Wing Planform and Tail Sizing

Altitude and Weight Scaling

Performance Reqs.
Stall and Landing
Sustained Maneuvers
Tail Sizing
MAE 155A
NASA Image
2
MAE 155A
Definitions
Many performance requirements can be converted into constraints on the airplanes's
size.
Constraints and requirements will reduce or limit the design space of possible
configurations.
Two of the most important configuration parameters are the aircraft thrust-to-weight
ratio (T/W) and the wing loading (W/S).
Propeller airplanes may use power loading (P/W)
T =engine thrust
W=weight
P=power
V =airspeed
j=propulsionefficiency
T
W
=
(
j
V
)(
P
W
)
3
MAE 155A
Altitude and Weight Scaling
Performance requirements should be scaled so that they can all be considered
together (defining the feasible design space).
o=
W
W
T O
+=
T
T
SL
(
T
W
)
=
(
T
T
SL
)
(
T
SL
W
T O
)
(
W
T O
W
)
=
(
+
o
)
(
T
SL
W
T O
)
(
W
S
)
=
(
W
W
T O
)
(
W
T O
S
)
=o
(
W
T O
S
)
Weight Fraction Thrust Lapse Rate
4
MAE 155A
Stall and Landing Approach
A stall speed requirement constrains wing loading.
Approach speed is specified in terms of the airplane stall speed.
L=W=
1
2
jV
stall
2
S C
L , max
W
S
=
1
2
jV
stall
2
C
L, max
W
T O
S
=
j
2o
V
stall
2
C
L , max
W
T O
S
=
j
2o
(
V
app
1.3
)
2
C
L , max
W
T O
S
=
j
2o
(
V
app
1.2
)
2
C
L , max
V
app
=1.3V
stall
V
app
=1.2V
stall
Civilian
Military
o=
W
app
W
T O
W
app
=landing approach weight
5
MAE 155A
Instantaneous Turning
Instantaneous turning performance implies a maximum turn rate that can be
achieved for only a short period of time.
Instantaneous turn performance is all important to air-to-air fighters.
d
dt
=
g
V
.n
2
1
n=
.
(
V
g
)
+1
L=n W=q S C
L
(
W
S
)
=
qC
L
n
(
W
T O
S
)
=
qC
L
on
or
n=load factor
q=gravity
=turn rate
L=lift
j=density
V =airspeed
q=( j/ 2) V
2
6
MAE 155A
Sustained Turn and Climb
Requirements for sustained cruise, turning, or climbing are handled by manipulating
the aircraft equations of motion.
dV
dt
=g
|
(
T D
W
)
sin

dh
dt
=V sin
dV
dt
=
g
W
(T D)
(
g
V
)
dh
dt
T =D+
(
W
V
)
dh
dt
+
(
W
g
)
dV
dt
T
W
=
D
W
+
(
1
V
)
dh
dt
+
(
1
g
)
dV
dt
g=gravity
V =airspeed
T =thrust
D=drag
W=weight
t =time
= flight pathangle
h=altitude
dh/ dt =climb rate
dV / dt =acceleration
7
MAE 155A
Sustained Flight (continued)
Replace drag force (D) with the airplane's drag polar:
D=q S C
D
=qS (C
D0
+KC
L
2
)
C
L
=
n
q
(
W
S
)
T
W
=
D
W
+
(
1
V
)
dh
dt
+
(
1
g
)
dV
dt
T
W
=
qC
D0
(W/ S)
+
K n
2
q
(
W
S
)
+
(
1
V
)
dh
dt
+
(
1
g
)
dV
dt
T
SL
W
T O
=
qC
D0
+(W
T O
/ S )
+
K n
2
o
2
+q
(
W
T O
S
)
+
(
o
+
)|
(
1
V
)
dh
dt
+
(
1
g
)
dV
dt

8
MAE 155A
Feasible Design Space
W
T O
/ S
T
SL
/W
T O
T
h
r
u
s
t
-
t
o
-
W
e
i
g
h
t

R
a
t
i
o
Wing Loading
Feasible
Design Space
Climb
Landing
Turning
Takeoff
9
MAE 155A
Defining the Airplane
The airplane takes shape after the empty weight has been estimated.
What we know about the shape of the wing:
Aspect Ratio was chosen to estimate induced drag
Reference area is known from chosen wing loading:
What we know about the engines:
Specific fuel consumption assumed for performance calculations (range, endurance)
Engine thrust is known from wing selected thrust-to-weight ratio:
S=
(
1
W
T O
/ S
)
W
T O
T
SL
=
(
T
SL
W
T O
)
W
T O
N
engines
T
SL , per engine
=
(
T
SL
W
T O
)
W
T O
Multiple engines
Single engine
10
MAE 155A
Tail Surface Sizing
A later lecture will describe how horizontal and vertical tail size affect the stability
properties of the airplane.
For now, an initial tail surface size can be established using historical data.
S
VT
l
VT
=c
VT
b S
S
HT
l
HT
=c
HT

c S
S
VT
=vertical tail area
c
VT
=vert tail volume coeff
b=wingspan , S=wing ref area
l
VT
=distance wing -vert tail
S
HT
=horz tail area
c
HT
=horz tail volume coeff

c=mean wing chord

l
HT
=distance wing -horz tail
Aircraft Type c
HT
c
VT
Sailplane 0.53 0.022
ISR (Surveillance) 0.34 0.014
Single Engine GA 0.70 0.032
Twin Engine GA 0.76 0.060
Business Twin 0.91 0.090
Jet Transport 1.00 0.083
Jet Trainer 0.60 0.060
Jet Fighter 0.50 0.076