Flight Performance

Flight Performance
Introduction:
Good Airmanship requires the loading, mass and center of gravity of the aircraft comply with the
limitations specified in the approved Aircraft Flight Manual.

Effects of Overloading:
If the limiting mass of the aircraft is exceeded:

Performance is reduced.
T/O and Landing distance is increased.
Rate of Climb and ceiling will be reduced.
Range and endurance is reduced.
Maximum speed is reduced.
Stalling speed is increased.
Maneuverability will be reduced
Wear on tyres will be increased.
Structural safety margins will be reduced.

Maximum Take-off Mass (MTOM)

It is defined as the maximum permissible total aircraft mass at the beginning of the take-off run.
Maximum Landing Mass (MLM)
It is defined as the maximum permissible total aircraft mass upon landing.
Maximum Zero Fuel Mass (MZFM)
It is defined as the maximum permissible mass of the aircraft with no usable fuel.

The Limit Load is the maximum load to be expected in service.

The Ultimate Load is the load at which the structure will fail.
The Safety Factor is the ratio of the ultimate load to the limit load.

The Limit load factors for different categories of aircraft:

Normal Category: +ve b/w 2.5g 3.8g to -ve -1.0g

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Flight Performance

Utility Category: +ve 4.4g to -ve -1.76g

Aerobatic Category: +ve 6g to -ve -3.0g

V Speeds:
Vno The maximum normal operating cruise speed limit (upper limit of green arc)
Vne Never exceed speed (red line)
Vno-Vne The caution range (yellow arc). The a/c is flyable at these speeds only in smooth air
Vfe The maximum speed with flaps extended (upper limit of white arc)
Vlo The landing gear operating speed is the speed at which it is safe to extended or retract the landing
gears safely. The landing gear doors open during this phase and they cannot take the loads at high speeds.
Hence this speed is defined.
Vle The maximum speed at which the a/c can be flown with the landing gear extended.
Vra The maximum rough air speed. If not specified fly at Va.
Va Maneuvering speed or structural cruising speed. It is the maximum speed at which full deflection of
the controls can be made without exceeding the design limit load factors. IT is generally 1.9 times the
power off stalling speed at gross weight.

Mass and balance:

Mass is the amount of matter a body has.
Weight is the force produced when this mass is subjected to gravity.
A body will have mass but if there is no gravity it will not have weight.
The center of gravity (C of G) is defined as the point through which the force of gravity acts upon a mass
to give it weight. It is also the point of balance and thus will affect the stability of the a/c.
(check video for calculation flt performance & planning Mass & Balance)
C of G (inches) = moment (lbs/inches) / total mass (lbs)
+ve C of G aft of datum & -ve C of G forward of datum.

The center of gravity datum is the point designated by the manufacturer from which all measurements are
taken in the calculations of C of G. It can be anywhere on the longitudinal axis of the a/c.

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Flight Performance

The arm is the distance from the center of gravity datum, to the point at which the mass of a component
acts. By convention all arms aft of the datum are +ve and all arms forward of the datum are ve.
The moment is the turning effect of the mass around the datum.
moment (lbs/inches)= mass (lbs) * arm (inches)
So +ve arm will give a +ve moment and a ve arm will give a ve moment.

Basic Empty Mass (BEM)

It is the mass of the a/c with all the basic equipment plus a declared quantity of unusable fuel and oil.
Traffic Load
It is the total mass of passengers, baggage and freight.
Dry Operating Mass (DOM)
It is the total mass of the a/c for a specific type of operation, excluding all fuel and traffic load. This
includes crew and crew baggage, catering and removable passenger service equipment.

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