed at which the pilot can successfully continue the
takeoff even though an engine failure (in a multiengine aircraft) would occur at
that point. This speed must be equal to or larger than V mcg in order to maintain
control of the airplane. A more descriptive name for V1 is the critical engine
failure speed. If an engine fails before V1 is achieved, the takeoff must be
stopped. If an engine fails after V1 is reached, the takeoff can still be achieved.
 The airplane continues to accelerate until the takeoff rotational speed, denoted
by VR in Fig. above , is achieved. At this velocity, the m1tiates elevator deflection
a rotation of the airplane in order to increase the of attack, hence to increase
Clearly, the maximum angle of attack achieved during rotation should not
exceed the stalling angle of attack. Actually, all that is needed is an angle of
attack high enough to produce a lift at the given larger than the so that the
airplane will lift off the ground. However, even this angle of attack may not be
achievable because the tail may drag the ground. (Ground clearance for the tail
after rotation is an important design feature for the airplane, imposed by takeoff
considerations.)

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 If the rotation of the airplane is limited by ground clearance for the tail, the
airplane must continue to accelerate while rolling along the ground after
rotation is achieved, until a higher speed is reached where indeed the lift
becomes larger than the weight. This speed is called the minimum unstick speed,
denoted by Vmu in Fig. 5.2. For the definition of Vmu, it is assumed that the
angle of attack achieved during rotation is the maximum allowable by the tail
clearance.
 However, for increased safety, the angle of attack after rotation is slightly less
than the maximum allowable by tail clearance, and the airplane continues to
accelerate to a slightly higher velocity, called the liftoff speed, denoted by VLO
in Fig. 5.2. This is the point at which the airplane actually lifts off the ground. The
total distance covered along the ground to this point is the ground roll s8 •

 The relative values of the various velocities discussed above, and noted on Fig.
5.2, are all sandwiche,d between the value of Vsta11 and that for VLO, where
usually VLO ~ 1.1 Vstall ·

Related to the above discussion is the concept of balanced field length, defined as follows.

 The decision speed V1 was defined earlier as the minimum velocity at which the pilot
can successfully continue the takeoff even though an engine failure would occur at that
point. What does it mean that the pilot "can successfully continue the takeoff" in such
an event? The answer is that when the airplane reaches V1, if an engine fails at that
point,· then the additional distance required to clear the obstacle at the end of takeoff
is exactly the same distance as required to bring the airplane to a stop on the ground. If
we let A be the distance traveled by the airplane along the ground from the original
starting point (point O in Fig. 5.2) to the point where V1 is reached, and we let B be the
additional distance traveled with an engine failure (the same distance to clear an
obstacle or to brake to a stop), then the balanced field length is by definition the total
distance A + B.

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Figure5.1 Take-off speeds and distances

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Fig.5.1 Take-off speeds and distances.

Estimation of take-off distances:

Where yR= the runway slope, R = wheel load or runway reaction force, and uR= runway coefficient of
rolling friction.

The ground-run distance, Sg:

The ground run distance can be estimated from the time integral of the ground speed of the
aircraft.

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Where F = the accelerating force acting on the aircraft. Now, from above equation, the
accelerating force, F, can be written in the form.

 In above equation, the curly bracket {} represents the net propulsive thrust – weight
ratio, taking into account the runway rolling friction and the runway slope. The thrust
force produced by the power plant is unlikely to vary substantially during the take-off
and, for the a purposes of a simple estimation of the ground run, the net propulsive
thrust – weight ratio can be assumed to be a constant, A.

 Where B is a quasi-constant determined by the aircraft

configuration and ground run attitude. Above equation is now being expressed in the form.


And above equation becomes

This can be integrated to give

 If A >BV2 a further simplifying approximation can be made by evaluating above equation

at 0.7Vlof and integrating above equation on the assumption that (A – BV2) is a
constant, this gives

 Equations above can be used to estimate the ground runoff a CTOL or RTOL aircraft up
to the lift-off point. However, it may be necessary to divide the ground run into two
parts. First, the ground run to the rotation, during which the ground attitude is constant.
Secondly, the ground run during and after rotation in which the angle of attack
increases to the lift-off angle of attack and the lift dependent drag will become
significantly larger.

The airborne distance, Sa

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The effect on the take-off distances of the flight variables:

 The take-off distances will be affected by the weight of the aircraft, the state of the
atmosphere and the airfield conditions. Equations above enable the approximate effect
of variation of the flight variables to be discussed

 Aircraft weight:
If above equation is expressed for a take-off on a level runway in still air then the
approximation for the ground run distance is.

 An increase in aircraft weight can be seen to have two direct effects on the ground run
distance.
First, the ground run distance is directly proportional to aircraft weight, so that the ground
run will increase in proportion to the weight increase.

 Secondly, the ground run distance is direct fly proportional to the square of the light-off
speed. Vtof. Now, the lift-off speed is proportional to the stalling speed, Vsl. Which, in
turn, is proportional to the square root of the weight of the aircraft? Therefore, the
take-off ground run distance will be increased, again in proportion to the aircraft
weight.
 In addition to the direct effects, the increased weight will increase the runway friction
force acting on the aircraft, but the effect of this on the ground run will be relatively
small compared with the direct effects of weight.
 Summing the individual effects of a weight increase, it can be expected that increasing
the aircraft weight by 10% will increase the take-off ground run distance by at least 20%
 The airborne distance will be similarly affected
 First, from above equation it can be seen that the airborne distance is directly
proportional to the aircraft weight.

 Secondly, both the lift-off speed and the take-off safety sped will be increased by the
increase in aircraft weight. This will produced a proportional increment in the kinetic
energy related term since the airborne distance is a function of the square of the
airspeeds, which are proportional to the square root of the weight. However, as the
potential energy and kinetic energy terms in the expression for the airborne distance

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are roughly equal, the effect of weight increase of 10% on the kinetic energy term is to
increase the airborne distance by about 5%.

 Also, the increase the airframe drags and reduces the excess thrust available. The
magnitude of this effect will depend on the excess thrust and on the lift-dependent part
of the drag characteristic of the airframe. For a transport aircraft, it will probably equate
to a reduction in the excess thrust of the order of 2% for a weight increase of10%.

 By summing these effects, it can be expected that increasing the weight of the aircraft
by 10% will increase the airborne distance by between 15% and 20%.

Atmosphere state effects:

 The state of the atmosphere has two basic effects on the take-off distances.

 The take-off is performed with reference to indicated airspeed (IAS) displayed by the
airspeed indicator. In the absence of pitot-static errors, the IAS will be the same as the
equivalent airspeed, EAS (since the take-off is made at low speed and flow attitude and
the scale-altitude correction will be negligible). However, the take-off distances are
functions of true airspeed (TAS), since they are determined by the motion of the aircraft
in Earth axes. Since the ground run distance is proportional to the TAS2 it will be
proportional to the inverse of the relative density. I/o, or 0/8. This implies that hot or
high (low relative pressure) conditions will increase the take-off ground run since the
TAS will be increased for a given EAS determined by the aircraft weight. The airborne
distance will also be increased but, because only the kinetic energy term is affected, the
effect will be about halved.

 The output of the power plant is roughly proportional to the relative density since the
engine output is dependent point‘s air mass flow. Therefore, the net thrust will decrease
in hot or high conditions increasing the take-off distances; the magnitude of the effect
will depend on the characteristics of the power plant.

Head wind:
 The effect of the headwind, Vw, is to change the datum speed of the take-off; the
aircraft now only needs to be accelerated to a ground speed of Vl of – Vw. From above
equation, it can be seen that the effect of a headwind equal to 10% of the lift-off speed
is to decrease the ground run by almost 20%.
 Conversely, the same tailwind would increase the ground run by a little over 20% The
effect of the headwind on the airborne distance is approximately half as severe as it is
on the ground run distance since it only affects the kinetic energy term.

Runway conditions:
The effects of a runway slope (uphill) and the runway friction coefficient on the ground run
distance can each be accounted for by considering them as equivalent to a decrease in the
take-off thrust-to-weight ratio. There is, of course, no effect on the airborne distance.

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It will be seen later, that account is taken of the effect of the flight variables on the take-off
performance data in their presentation in the aircraft performance manual. The effects of the
weight, wind and runway slopes are each accounted for by using the corrections developed
above to factor the datum performance measured at a known atmosphere state.

Landing performance:
 In the landing phase of the flight, the aircraft is on a descending flight path towards the
runway. As it approaches the runway, the airspeed and the rate of descent are reduced
in the flare so that a touchdown is achieved at a low rate of descent. After touchdown,
the nose is lowered onto the runway and the aircraft brought to a halt. During the
landing, consideration is given to the need to ensure that the aircraft can be controlled
safely and that the distances required for the maneuvers do not exceed those available.
The landing maneuver is described in Fig. 5.3.







Fig.5.2 landing speeds and distances.

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Calculation of Approach Distance

The flare height hf can be calculated from the construction shown

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Finally, with R given by Eq. above θa from Eq.

Geometry of the landing flare.

Calculation of Flare Distance

Calculation of Ground Roll

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W can write the equation as

Integrating Eq. between the end of the roll, where s = sfr and Vα = VTD, and the complete stop,
wheres= sgand Vα = 0, we have

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The effect on the landing distances of the flight variables:

The landing distances will be affected by the weight of the aircraft, the state of the atmosphere
and the airfield conditions, in a broadly similar manner to the take-off distances.

Aircraft weight:
 In the approach phase of the landing the thrust produced by the engines will be less
than the maximum thrust available.
 Therefore, the gradient of the approach flight path can be controlled by the engine
thrust and will not be affected by the weight of the air craft. In the flare, the thrust is
reduced to idle and the aircraft decelerates as the angle of attack is steadily increased
towards the touchdown angle of attack to arrest the rate of descent. Since the angle of
attack on the approach and at touchdown is usually determined by the stalling speed of
the aircraft in the landing configuration, the lift – drag ratio during the flare will be
practically independent of the aircraft weight.

 This implies that, unlike the airborne take-off distance, the only significant effect of the
weight on the airborne landing distance will be due to the kinetic energy term in the
flare. Because the approach is made at about 1.3Vso, the kinetic energy loss during the
flare will be about twice as much as the potential energy loss. Therefore, a weight
increase of 10% would be expected to increase the distance in the flare by about7%.

 The effect of the weight on the landing group under distance is similar to the take-off
case; it increases the ground speed at touchdown through its effect on the stalling
speed. The direct effect of the increased weight on the kinetic energy will increase the
ground run distance by about 20% for a weight increase of 10%. This affects both the
free roll distance and the braked ground run.

Atmosphere state effects:

 The state of the atmosphere will affect the landing distances through its effect on the
TAS. There will be no significant effect through the engine thrust since the thrust is
either being controlled to maintain the approach gradient or will be at idle. As in the
take-off case, the ground run distances will be increased in proportion to the inverse of
their density and the flare.

Headwind:
 The effect of the headwind on the ground run distance is to change the datum speed of
the landing since the aircraft now only needs to be declared from an effect touch-down
speed. The effect of a headwind equal to 10% of the touch-down speed would be to
reduce the landing ground run by about20%.
 The effect of the head window the airborne distance is only felt in the flare since the
approach gradient is relative to the ground and is controlled by engine thrust or power.
A headwind of 10% of the tough down speed will reduce the kinetic energy loss during
the flare by 20% and the distance in the flare by about 14%

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Runway conditions:
The effects of a runway slope (uphill) and the runway friction coefficient on the ground run
distance can each be accounted for by considering them as equivalent to an increase in the
braking force. There is, of course, no effect on the airborne distance

The space available:

As in the case of take-off the space available for landing is limited by the dimensions of the
air5frield and the approach to the runway in the landing direction, see Fig 5.4. The approach
path is protected by an obstacle limitation surface in a similar manner to the take-off net flight
path. The definition of the obstacle limitation surface depends on the classification of the
runway. Figure 5.5shows the limitations for a large airfield with a precision approach category;
full definitions for all runway classifications can be found in ICAO Annex 14. As in the case of the
take-off obstacle free zone, it may not be possible to comply fully with the requirements, and
the flight planning will need to consider any known obstructions near the airfield.

The first section of the obstacle limitation surface starts from a point 60m from the threshold of
the runway and edxt5ends rfo4r a distance of 3000m along the appr4oadh path at a gradient of
2%. The second section extends a further 3600m at a gradient of 2.5%. The horizontal section
extends a further 8400m with a base height of 150m above runway surface. The total length of
the approach obstacle limitation su4rface is 15000m. There are of course, lateral dimensions
associated with the obstacle limitation surface to enable the air45craft to make turning and
positioning maneuvers on the approach. As these do not affect the performance considerations
addressed here, they need not be considered in detail.

In the event of a missed approach or a baulked landing, in which the aircraft abandons the
landing and climbs away from the airfield, there needs to be an obstacle free area in the
direction of the climb-out. The baulked-landing obstacle clearance surface extends from 1800m
beyond the threshold of the landing runway, or the end of the runway whichever is the lesser,
at a gradient of 3.33%, to a distance of 4000m.

The landing distance available (LDA) is defined as the length of runway that is declared available
and suitable for the ground run of an aircraft landing.

Figure:5.5 Landing approach obstacle limitation surface.

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The space required

The landing distance required (LDR) is the gross distance required o land on a legal, smooth,
hard-strafed runway from a specified screen height at the runway threshold and to come to a
complete stop, multiplied by a suitable safety factor.

The landing flight path assumes that6 the aircraft approaches the runway in a steady descent to
a screen height of 50ft at the runway threshold. The gradient of the descent in the approach is
usually 5% (or 3*), but may be steeper in some restricted airfield oper4ations.

The airspeed at the screen height should be not less than the greater of V mcl of 1.3Vs in the
land in configuration. Between the screen height and touchdown, the airspeed is reducedto a
safe touchdown speed in the flare. This is done by progressively increasing the angle of attack,
so that the touchdown is achieved at an acceptable vertical speed avoiding excessive vertical
acceleration or any tendency to bounce, in the flare, no changes to the configuration, addition
of thrust or depression of the nose should be required.

After touchdown, brakes and other means of retardation, for which a satisfactory means of
operation has been approved, can be used to decelerate the aircraft to a halt. If any retarding
system depends on the operation of any engine, for example a thus reverser, then it may be
necessary to assess the landing distances with that engine inoperative to determine the most
critical Landing distance required.

To account for wet runway conditions, the dry runway distances are factored by a function of
the coefficient of friction of the runway under wet and dry conditions .

The maximum landing weight based on the landing distance required is determined by the
balance between the landing distance available and the greatest of the landing distances
required. This takes into account the factors for the runway surface, slope and condition, the
wind and an overall safety factor to account for the statistical variation in the parameters
affecting the landingperformance.

The discontinued landing:

There are two cases to be considered in which the landing has to be abandoned. These are,

 The discontinued approach in which the aircraft terminates the approach before the
thrust is reduced in the flare and continues the flight to a point from which a new
approach can be made, and

 The baulked landing in which the aircraft is required to go-around after the thrust has
been reduced in the flare.

 The discontinued approach occurs, for example, when the aircraft has reached the
minimum decision height on the approach to landing and the run way is not insight. At
that point the approach must be discontinued and a climb initiated; it is assumed for
the purpose of the requirements that the aircraft is flying with one engine in operative.
In a go-around from a discontinued approach, the aircraft must be capable of climbing

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away, with the critical engine inoperative and in the approach configuration, to a safe
height from which it can make another approach or a diversion.

 The steady gradient of climb must not be less than 2.1% for two-engine aircraft, 2.4%
for three-engine aircraft and 2.7% for four-engine aircraft; the different gradients
reflect the effect of statistical variability in the thrust of the operating engines (For
Category II operations the gradient is 2.5% for all types.) The climb gradient must be
demonstrated with the critical engine inoperative and the operating engines at take- off
thrust, at maximum landing weight and with the landing gear retracted. The
configuration for the discontinued approach must be such that the stalling speed is not
greater than 1.1Vs for the all-engines operating landing configuration.

In the case of the baulked landing the aircraft must be capable of climbing at a gradient that
will maintain clearance from all obstructions with all engines operating in the landing
configuration and with the landing gear down. When the go-around is initiated, take-off thrust
is selected and the aircraft is rotated into the climb. With all engines operating, the aircraft
must be capable of achieving as gradient of climb of not less than 3.2% in the landing
configuration. The engine thrust or power used to calculate the gradient of climb is that which
is available 8 seconds after-take-off power is selected from the flight idle condition. The
airspeed used for the climb is 1.2Vs, but must not be less than V mcl or more than the greater
of V mcl and 1.3Vs.

The gradients of climb in the discontinued landing will determine the maximum weight at which
the aircraft can safely terminate the approach taking into account the WAT conditions. In most
cases the limit of compliance for the discontinued approach and the baulked landing can be
combined into a single WAT chart for the aircraft, this will be discussed further in Chapter 10.
The maximum landing weight for the aircraft will be the lowest of the weights determined by
consideration of the climb gradient in the discontinued approach and the baulked landing can
be combined into a single WAT chart for the aircraft, this will be discussed further in Chapter
10. The maximum landing weight for the aircraft will be the lowest of the weights determined
by consideration of the climb gradient in the discontinued land in the space available and the
maximum design landing weight.

The trip fuel

 The flight from the point of departure to the intended destination is made up of the
basic elements of the flight path, take-off, climb, cruise, descent and landing.
 in addition, the aircraft will need to taxi from the ramp to the runway for take-off and
from the runway to the ramp after landing.
 The fuel required for each element of the intended flight is derived from flight
measured data. This is reduced to a form from which the effects of weight, altitude and
temperature can be interpolated separately.
 The data are presented in graphical or tabular form so that the fuel required for each
element of the flight can be found for the particular WAT state and operational
parameters.
 For example, the cruising segment will need a statement of the distance between the
end of the climb and the beginning of the descent and the climbing segment will need
the height increase between take-off and cruise altitude. In some case, it may be
sufficient to state an allowance of fuel for a maneuver or fuel burned per unit time.

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 For example, in the case of smaller aircraft it is not unusual to quote a fixed quantity of
fuel for the take-off and landing and for the taxiing fuel in units per minute. This is
acceptable if the effect of variation of WAT on the fuel.

 Since the fuel consumed during the trip depends on the weight of the aircraft, a starting
weight‘ is needed before the trip fuel can be calculated.

 The initial weight of the aircraft will depend on the quantity of fuel that will be burned
during the trip. Hence, the only weight hat can be determined is the weight at the end
of the diversion at which time only the reserve fuel remains.

 Therefore, the calculation process is reversed, so that the starting weight‘ for the fuel
calculation is the weight at the end of the flight, rather than that at the beginning. The
starting weight for the calculation of the trip fuel is, therefore, the aircraft prepared for
service (APS) weight of the aircraft plus its payload and the fuel remaining at the end of
the trip.

 The fuel required for landing descent, cruise, climb and take-off can be calculated in
their reverse order and summed to give the trip fuel.

 This process estimates the minimum quantity of fuel required for the trip based on
assumptions that include the route to be flown, cruise altitude, atmosphere state and
forecast winds. In practice, however, the ideal flight plan is rarely achieved and the
actual trip will differ from the trip assumed for flight planning; the reasons for this
include the following.

 The flight planning will be completed sometime before the flight and will use forecast
whether (temperature profiles and winds), request the best cruise altitude and route
and will be based on a specified departure time.
 The flight plan may not be confirmed until just before take-off, or even after- take-off,
and may require changes to the route and cruise altitude to coordinate the flight with
other traffic.
 Any such changes will usually increase the time and distance of the flight and extra fuel
will be required.

 Delays in departure times may result in different air temperatures at take-off and en-
route from those used for the flight plan.

 For example, if an early morning departure is delayed until mid-day, the increase in air
temperature may increase the trip fuel required. Consequently, it could mean that the
take-off WAT limit would be exceed and the payload would then have to be reduced to
comply with the scheduled performance requirements.

 On arrival at the destination, the aircraft may have to hold to await its turn to land.
Flying in the hold will require additional fuel.

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To account for the additional fuel requirement caused by environmental effects (temperature and
wind), the trip fuel can be increased by a percentage of the calculated en-route fuel. In addition
contingency ‘allowances can be added a account for holding and unscheduled maneuvers or
route changes. The percentage increase of the en- route fuel may be based on a requirement set
by the regulatory authorities or decided by the operator. The contingency fuel allowances are
usually determined by the operator and based on knowledge and experience of the route.

The diversion fuel:

 The fuel for the diversion is calculated in the same manner as the trip fuel, but usually it
assumes the same contingency fuel as the trip.

Reserves:
 Minimum reserves are usually set by the regulatory authorities although the operator
may increase them at his or her discretion. An aircraft should not need to use fuel from
its minimum reserves except in an emergency reserve are additional to the minimum
reserve.

Tankering:
 In addition to the fuel required for the mission, the opportunity may be taken to carry
extra fuel if it is economically advantageous to do so, this is known as tankering.
 Fuel can be tinkered if the price at eh departure point is sufficiently below the price at
the destination to make it worth using any available surplus weight to carry the extra
fuel.
 In this way, the cost of fuel uplift a for the next flight can be reduced and the overall
economy of the operation improved. Tinkered fuel cannot be considered as fuel reserve
for fuel planning purposes.

 The fuel planning progression is shown in Fig 5.4.

 The payload weight is added to the aircraft prepared for service weight to give the zero
fuel weight; this is the basic weight of the aircraft for that mission. The landing weight
at the alternate airfield is the sum of the zero fuel weight and the fuel reserves that
have not been used, together with any tinkered fuel being carried. The landing weight
at the destination is the landing weight at the alternate plus the fuel for the diversion
and, possibly, a part of the percentage en-route reserve if it has not been required

 The greatest landing weight as the destination would occur if no reserves had been use;
this case is shown in Fig. 5.4.

 The trip fuel added to the landing weight at the destination gives the take-off weight,
which must not exceed the maximum scheduled take-off weight determined by the
performance planning.

 Taxing fuel may be carried to permit the aircraft to taxi to the take-off point and take-
off as its limiting weight; this is added to the take-off weight to give the ramp weight.
The fuel plan usually contains a simple self-check by adding the total fuel weight to the
zero fuel weight to give the ramp weight directly.

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 Comparing this with the ramp weight from the detailed plan helps to eliminate any
arithmetic errors that may occur in the process. Although the performance plan takes
precedence over the fuel plan in flight planning, the fuel plan may need to be
completed first in order to find the fuel required to transport the aircraft and payload
to the intended destination.

 When this has been done, the take-off weight of the aircraft is known and the
performance planning will be used to confirm that the aircraft can meet all the
performance criteria along the intended route.

 If the aircraft cannot meet any of the performance requirements then its weight must
be reduced until it is able to do so. The APS weight is fixed and cannot be reduced.

Figure: 5.5 (a) Fuel planning

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Figure: 5.5 (b) Fuel planning

 The fuel load, including the reserves, required for the mission will also be fixed for that
aircraft weight. Only the payload can be reduced, and to reduce the aircraft weight to
comply with the performance criteria payload will have to be off-loaded. This is very
serious economically since the reduction can only be made in the first instance in the
revenue-earning part of the weight of the aircraft.

 However, since this will reduce the total aircraft weight the fuel required for the mission
will also be reduced so that the final weight reduction will not be all payloads but will
include some fuel.
 A new weight schedule can then be made in which it may be possible to recover some
of the pay load reduction.

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