Book 2 Module 11A

CATEGORY B1.1
THEORY OF FLIGHT
HIGH SPEED FLIGHT

Licence By Post

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issue number.

Licence By Post © Copyright B1.1 EASA 66 11.1.1 11.1.2 ISSUE 04 0111

© Licence By Post
No part of this study book may be re-produced or distributed in any form or by any means, or
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Books in the LBP series are regularly up-dated/re-written to keep pace with the changing
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AUTHORITY

It is IMPORTANT to note that the information in this book is for study/training

purposes only.

When carrying out a procedure/work on aircraft/aircraft equipment you MUST

always refer to the relevant aircraft maintenance manual or equipment
manufacturer’s handbook.

You should also follow the requirements of your national regulatory authority (the
CAA in the UK) and laid down company policy as regards local procedures, recording,
report writing, documentation etc.

For health and safety in the workplace you should follow the regulations/guidelines
as specified by the equipment manufacturer, your company, national safety
authorities and national governments.
CONTENTS

Page

The atmosphere 1
Standard atmospheres 1
Lift 4
Some definitions 10
Lift related to angle of attack 12
Lift augmentation 16
Drag 18
The four forces 29
Stability 33
Variations in aircraft design 41
High speed flight 44
Transonic speed 47
Supersonic speed 55
Jet engine intakes 66
HOW TO TACKLE THIS BOOK

This book covers the EASA Part 66 syllabus module 11A part 11.1.1 (Aeroplane
Aerodynamics and Flight Controls) and all 11.1.2 (High Speed Flight). It also includes
some of module 8 (Basic aerodynamics).

Some module 8 material is included in this book as the CAA have been known to
asked questions on it in the module 11A examination. If you have already studied
module 8 then this section will be revision for you. If you want more details of low
speed flight you are advised to read our module 8 books.

This book covers the basics of how an aeroplane flies and is broadly divided into two:

* Low speed flight – speeds below the speed of sound (subsonic flight).
* High speed flight – speeds above the speed of sound (supersonic flight).

The speed of sound at sea level is taken as 762mph (340m/s or 1224km/h).

This book should be read in conjunction with book 1 in this Module 11A series which
covers the remainder of the syllabus 11.1.1 subject.

Details of scientists have been included for interest only and need not be committed
to memory.
 THE ATMOSPHERE

The earth is surrounded by a layer of air. For aerodynamic purposes it extends to

about 25km (80,000ft) above the earth’s surface and the parameters (pressure,
density and temperature) vary considerably both with height and geographical
location around the world.

Air is made up of approximately 21% oxygen (O2) and 78% nitrogen (N) by volume,
with the remaining 1% being made up from other gases. The ratios of the gases (21%,
78% and 1%) vary little with height although the moisture content drops with
increase in altitude.

The actual pressure, temperature and density drop with altitude, as does the speed of
sound.

The speed of sound at sea level (15˚C) is considered to be 762mph (340m/s), and is
related to the temperature so as the temperature drops so the speed of sound
decreases. This means, for example, that if the aircraft was flying at sea level and the
temperature was, say -56˚C (in the artic for example), then the speed of sound would
be down to 295m/s.

The table below shows how the speed of sound varies with temperature. The altitude
is shown at which the ICAO standard temperature is said to exist.

ALTITUDE ICAO TEMPERATURE SPEED OF SOUND

(feet) (degrees C) (m/s)

0 15 340
7,600 0 331
10,000 -5 329
20,000 - 25 316
30,000 - 44 303
40,000 - 56 295

TABLE 1 SPEED-OF-SOUND AGAINST TEMPERATURE

STANDARD ATMOSPHERES

Because of these variations and to allow standardisation and calibration of

instruments and engine performance figures etc, various ‘standard
atmospheres’ have been devised. This allows engines to be test run in almost
any ambient conditions and the performance figures adjusted to standard
atmospheric conditions – allowing the performance of one engine type to be
directly compared to that of another engine type.

Pitot static operated instruments can be calibrated using the standard atmosphere
and they can be set using the same standard parameters.

-1-
The ICAO Standard Atmosphere

This is the most important standard (and the one most often used). It deals with
pressure, temperature and density of the atmosphere and is based on certain
assumptions that are in good agreement with actual average values observed at about
latitude 40° N. Such a standard atmosphere is therefore taken as the reference for
these parameters in free air (excluding those dependent on water vapour).

The ICAO standard atmosphere, sometimes called the International Standard

Atmosphere (ISA) states that: “The air is assumed to be dry. The pressure at sea level
is 1013.25mb (millibar) (or 101.325kPa). The temperature is 15°C and the
temperature lapse rate is 1.98°C per 1000ft up to a height of 36,000ft where the
temperature will remain constant at –56.5°C to 65,800ft. The value of ‘g’ (gravity) is
given a uniform value of 9.81m/sec 2 at sea level”. This means that:

Temperature starts at 15°C at sea level and falls at a rate of about 2°C (1.987 to be
precise) per 1000ft to 36,000ft (11km). This is called the ‘lapse rate’ which is linear to
this altitude (the graph is a straight line). It remains steady at about minus 56°C to
65,800ft where it starts to rise.

For heights above 65,800ft the law states that the temperature lapse rate is
approximately +0.303°C per 1000ft to 105,000ft where it reaches –44.6°C.

The graph below shows this graphically and also shows how the atmosphere has been
divided into ‘layers’. For those working on large aircraft the atmosphere is of interest
up to about 60,000ft or so. For those working on small aircraft and helicopters the
atmosphere is not of much interest after say, about 20,000ft.

Pressure starts at 1013mb (14.7psi) at sea level and falls at a non-linear rate with
altitude (non-linear means the line on the graph is a curve). Losing most of its value
at the lower altitudes so that at 18,000ft, for example, the pressure is halved to
506mb. Gaining altitude in an aircraft and taking pressure readings at, say, 9,000ft
intervals you will see from the following table how rapidly the pressure is lost.

ALTITUDE (ft) PRESSURE (mb) PRESSURE DROPPED TO

DROP (mb) (APPROXIMATELY)
(each 9000ft) (compared to sea level
pressure)

Sea level (SL) 1013.2 - -

9,000 724.3 270.9 3/4
18,000 506 219.3 1/2
27,000 344.3 160.7 1/3rd
36,000 227.3 117 1/4
45,000 147.5 79.8 1/7th

TABLE 2 ALTITUDE WITH AMBIENT PRESSURES

Referring to table 2 above, you will see that just over 270mb is lost during the first
9,000ft climb (¼ of the total pressure) and the next 9,000ft looses just 219mb (½ of
the total pressure at that altitude). The last 9,000ft in the table looses just 79.8mb (a
seventh of the pressure at sea level). From this you can see that the rate of pressure
loss is highest at the lower altitudes.

-2-
Note that these pressure readings are absolute pressure readings so a special
pressure gauge is used to measure the ambient pressure (ambient = the surrounding
air).

CHEM O SPHERE
1 10 33 .5
STRAT OPAUSE
1 05 32
1 00 PRESSURE 8.885mb 30 .5
TEM PERATURE -44.656degC

90 27 .5

80 24 .4
ALTITUDE IN THOUSANDS OF FEET

STRATO SPHERE
70 21 .3

ALTITUDE IN km
6 5.8 20

60 18 .3

50 15 .2

40 12 .2
TRO PO PA USE
36.090 11
TE
30 MP PRESSURE 228.32m b 9.1
ER TEM PERATURE - 56.5degC
AT
UR
E PR
ES DE TRO PO SPHERE
20 SU NS 6.1
RE IT Y TE MP LAPSE
RATE 1.98deg C
per 1000ft
10 3

0 0
0 100 200 30 0 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
1.225kg/m 3
ATM O SPHERIC PRESSURE (m b)
1013 .2 5m b
-60 -50 -40 -3 0 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
TEM PERATURE (deg C)
0 0.1 0 .2 0.3 0.4 0 .5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
DENSITY (kg/m 3)
15degC
GRAPH 1 PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE & DENSITY
AGAINST ALTITUDE (ICAO)

Density (defined as mass per unit volume (kg/m3) starts at 1.2kg per cubic metre at
sea level and falls at a similar rate to pressure. Its rate of change is non-linear which
means the graph is a curve and the amount by which it drops per unit of height
changes with height. The greatest amount of density is lost at the lower altitudes so
that, for example, the density if halved when climbing from sea level to 18,000ft.

At a given height density can change depending on the temperature and the relative
humidity (RH). If the temperature drops density will increase and if the RH decreases
the density will increase.

In the standard atmosphere the drop in pressure with altitude offsets any tendency
for the density to increase because of the drop in temperature.

-3-
Humidity

Not part of the ICAO standard but is important when dealing with the atmosphere.
Can be measured as Relative Humidity or Absolute Humidity, either way humidity
falls with altitude. (For air conditioning purposes water spray is added to the air
entering the aircraft cabin at altitude to counter the effect of the dry ambient air).

Relative Humidity (RH) is taken as a percentage of the total maximum humidity that
the air will hold at that particular temperature. RH is the amount of moisture that is
actually in a fixed volume (cubic metre - m3) of air compared to the maximum amount
it can hold (ie when it is saturated) – at that temperature.

In the UK (and most other temperate climates) it is usual to have a range of RH from
about 40% up to (on a few days in the year) 100%. (It is not necessarily raining – it is
just that the air cannot accept any more moisture). At low RH the air is capable of
accepting moisture and drying out things like washing, puddles, skin etc quickly.

On high humidity days the atmosphere is sometimes said to be sticky and can be
uncomfortable. Washing (hung outside to dry) will not dry. Bodily perspiration also
will not dry and this means the body will not cool very well and makes the
atmosphere un-comfortable.

The higher the humidity the less dense the air and as density is a function of lift so
lift decreases with an increase in humidity. This means that with some airfields
located in humid climates, large/heavy aircraft may have to wait until nightfall to
take-off when the RH drops.

The RH can be measured using the wet bulb method or a hygrometer. The wet bulb
method uses two temperature thermometers – one that is kept wet by a wick and one
that is kept dry. Their readings are taken and their differences are compared on
tables to give the relative humidity.

Hygrometers can be ‘mechanical’ (as above) or electronic.

Absolute Humidity (AH) is the amount of moisture in a cubic metre of air (at a specific
temperature) in grams per cubic metre. A similar measure to RH but gives the value
as a specific amount, eg 2.7g/m3. Not such a helpful parameter as RH.

LIFT

Fixed wing aircraft and helicopters are able to support themselves in the air by
producing lift using the wings/rotor blades. In both cases air is caused to flow over
the aerofoil section of the wing/rotor blade which causes a pressure difference
between the top and bottom surfaces to produce an upward force. This upward force
is produced by using the Venturi Effect.

The Venturi Effect

When air passes through a duct which contracts to a throat, it can be shown by a
simple experiment (Bernoulli) that the air pressure (called the Static Pressure) drops
at the throat – where the air velocity is at its fastest.

-4-
If we represent the airflow by drawing streamlines of the flow of air through such a
Venturi we see that the streamlines are forced together at the throat where the speed
is greatest and the pressure is lowest (figure 1).

Fig. 1 AIRFLOW THROUGH A VENTURI

If the top and bottom sides of the Venturi shown in figure 1 were free to move they
would move closer together because of the low pressure between them (strange but
true).

If we reverse the Venturi sides and we put the low pressure areas on the outside of the
shape then we have the makings of an aerofoil (figure 2).

The Aerofoil

The wings of aircraft are of an aerofoil shape, as indeed are tailplanes (stabilisers or
stabilators), fins and other aerodynamic shapes. These include propellers, helicopter
rotor blades, jet engine compressor and turbine blades and may include some types of
flaps, slats, control surfaces, aerials (antenna) etc. We shall concentrate on the wing
of the aircraft as the principle applies to all aerofoil shapes.

Figure 6 shows a symmetrical aerofoil. Note that the airflow produces a negative
pressure on both top and bottom surfaces. The symmetrical aerofoil is not used very
often (on aircraft that fly slower than the speed of sound anyway) although some low
speed aircraft are in fact fitted with these (mostly fighters and they are fixed to the
fuselage at a small positive angle – angle of incidence). This angle causes them to
produce upward lift.

Fig. 2 SYMMETRICAL AEROFOIL

-5-
The aerofoils of most low speed aircraft/propellers are asymmetric with a well
rounded leading edge, a convex top surface and a straighter or even slightly concave
bottom surface.

The aerofoil section of the fin of an aircraft is usually symmetrical with a well rounded
leading edge. The chord line is set in-line with the fuselage longitudinal datum line,
but some single engined propeller driven aircraft may have the fin set at a small angle
on the fuselage to help offset the effect of the rotating slipstream from the propeller
hitting the fin.

Some tailplanes have an aerofoil section which give ‘negative’ lift to push the rear of
the aircraft down in flight. In other words the most cambered surface is on the bottom
with the flatter surface on the top. Used to help balance the four forces acting on the
aircraft. More of this later.

The top surface of an asymmetric aerofoil for the wings usually has a good convex top
camber with the bottom surface being nearly flat, or in some cases having a slight
concave surface (figure 3). The airflow speeds-up over the top surface (and its
pressure drops), and slows down under the bottom surface (and its pressure rises).

So there is negative pressure on the top surface and a positive pressure on the bottom
surface. In general about 2/3rds of the lift is produced from the top surface and
about 1/3rd from the bottom.

Fig. 3 PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION AROUND AN AEROFOIL

The pressure distribution is as shown in figure 3 with each vector line in the drawing
indicating the amount of lift produced and its direction from that particular part of
the aerofoil. These can be added together (mathematically or by drawing) to give one
Total Air Reaction vector acting from the Centre of Pressure – this is about 1/3rd
chord length from the leading edge (figure 4).

(The vector lines in figure 3 are obtained by placing an aerofoil section in a wind
tunnel. The section has holes drilled along the top and bottom surfaces and attached
to these holes, inside the aerofoil, are rubber tubes. These are connected to
manometers, the liquid level of which indicates the pressure at that point on the
aerofoil. The monometer levels are recorded and from these the length of the vector
lines can be ascertained.)

-6-
The Total Air Reaction can be organised into its component vectors – lift and drag.
The lift vector always acts at right angles to the airflow (or free-stream flow) and the
drag vector always acts at right angles to the lift vector and in line with the airflow
(figure 4).

The Total Air Reaction vector, the total drag vector and the total lift vector all act from
the centre of pressure.

QUESTION What is a vector? (2 mins)

ANSWER It is a line representing a quantity which has direction. A line is drawn to

scale the length of which represents the value of the quantity (eg, a force)
and the direction of the line represents the direction in which that
quantity acts. Vector lines can be added vectorially (by drawing) and can
also be divided vectorially into various component parts.

Fig. 4 LIFT & DRAG VECTORS

Figure 4 shows how the lift and drag vectors are summed (by drawing) to give the
Total Air Reaction.

Figure 5 shows how the air flows over an asymmetrical aerofoil – speeding up over the
top surface and the pressure reducing, and slowing down underneath and the
pressure increasing. Note the terms used in the drawing (to be explained later).

Terms Used in Figure 5

Upwash. When an object moves through the air it sends out pressure waves forward
into the airstream. These pressure waves warn the oncoming air of the object’s
approach, and as the air gets near to the object so the air will start to move out of its
way. This will cause Upwash in front of the aerofoil with most of the on-coming air
moving upwards.

-7-
 Fig. 5 TYPICAL ASYMMETRIC AEROFOIL

The air over the top surface will speed up (Bernoulli) and the air under the bottom
surface will slow down. This means a drop in pressure on the top surface and an
increase in pressure under the aerofoil. Both negative and positive pressures produce
lift.

Downwash. As the air flows passed the trailing edge so it will move down. This is
produced by the Coanda Effect (the air trying to stay attached to the surface of the
wing), and it will produce Downwash.

Wake. After the downwash there is a turbulent area called a Wake. The wake of the
aerofoil can be quite long, and the wake of an aircraft, for example can be many
hundreds of meters long.

Stagnation Point. This is the point on any object moving through the air where the
airflow is brought to rest. In theory, it is the point where a molecule of air stays at rest
with the object and travels with it the whole journey.

Some books talk of a trailing edge stagnation point which is a point at the trailing
edge of the aerofoil where a particle of air is assumed to stay with the aerofoil for the
duration of the flight.

Stagnation Pressure. The pressure at the stagnation point. For the front of the aerofoil
it is normally the same as the total pressure or Pitot pressure. Pitot pressure =
dynamic pressure + static pressure.

Back to the production of lift.

Figure 6 shows how a symmetrical aerofoil can produce lift. Not so common as the
asymmetric aerofoil but may be found on some high speed aircraft such as fighters.
Provided the wing is set at a small positive angle of attack to the airflow then the air
will speed up over the top surface and slow down on the bottom surface, the net
result is lift.

The asymmetric aerofoil can produce lift at zero degrees angle of attack and if it is well
cambered can produce lift even at a small negative angle.

-8-
 Fig. 6 A SYMMETRICAL AEROFOIL

It can be shown that the lift produced by an aerofoil is related to:

* Its shape and angle of attack (CL)

* The air density (ρ)
* The air velocity (V)
* The plan wing area (A)

Lift is calculated by multiplying the density value by the velocity squared, times the
total area of the wing times a coefficient (and the value halved):

LIFT = CL½ρV2A for a specific wing at a specific angle of attack where:

CL Found by experimentation and is related to the aerofoil shape and the

angle of attack. A higher CL means greater lift. It is a number which is
called a coefficient. In general the more cambered the aerofoil (the more
curved it is on top and the more concave it is on the bottom the greater
is the CL (more lift is produced). Also the greater the angle of attack the
higher the CL.

ρ This is the air density (1.2 kg/m2 at sea level) (rho). The lower the
altitude of the aircraft the greater is the density and the more lift is
created – all other parameters being equal. The higher the aircraft the
lower the density and the less lift is produced.

V Is the air velocity. With an increase in airspeed more lift is created. In

fact the lift is related to the square of speed. So if the speed is doubled
the lift is increased four-fold.

A Is related to the gross wing plan area. In general the greater the wing
area the greater the lift. In some equations this may be designated ‘S’.

½ρV2 is sometimes called the dynamic equation and is given the designation q. That
is, q = ½ρV2. The lift equation could therefore be written as CL q S or CL q A.

q is used in many other calculations including those related to Pitot static pressures
used in Pitot static instruments and the calculation of drag – as we shall see later.

-9-
SOME DEFINITIONS

Angle of Attack (AoA). The angle between the chord line of the aerofoil and the free-
stream flow and is controlled by the pilot. In some manuals (pilot’s notes etc) it is
called the alpha angle (α). If a symmetrical aerofoil is given a positive angle of attack
the speed of the airflow over the top surface increases – which produces suction, and
the speed of the airflow under the aerofoil decreases - and the pressure increases.
Hence lift is produced.

For an asymmetric aerofoil (positive camber on the top and concave camber on the
bottom), lift can be generated at zero angle of attack and even at small negative angles
of attack.

Fig. 7 ANGLE OF ATTACK

For a given airspeed lift increases with an increase in angle of attack – but only up to
the stalling angle (usually 15° for a ‘clean’ wing). This increased angle will also
increase upwash and downwash – and drag of course. More of this later.

The word ‘clean’ when used in this context means that there are no flaps, slats etc
deployed and the term ‘angle of attack’ can apply to any aerofoil/shape moving
through the air, eg tailplanes, fins etc.

The angle of attack (A of A) is determined by the pilot. To change the A of A he/she

moves the control column to move the elevators to raise or lower the tail of the
aircraft. Raising or lowering the tail of the aircraft will alter the A of A of the
mainplanes and the tailplane.

The aircraft flight controls are said to be ‘instinctive’. When the pilot wants to climb
he/she pulls the control column back, when the pilot wishes to dive the aircraft the
control column is pushed forward.

Fore and aft movement of the control column move the elevators up and down which
provide a force on the tail of the aircraft when the aircraft is in flight. With the control
column pulled back, for example, (figure 8) the elevators rise and a downward force is
created by the airflow which pushes the tail down and causes the nose to rise. This
will increase the angle of attack of the mainplanes and hence the lift. The aircraft will
climb.

- 10 -
 Fig. 8 ELEVATOR CONTROL

TO CHANGE A PILOT ELEVATORS TAILPLANE AIRCRAFT NOSE

of A

INCREASE PULLS CONTROL MOVE UP MOVES DOWN RISES

COLUMN BACK

DECREASE PUSHES CONTROL MOVE DOWN MOVES UP LOWERS

COLUMN FORWARD

TABLE 3 CONTROL COLUMN MOVEMENT - PITCH

Angle of Incidence. The angle the chord line makes with the longitudinal datum line of
the aircraft (figure 9). Fixed for most aircraft wings but variable for many aircraft
tailplanes (horizontal stabilisers). Both lines are theoretical but both are used for
reference purposes when carrying out airframe rigging checks etc.

Fig. 9 ANGLE OF INCIDENCE

The angle of incidence may change from root (the part of the wing next to the fuselage)
to tip. If it increases from root to tip the wing is said to Wash-in, if it decreases it is
said to Wash-out.

Centre of Pressure. All the pressure differences between the top and bottom surfaces
of the aerofoil can be added together (mathematically or using vectors) to produce the
Total Air Reaction which can be considered to act at a point called the Centre of
Pressure (C of P) (figure 9). As the angle of attack increases and the pressure
distribution changes, the position of the C of P moves forward (figure 11), usually
reaching a point about ¼ chord length from the leading edge at the stalling angle.
After the stalling angle has been passed it moves rapidly back to about mid-chord
position.

- 11 -
 Fig. 10 CENTRE OF PRESSURE

Chord Length. The length of the chord line at any particular wing section. For most
aircraft, chord lengths get shorter towards the wing tip. In other words the wing
tapers from root to tip when viewed from above (in plan view) – markedly so with delta
wings.

Chord Line. A straight imaginary line joining the centre of curvature of the leading
edge of an aerofoil section to the trailing edge.

Fineness Ratio. The ratio between the maximum depth of the aerofoil and the chord
length at that position. ‘Thin’ wings in aerofoil section have a high fineness ratio. ‘Fat’
wings have a low fineness ratio.

Mean Aerodynamic Chord. Similar to the Mean Chord. It is the chord of an imaginary
wing of constant aerofoil section producing the same forces (lift and drag) as those
produced by an actual wing.

Mean Camber Line. An imaginary line drawn from the centre of curvature of the
leading edge to the trailing edge of an aerofoil, but equidistant from the top and
bottom surfaces.

This is the same as the chord line on a symmetrical aerofoil but will be curved on an
asymmetric aerofoil and not the same as the chord line.

Mean Chord. Average chord length of all the chords of the wing viewed in plan form.
Found by dividing the gross wing area (wing tip to wing tip including the fuselage) in
plan view, by the span (wing tip to wing tip).

Transition Point. The point on a surface where laminar flow changes to turbulent
flow. On the top side of an aerofoil at low angles of attack it is to the rear of the
aerofoil and as the angel of attack is increased so it moves forward (figure 11).

LIFT RELATED TO ANGLE OF ATTACK

The lift and drag of an aerofoil are calculated using the lift and drag equations and
depend on the wing configuration - for fixed wing aircraft the use of slats, flaps and
spoilers affect lift and drag considerably. (Drag will be dealt with later.)

An increase in the angle of attack will result in an increase in the amount of lift
produced by the wing but with an attendant increase in drag - but this is only true up
to a point.

- 12 -
As the angle of attack is increased so the air over the top of the aerofoil has further to
travel. This means that it travels faster, the pressure drops further and the lift
increases.

The air flow on the underside of the aerofoil slows and as the angle of attack increases
so it slows down more, with an attendant increase in the pressure and the lift. This
means that the total lift (negative pressure on the top of the aerofoil and positive
pressure on the bottom) increases with an increase in angle of attack.

The lift increases steadily with an increase in angle of attack and the angle at which
lift reaches its maximum is just before the stalling angle - after this, lift will decrease
rapidly and drag will rise sharply.

The Stalling Angle (figure 11)

The problem with increasing the angle of attack is the ability of the air to remain
laminar on the top of the aerofoil. This means that, as the angle of attack increases, it
will start to break away from the surface adversely affecting lift.

Even for small angles of attack the air does not remain laminar all the way to the
trailing edge.

There is a Transition Point on the top of the aerofoil towards the rear where the
airflow changes from laminar to turbulent, and as the angle of attack increases so
this point will move forward. Up to the transition point the airflow is laminar, behind
the transition point it is turbulent.

At approximately 15° angle of attack with a clean wing (no slats, flaps etc deployed),
the airflow can no longer remain laminar on most of the top surface of the aerofoil
and it will break away and become turbulent. This will destroy the lift in this area and
the drag will increase sharply. At this point the aerofoil is said to stall. The aerofoil is
no longer able to support the aircraft mass (although there is still some lift) and the
aircraft will lose height rapidly.

As the wing stalls the nose of the aircraft will drop and the aircraft will descend with
the altimeter winding back rapidly. The pilot can do nothing to prevent this and
recovery involves pushing the throttles forward (more power), pushing the control
column forward (putting the nose down to get more airspeed and reduce the angle of
attack).

In figure 11 note (a) the chord line – the straight line joining the centre of the leading
to the trailing edge, (b) that as the A of A is increased so the transition point moves
forward slowly, and as the stalling angle is approached it moves forward more quickly.
Also as the A of A is increased so the centre of pressure moves forward until at the
stalling angle it moves rapidly rearward. During the increasing A of A the stagnation
point will move down relative to the leading edge.

When the normal airflow pattern around the wing is re-established (during the
subsequent descent) the pilot pulls back on the control column slowly and raises the
nose of the aircraft.

- 13 -
 Fig. 11 AEROFOIL STALLING

This process losses a lot of altitude and when stall tests* are carried out there is
sufficient altitude allowed for recovery.

(* Stall tests are carried out on new aircraft to establish the exact stalling angle and
the handling characteristics of the aircraft.)

Stalling is usually accompanied by buffeting (due to the turbulence) and sometimes

loss of control and possible engine problems. Loss of control can be caused by
turbulent air passing over the ailerons and sometimes the elevators and tailplane (the
turbulent air coming from the wings).

In general, on straight winged aircraft, the thickest part of the wing (near the root)
stalls first. This is because the air has further to travel over this part as it is usually
more cambered. This situation has the advantage in that once the stall process has
started at least the outer parts of the wings are still un-stalled and the air passing
over the ailerons is still laminar. This means that the pilot still has roll control.

- 14 -
With some wings, especially swept back wings, the tips tend to stall first. In this case
the pilot tends to lose roll control early which means he/she will have little control
over the aircraft laterally when carrying out stall recovery. This could be dangerous as
there is a possibility of one wing going down first and the aircraft going into a spin.

On some swept wing aircraft stall spoilers or stall strips or fixed spoilers are fitted to
the leading edge of the wing on the inboard sections. They are small triangular metal
sections riveted to the leading edge which, as the aircraft approaches the stall, cause
that section of the wing to stall first - thus allowing the pilot full aileron control
during the stall.

Fig. 12 LEADING EDGE FIXED SPOILER

With rear mounted jet engines the turbulent air from the wings can sometimes cause
the engines to stall (turbulent air in the intakes causing the compressor blades to
stall).

With some tailplanes the turbulence from the wings can adversely affect the elevators
– making them ineffective.

With stalled engines and ineffective elevators the aircraft is in very serious trouble.
This is called a Super Stall with the aircraft falling in a nearly flat attitude with the
pilot having few, if any, recovery options. It has been the cause of several disasters in
the past.

Increasing the angle of attack (without increasing power) until the aerofoil stalls is not
the only way an aerofoil can be stalled. It can be stalled by gradually reducing the
forward airspeed whilst holding the aircraft in straight and level flight. As the speed
(Indicated Air Speed - IAS) decreases so the aircraft will fly slower and to maintain
height the angle of attack will gradually have to be increased.

At some point an IAS will be reached where the wing is at the stalling angle of attack
(the airflow coming up to meet the wing at 15°), the wing can no longer support the
weight of the aircraft and the wing stalls. This is sometimes called the stalling speed
and is important when calculating the landing speed of an aircraft. In general the
lower the stalling speed the better.

On swept wing aircraft, often the outer wing (towards the wing tip) stalls before the
inner wing and this loss of lift will cause a nose-up pitching moment. This is because
this part of the wing is usually behind the aircraft centre of gravity on the longitudinal
axis and this lift element would be causing a nose down couple.

With it removed (as in an outer wing stall) the nose will pitch-up momentarily.

It is interesting to note that the IAS at stall is the same at all altitudes.

- 15 -
Note that on most aircraft there are stall warning devices fitted in the flight-deck
which include aural and visual warnings; devices that shake the control column (stick
shaker) and stick pushers (to put the nose of the aircraft down, but the pilot can
overcome this if he/she wishes) – all to warn of an approaching stall. (For further
information on stall warning systems see modules 11 [B1 fixed wing aircraft] and 13
[B2 avionic] as appropriate).

Remember, the angle of attack is the angle between the chord line and the relative
airflow. Aircraft with powerful engines can climb at almost any angle relative to the
horizontal, but the angle of attack must always be lower than 15° for the wing to be in
an un-stalled condition.

Wing Loading can affect the stalling speed of an aircraft. Wing Loading is the mass of
the aircraft divided by the gross wing area. Gross wing area is taken as the total wing
area in plan view including any part of the fuselage in-between the wings. The mass of
the aircraft is taken as the mass at that instant. Aircraft with a low wing loading (in
general, light aircraft with large wing areas – gliders for example) have a lower stalling
speed which means lower landing speeds. Aircraft with high wing loading, such as
fighters have high stalling speeds and high landing speeds.

The lower the stalling speed the better – in general – as it means that the aircraft can
land at slower airspeeds. However the stalling speed will increase (though not the stall
angle):

* When the aircraft is in a banked turn (effectively the wing loading is

higher).
* At altitude as the air density is less. As density also effects the airspeed
indicator so it will read the same airspeed as when the aircraft is at
ground level.
* If the aircraft is loaded or the aircraft has a high wing loading.

All this means that the true landing speed of an aircraft is higher at airfields situated
at altitude and also higher at airfields in the tropics where the temperatures are
higher and the density is lower. Take-off speeds are also higher with consequent
longer take-off runs and the need for longer runways.

The heavier the aircraft the more lift is required and consequently, in many cases, the
stalling speed is increased.

LIFT AUGMENTATION

Lift is increased for landing and take-off by the use of leading edge slats and trailing
edge flaps. The whole idea is to give the aerofoil a more curved mean-camber line.
Birds can do this by changing the shape of their wings and the feathers slide over
each other similar to platelets. It is not a practical proposition to try and change the
shape of a metal wing (although experiments have been carried out). So the best way,
so far, is to effectively ‘bend’ the front and rear part of the aerofoil down – to fit leading
and trailing edge moveable high lift devices.

- 16 -
In general lift can be increased in flight by:

* Increasing the airspeed – throttles/thrust levers.

* Increasing the angle of attack (up to a certain point) using elevators, all
flying tailplanes, all flying foreplanes etc.
* Increasing the effective camber of the mean camber line – trailing edge
and leading edge high lift devices.
* Increasing the stalling angle – some high lift devices will do this.
* Increasing the wing area – some types of flap such as the Fowler flap.
* Using the ailerons as flaps. Using the ailerons in a combined roll/flap
mode (called flaperons). Setting both right and left ailerons partly down
for take-off and landing, whilst the pilot still moves them differentially
for roll control.
* Using variable sweep wings. For swept wing aircraft moving the wings to
a straight configuration for landing and take-off. Some military aircraft.

Lift augmentation generally refers to leading and trailing edge devices, which means
flaps, slats etc.

Fig. 13 A ‘CLEAN’ WING

Combination of Slats and Flaps

If slats and flaps are deployed together – which they usually are – the increase in wing
performance is increased by:

* Lift – up to 120% (well over double).

* Stalling angle – up to nearly 30° (double the normal stalling angle).

Symmetrical Operation of High Lift Devices

All trailing edge and leading edge high lift devices must operate symmetrically (ie the
flaps/slats on the right wing must move at the same time, at the same speed and the
same distance as the flaps/slats on the left wing).

If asymmetric operation was to occur then the lift on one wing would be significantly
different than that on the other wing and a violent roll would ensue – which would be
uncontrollable (it has happened, due to mechanical failure, and it has caused
fatalities).

To stop this happening the aircraft is fitted with systems to prevent asymmetric
operation such as a common drive system for port and starboard flaps/slats and an
asymmetric detection system that will stop the systems immediately any asymmetry
is detected (and warn the pilot).

- 17 -
Drag

Any device moved into the airflow will cause drag and this applies to flaps and slats,
so they are designed to produce as little drag as possible. But if flaps are lowered to a
large angle then they can be used to reduce the speed of the aircraft – for landing for
example, ie they are designed so that at this large angle they produce drag.

When the pilot wants as much lift as possible with as little drag as possible then the
flaps are only lowered a little (as laid down in the Pilot’s Notes). So for take-off the
pilot moves the flap lever (shaped like a flap so it can be identified by feel if necessary)
to a detent position marked ‘take-off’ and the flaps lower part way (there may be more
than one position marked ‘take-off’ to allow for different runway lengths and aircraft
weights).

When landing, the pilot moves the lever to the ‘land’ position detent which causes the
flaps to move further down, in some cases nearly at right angles to the airflow. At this
position a large drag force is created which slows the aircraft and lift is also created
which helps to reduce the stalling speed and hence the landing speed.

For small piston engine aircraft the flap lever maybe a large handle next to the pilot’s
seat that moves the flaps manually, for large aircraft the flap lever is an electrical
selector on the instrument panel and the flaps are powered hydraulically – usually
(sometimes they are powered electrically).

If flaps/slats are lowered at excessive airspeed then they would be damaged by the
airflow (even torn away – which has happened) so devices are fitted to the aircraft to
prevent them being lowered if the aircraft is travelling too fast.

On modern large aircraft the selection of high lift devices is governed by a computer
which takes account of airspeed, altitude, whether the aircraft is in the air or on the
ground and whether the pilot has made a selection or not. If he/she has not and the
computer thinks that a selection should be made (at take-off, for example, with
engines set to take-off power) the computer will give a configuration warning to the
pilot.

If the pilot selects the flaps out at too high an airspeed then the computer (which is
fed with airspeed information) will not make the selection and a warning is given.

DRAG

We do not need any scientific evidence to show that moving air produces a pressure
on an object. This pressure is called Dynamic Pressure and can be produced equally
by:

* Air moving against a stationary object. When the wind blows, for
example, it causes drag on objects as can be seen when it blows against
washing on a washing line or against a tree (figure 14
* An object moving through still air. Any object such as a car (or aircraft),
for example, moving through air will create drag (air resistance).

- 18 -
 Fig. 14 AIR RESISTANCE

Part of the drag equation is made up from the formula for Dynamic Pressure
(described in the section on lift) where q = ½ρV2.

Drag can be divided into Profile Drag (increases with the square of speed) and Induced
Drag (reduces with the square of speed).

Profile Drag

The drag that an object experiences in moving air depends on:

* The density (ρ) [kg/m3 ]

* The velocity (V2) [(m/s)2 ]
* It’s frontal area (A or sometimes S) [m2 ]
* It’s shape, surface finish and external surface area (CD) [a constant]

The first three parameters (ρ, V2 & A) can be obtained by measurement, the last one is
obtained by experiment, and is called the Drag Coefficient. Drag coefficients start at 1
for a flat plate at 90° to the airflow, and get as low as 0.01 for a highly streamlined
shape.

Mathematically written as:

Drag = CD½ ρV2A or CD q A

QUESTION Thinking of density only, how much drag would be produced if an object
was moved through water as opposed to air? (in qualitative terms) (3
mins)

ANSWER Water has a density (ρ) of 1000kg/m3 and air (at sea level) is 1.2 kg/m3.
So the drag would be approximately 1000 times greater. (Try walking
through water (up to your waist) in a swimming pool and compare the
effort needed to that required to walk through air).

Profile drag can be divided into Form Drag, Skin Friction and Parasite drag.

- 19 -
 DRAG

PROFILE INDUCED

PARASITE FORM SKIN FRICTION

Fig. 15 TYPES OF DRAG

Profile drag is associated with the whole aircraft moving through the air and increases
as the square of speed. Induced drag is associated with the wing tips only and is
opposite to profile drag in that it decreases with the square of speed – more of this
later. Profile drag applies to the helicopter complete, with induced drag associated
with the main rotor-blade tips.

Parasite Drag

Part of profile drag. It is an older term used for the drag produced by all the non
lifting parts of the aircraft (fuselage, fin etc). This term is often used to describe the
total drag of a helicopter (less main rotor-blades).

Form Drag

Also part of profile drag and is related to the shape of the body. A flat plate produces a
lot more form drag (CD = 1, the highest CD possible) than a streamline shape with the
same frontal area (CD ≈ 0.01).

The flat plate and the streamline shape shown in figures 16, 17 and 18 have the same
frontal area. The flat plate produces more disturbance to the airflow (the greatest
change in velocity) and produces a long wake, while the streamline shape tends to
keep the airflow around it in a laminar condition with a small wake.

Note the shape of the ‘tail’ in the process of streamlining is just as important as the
‘nose’ of an object in reducing turbulence and hence drag.

Fig. 16 FLAT PLATE

- 20-
 Fig. 17 FLAT PLATE WITH ‘NOSE’ ADDED

Fig. 18 FLAT PLATE WITH ‘NOSE’ & ‘TAIL’ ADDED

Skin Friction

Also part of profile drag. This is associated with the Boundary Layer which is a thin
layer of air next to the skin of a body. When air passes over a body the molecules
closest to the surface stick to the surface. The next layer of molecules pass over the
first layer - but slowly.

The next layer passes over the second layer a little faster - and so it goes on, layer by
layer, until we reach the free-stream flow. This sluggish low energy layer of slow
moving air is called the Boundary Layer.

This boundary layer is viscous (sticky) with low energy levels and will adversely affect
flying control surfaces, engine performance - if it gets into intakes, and the
performance of aerofoils.

It is disliked by designers and is bled away from engine intakes, and on some aerofoils
Vortex Generators are fitted to move the free-stream flow down into the boundary
layer in an attempt to liven it up and give it more energy.

Vortex generators (figure 19) are small pieces of metal an inch or two high (25mm to
51mm) set at a small angle to the airflow. They are set in rows usually towards the
front of the aerofoil on the top. As the air moves past them it is caused to swirl and
bring down the high energy air into the boundary layer and help make it speed-up.

Some Airbus A340s are fitted with a riblet film to aerofoils and fuselage, which are
microgrooves to help reduce skin friction caused by the boundary layer.

The boundary layer may be 1mm or several millimetres thick. The thicker it is the
worse it is.

- 21 -
 Fig. 19 VORTEX GENERATORS – PLAN VIEW OF WING

Fig. 20 THE BOUNDARY LAYER

The thickness is affected by several parameters:

* The further the air has to pass along the surface of a body the thicker
the boundary layer becomes.
* The rougher the surface the thicker the boundary layer becomes.
* If the boundary layer gets too thick then it can become turbulent -
increasing it’s depth still further.
* The slower the airflow the thicker the boundary layer - in general.

The boundary layer problem can be reduced by:

* Having smooth highly polished wings, fuselage, tail and flying control
surfaces – reducing the boundary layer thickness.
* Bleeding away the boundary layer through many small surface air
inlets on the wings using vacuum pressure – experimental aircraft.
* Giving it more energy by mixing free-stream airflow into the boundary
layer air using vortex generators.
* Bleeding boundary layer air away from engine intakes that are close to
the fuselage, or designing the intake so that it is away from the surface
of the fuselage.

The ideal arrangement is to have no boundary layer at all, but this is not possible, so
the thinner, and more laminar it is, the better.

- 22 -
As the air passes over the wing so it starts to get turbulent at a point towards the
trailing edge. This Transition Point is usually close to the trailing edge but will move
forward as the angle of attack is increased and if the boundary layer gets too thick it
will become turbulent. During the stall it moves well forward to produce a very
turbulent region of air on the top of the wing.

Figure 21 shows how some aircraft designers cope with the problem of the fuselage
boundary layer getting into the compressor of the jet engine. For rear mounted
fuselage engines the problem is more acute as there is a long fuselage for the air to
travel down. As it does so, the boundary layer gets thicker and can significantly
reduce the performance of the engine. So measures are taken to ensure that it does
not enter.

Fig. 21 INTAKE BOUNDARY LAYER BLEEDS

The usual method is to have the intakes away from the fuselage or if they are on the
fuselage, to have intake internal bleeds to take the boundary layer away. The fighter
in figure 21 is the Mc Donnell Douglas F15 Eagle and the passenger aircraft is the
Dassault-Breguet-Mystere Falcon. Both have intakes designed so that boundary layer
air moving down the fuselage from the nose does not enter the engine.

Induced Drag

So far the drag that we have been dealing with increases with the square of speed.
The faster the aircraft flies the greater it becomes – significantly, ie double the
airspeed and the profile drag increases four-fold. With Induced Drag it is the opposite
- the faster the aircraft flies the less it becomes.

Induced drag is caused by the lift generated by the wings/helicopter rotor blades and
occurs at the wing/blade tips.

As you know the pressure on top of the wing is low whilst the pressure underneath is
high. This is true of both a wing and a helicopter rotor blade. As the wing/blade
separate the two areas of positive and negative pressures, the pressures cannot
equalise - except at the wing/blade tips (and along the trailing edge).

At the tip the air under the wing/rotor blade ‘spills over’ to the area of low pressure
on the top. This creates wing tip vortices which use energy which ultimately comes
from the aircraft engines – and costs fuel (like all drag).

- 23 -
 Fig. 22 INDUCED DRAG – AIR MOVEMENT
OVER THE WINGTIPS

As these vortices spill over the wing tip the local air pressure drops and so does the
temperature, and under some atmospheric conditions this causes the moisture to
condense out and vapour trails are produced (sometimes called contrails – although
most vapour trails that we see behind aircraft are created by the engines).

This movement of the air around the tip means that there is some span-wise
movement of the air on the top and bottom surfaces of the wing. On a straight wing
there is a slight lateral movement towards the root on the top side of the wing and a
slight lateral movement towards the tip on the bottom of the wing (figures 23 and 24).

Fig. 23 AIRFLOW OVER THE WING

These movements are more complicated on swept wings as there is a tendency for
there to be a span-wise movement of air towards the tip on both top and bottom
surfaces.

Study figures 23 and 24 and note the wing tip vortices, the trailing edge eddies
(turbulence) and the lateral displacement of the airflow over and under the wing.

- 24 -
 Fig. 24 AIRFLOW UNDER THE WING

Note that the angle (lateral displacement) is exaggerated in the drawings and reduces
towards the wing root. Also, as the aircraft flies faster so the airflow has less time to
move laterally and the angle is reduced. Note also the turbulence affecting the
tailplane.

If the tailplane is set on the fuselage so it is directly behind the mainplane then the
turbulence will strike the tailplane and cause disturbance of the aircraft and the
elevator controls. For this reason the tailplane of most aircraft is set higher than the
mainplanes.

Induced drag is a penalty we pay for the production of lift, but there are ways of
keeping it to a minimum.

QUESTION Can you think of any? (10 mins)

ANSWER See below.

Speed. With an increase in speed induced drag is reduced - but some aircraft can't fly
fast, such as gliders, so they are stuck with this one. And all aircraft have to fly slow
for take-off and landing anyway.

The effect of higher speed means that the air does not have time to move span-wise to
spill over the wing tip – it is ‘pushed’ too quickly chordwise (backwards) over the
trailing edge.

Reducing the AoA. Induced drag is at its greatest at high angles of attack. Again we
can't always change the angle of attack just to reduce the induced drag. The effect of
a large angle of attack is to increase the pressure difference between the top and
bottom of the wing and increase the induced drag.

- 25 -
Winglets. A winglet helps prevent the air from spilling over the wing tip. Some aircraft
have a winglet fitted beneath the wing tip, others on top (Boeing Dreamliner), and
some on the top and the bottom (Airbus A380).

Some aircraft - the Boeing 777 for example - don't have them at all. So the case for
them is not as clear-cut as it appears. It is interesting to note that even winglets will
produce both profile and induced drag – and increase weight. Some aircraft use wing
tip fuel tanks and other attachments at the tips to help reduce induced drag.

Figure 25 shows a good example. Note the rather large winglets compared to the size
of the aircraft. It also shows leading edge Fixed Spoilers or Stall Strips.

Making the wing tips smaller. If the wingtips are smaller there is less area for the air
to spill over and therefore less drag. If the wingtips are made tapered or rounded the
wing-tips effectively smaller. One way of actually making them smaller and still
keeping the same wing area is to make the wings longer and thinner in plan view. In
other words increase the Aspect Ratio.

Fig. 25 WINGLETS & FIXED SPOILERS ON THE LEARJET

Aspect ratio is defined as the number of times the average chord length divides into
the wing-span. When a wing is designed it is made to withstand a certain load per
unit area (total mass of the aircraft divided by the gross wing area in plan view). This
is called Wing Loading.

Wing loading will effect stalling speed (high wing loading = high stall speed),
maximum aircraft speed, gliding distance (the lower the wing loading the longer the
gliding distance), aircraft performance etc, so other parameters are also used when
calculating the wing loading of an aircraft and hence wing area.

Here we are only concerned with induced drag, and for a given wing area the aspect
ratio can be changed by changing the wing span. Figure 26 shows the plan view of the
wing area of two aircraft with the same wing area and hence wing loading (if we
assume both aircraft have the same mass), but the aircraft with the higher aspect
ratio wing (top of the drawing) has smaller wing tips and hence will have less induced
drag because there is less wing tip for the air to spill over.

The aircraft with the low aspect ratio wings will have more induced drag.

- 26 -
 Fig. 26 ASPECT RATIO FOR TWO WINGS WITH THE SAME PLAN AREAS

In general, aircraft that fly slowly, such as gliders, will have high induced drag and
there-fore will have high aspect ratio wings to help keep this drag as low as possible.
High speed aircraft will have low aspect ratio wings because their induced drag is not
high (at high speed) – their main problem being profile drag.

Wing Fences

As the air under the wing tends to spill out over the tip it produces a span-wise
movement from root to tip under the wing. Similarly as the air comes over the top of
the wing tip a span-wise component is produced on the top from tip to root.

On swept wings there is a tendency for the air to move span-wise towards the tips
anyway.

To try to counter these problems some aircraft have wing fences fitted. These are
strips of metal up to a foot high (30cm) running parallel to the airflow usually fitted
on the top of the wing running from the leading edge to about 2/3rds chord length.

Wing fences are fitted to the top surface of some swept winged aircraft to promote
correct airflow in front of ailerons (and other wing areas) to ensure correct airflow
direction over the control surfaces. Figure 27 shows the wing fences as fitted to the
VC10.

Fig. 27 WING FENCES OF THE VC10

- 27 -
The Lift/Drag Ratio

With any aerofoil we want as much lift as possible with as little drag as possible – in
other words we want a good Lift/Drag (L/D) ratio.

The L/D ratio is obtained by dividing the lift obtained at a particular angle of attack
by the drag produced at that angle (dividing the lift vector by the drag vector) - thus
giving the L/D ratio for that angle of attack. For example: On a model wing at a
particular angle of attack the lift force = 20N (Newtons) and the drag force = 2N. 20
divided by 2 = 10. The L/D ratio is 10.

This test is carried out in the wind tunnel and the L/D ratio is obtained for each angle
of attack. Each L/D ratio is plotted against its corresponding angle of attack on a
graph and the dots joined up to produce a curve.

On a typical wing starting at zero degrees AoA the L/D rises steadily to a ratio of 24 at
4° AoA. It peaks at that point and reduces steadily until at 15° it declines more
sharply. The 4° angle is known as the Optimum Angle of Attack and the 15° angle is
the Stalling Angle.

The optimum angel of attack produces the best L/D ratio and so it is the optimum
cruise angle for best range. At this angle the wing produces the most lift for the least
drag and is therefore working at its most efficient. It is the angle at which the wing is
fixed to the fuselage, or there-abouts, called the Angle of Incidence, so when flying at
this angle the fuselage is level (which is better for passengers and produces the least
drag).

As the angle of attack of the wing is increased from, say 0°, so the lift/drag ratio gets
better (higher) until at about 4° where it is at its highest (eg 24:1). (24:1 means that
there is 24 times more lift than drag).

After this optimum AoA, lift still increases as the angle of attack is increased but drag
starts to rise faster than before, so the L/D ratio gets smaller (worse).

Note that the best L/D ratio for the wing above is 24. A typical best L/D ratio for a
passenger aircraft (including fuselage, wings, and tailplane) would be about 17.

At the stall there is a sudden drop in lift with the drag continuing to rise. This means
that the L/D ratio reduces significantly at the stall.

Note that many large aircraft fly with the fuselage at a slight positive AoA when in
straight and level flight as the fuselage itself will also produce some lift.

If induced drag and profile drag are plotted against velocity on the one graph then the
total drag is found. Where the total is at a minimum - this is the velocity where the
total drag is least and the speed that will give the aircraft it’s greatest range for a
specific volume of fuel used. It is more a theoretical concept than a practical one as
the profile drag component is so much more than the induced drag component that in
general, the faster an aircraft flies the greater the total drag will be.

- 28 -
 THE FOUR FORCES

The important forces acting on an aerofoil in flight are lift and drag. Lift acts at right
angles to the airflow and drag acts backwards and at right angles to lift. However,
when considering the aircraft as a whole there are other forces to be taken into
consideration. In level flight these other forces are Weight and Thrust.

So the four forces acting on an aircraft in level flight are:

* Lift
* Drag
* Weight (or mass)
* Thrust

Lift

This force is provided mainly by the wing of a fixed wing aircraft with some lift
provided by the fuselage (and sometimes the tailplane). Lift on mainplanes acts at
right angles to the free-stream flow through the centre of pressure. For helicopters the
lift is created by rotating the main rotor blades and acts vertically through the rotor
hub. This means the helicopter can create lift without actually moving through the
air.

For fixed wing aircraft lift is varied by changing air speed, AoA and wing configuration
(flaps extended/retracted etc).

For an aircraft in straight and level flight the lift acts vertically upwards through the
Centre of Pressure (C of P) of the wing. For a straight wing the C of P for each wing
section is in the same position relative to the longitudinal datum line of the aircraft.
For a swept wing aircraft (or an aircraft with a delta wing) as wing sections are
considered further away from the fuselage so the C of P position is further to the rear
relative to the longitudinal datum line. This means that, for a swept winged or delta
winged aircraft the average C of P fore and aft position has to be calculated.

This also demonstrates why, if the outer part of a swept-wing stalls, the aircraft will
tend to pitch nose-up because the outer wing lift is further back and tends to try to
keep the nose of the aircraft down. When that part of the lift fails the nose will rise.

When calculating the total lift produced for the aircraft, consideration has to be given
to any lift produced by the tailplane (positive or negative lift) and the fuselage.

Remember the lift always acts at right angles to the free stream airflow and the C of P
will move forward as the angle of attack increases.

Drag

This acts backwards at right angles to the lift and resists the forward motion of the
aircraft. It opposes thrust and acts through the aircraft’s centre of drag.
Changed by varying wing configuration (flaps, slats etc), aircraft velocity and, to some
extent, AoA – for fixed wing aircraft.

- 29 -
Thrust

For most aircraft this is provided by accelerating a mass of air backwards either by a
propeller or a jet engine. The propeller gives the air a lower acceleration than the jet
engine as the air exhaust velocity from a jet engine is much higher than the air
leaving the rear of a propeller.

The thrust obtained is all to do with Newton’s laws of motion. There are three laws
but
Newton’s first law is not relevant here but his second and third are.

Newton’s second law states that a force will be produced if a mass is accelerated.

In general terms F = MA

Where F = force
M = mass
A = acceleration

The mass of air is accelerated backwards which means the force is backwards. We
want the force to be forward. This is where his 3rd law comes into play.

Newton’s third law states, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.
So the force of the air moving backwards (the action) produces a reaction on the
engine/propeller to produce a force pushing forward.

This force produces thrust to propel the aircraft forward. It acts through the centre
line of the jet engine or the propeller spinner.

When more than one engine is fitted to an aircraft the sum of all the engine thrusts
can be calculated to produce one thrust line to act through the centre of thrust –
along the centre of the fuselage.

The thrust is varied by changing the engine throttle settings for fixed wing jet engined
aircraft or engine throttle settings/VP pitch propeller settings for propeller driven
aircraft.
For most helicopters thrust is provided by tilting the rotor blade disc forward and
using the horizontal component of the lift vector from the rotor blades.

Weight (Mass)

This always acts vertically downwards, unlike the other forces that act relative to the
aircraft’s attitude, this acts relative to the earth. All the mass of the aircraft is said to
act through the Centre of Gravity (C of G) of the aircraft.

The C of G of the aircraft is initially calculated by the manufacturer but when in

service has to be calculated taking into consideration the fuel load and distribution,
the passenger load and distribution and the cargo load and distribution.

This is calculated for each flight and the maximum weight must not be exceeded and
the C of G must be within the allowed range (as per the Pilots Notes and the Aircraft
Maintenance Manual - AMM).

- 30 -
In very general terms the C of G is fixed for any one instant in flight. It cannot be
varied by the pilot, but over the length of the flight the mass reduces because of fuel
usage. (For most large aircraft the pilot can dump fuel in an emergency, but this is
not relevant here.)

The fuel storage in the aircraft is so designed as to position the fuel tanks close to the
aircraft’s C of G so that as it is used up the aircraft’s C of G does not change.

However this may not be possible in all cases and most aircraft have a C of G range
(refer to the AMM/Pilot’s Notes) so as fuel is used so the C of G may change slightly –
but only within the permitted range.

The pilot can trim the aircraft to fly correctly as the fuel is used and when set in
autopilot mode this can be done automatically.

Of course the C of G changes slightly as passengers move about the aircraft.

Arrangement of the Four Forces

These are so arranged on the aircraft as to make it reasonably stable. In straight and
level flight at constant speed with no turning moments the aircraft is said to be in
equilibrium. This means THRUST = DRAG and WEIGHT = LIFT.

Each pair is equal and opposite. Although they are opposite in direction they are not
usually opposite in position.

For straight and level flight the AoA is adjusted by the pilot to make the lift equal to
the weight, if it is greater the aircraft will climb (in general terms, but more of this
later). If it is less the aircraft will descend. The engine thrust is adjusted by the
throttles to make it equal to the drag, if it is greater the aircraft will increase airspeed
– if it is less the aircraft’s airspeed will decrease.

The Ideal Arrangement

Figure 1 shows the ideal arrangement of the four forces. Not all aircraft are like this.
For various reasons some aircraft have to have their forces in a less than ideal
arrangement – seaplanes for example have a high thrust line – to keep the engines out
of the water/water spray. This means that their thrust line is higher than the drag
line

The ideal arrangement is where the Centre of Gravity (C of G) is forward of the Centre
of Pressure (C of L), which produces a nose down couple – and the thrust line is lower
than the Centre of Drag, which produces a nose up couple. Each couple opposing the
other and cancelling each other out.

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 Fig. 28 THE IDEAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE FOUR FORCES

The arrangement is ‘ideal’ for the following reasons:

* The lift-weight nose down couple opposes the thrust-drag nose up couple.
Ideally the couples should exactly balance each other, with many aircraft
they do not.

* Should engine power be reduced or engine failure occur then the aircraft
will automatically take up a natural nose-down gliding position. There being
no opposing nose-up couple with the weight-lift couple causing the nose to
go down.

* The forward C of G (forward of the C of L) makes the aircraft more stable

longitudinally.

NOTES

1. The function of the tailplane is two-fold: It is to counteract any

tendency for the aircraft to pitch in flight (longitudinal stability); and
it may be fixed at an angle to produce an additional downward (nose-up)
correcting couple in flight. Many airliners have tailplanes with
asymmetric aerofoils producing down-lift and a tail down moment.

2. A couple is defined as two opposing forces not on the same centre

line. The turning effect of a couple is called a moment.
(Every couple has it’s moment!!!)

3. With highly swept wings, if the outer section of the wing (which is
behind the C of G) was to stall before the rest of the wing then the C of L
for the whole aircraft would move forward causing a nose-up moment.

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 STABILITY

Stability can be defined as the ability of an object to return to it’s original position
after it has been disturbed. In general it is opposite to manoeuvrability. If an aircraft
is very stable then it is not very manoeuvrable and vice-versa. Most fighters are not
very stable whilst airliners are. The term ‘stability’ can be defined more accurately by
looking at the various forms of stability.

With reference to figure 29. In general terms an object may:

* Be stable. It will move back to it’s original position after disturbance.

The upright pyramid in figure for example. If it is tilted a little to one
side and let go it will fall back onto its base with no overshoot.

* Be unstable. Once moved from it’s present position an object will

continue to move in the direction of the original disturbance. In other
words the disturbance will get worse. The inverted pyramid for example,
if it is balanced on its point and a force moves it to one side the
movement will continue once the force is removed.

* Have neutral stability. Once disturbed an object will take up it’s new
position but it will not move further or try to return to it’s original
position. The ball for example – if disturbed it will roll a little and stop. It
will not return nor will its position get worse.

Fig. 29 STABILITY

When in flight the aircraft will be subject to local air disturbances which will try to
deflect it from it’s flight path. If the aircraft returns to it’s original flight path without
the aid of the pilot - then it is said to be stable, if it does not then it is said to be
unstable or have neutral stability. Stability can be achieved in 2 ways - actively or
passively.

STABILITY

ACTIVE PASSIVE

Fig. 30 TYPES OF STABILITY

- 33 -
Inherent Stability

Objects with inherent stability are stable naturally. They are stable because of their
original shape or design. They need nothing more doing to them to make them stable.
The upright pyramid for example is inherently stable. The inverted pyramid is
inherently unstable and will need some extra support or modification if it is to be
made stable.

In general, fixed wing aircraft can be made reasonably inherently stable, with
helicopters it is significantly more difficult and they are usually considered to be
inherently unstable.

Active Stability

This involves the active intervention of a system or systems to return the object back
to its original position once disturbed.

For aircraft it involves the use of controls to fly it back to its trimmed flight path
automatically. The flying controls are powered (usually by hydraulics) and controlled
by computers that note the aircraft’s movement from gyros and accelerometers. The
computers compare the aircraft movement with the pilot’s input, and intervene if an
uncommanded movement occurs.

When the aircraft moves without being commanded by the pilot the active stability
system picks this up and sends a signal to the powered flying controls to put in a
corrective control surface movement to return the aircraft to its original flight path.

Used mostly on military aircraft, but also on some civil aircraft - for example the gust
alleviation spoilers of the A320 (gust alleviation spoilers are now common on many
aircraft). These are a form of active stability.

When a gust disturbs the aircraft about the longitudinal axis, causing a roll, the gyros
pick up the movement and send the appropriate signal to the flying control
computers. These note that the pilot did not command the movement so send a signal
to operate the selector valve of the gust alleviation spoilers.

These are hydraulically powered and deploy asymmetrically on the up-going wing.
This action will dump lift on the high wing and cause it to drop – putting the aircraft
back to it’s trimmed position.

A fully actively stable aircraft allows the designer to build the airframe strictly in
accordance with engineering principles without any consideration for aerodynamic
parameters.

Note the shape of some modern, actively stable, military aircraft. In some cases the
aircraft are not flyable without the intervention of the stability computers. For this
reason they run on duplicate and triplicate systems.

The vast majority of aircraft use passive stability only.

- 34 -
Passive Stability

The aircraft flies itself back to its original path after being disturbed because of the
aerodynamic design of the airframe. It is achieved by the design of the tailplane
(stabilator), fin, and the wings.

Almost all aircraft are designed to be passively stable so the pilot need take little or no
action to return the aircraft to it’s original flight path after it has been disturbed -
although he/she may assist it by using the controls if he/she wishes.

Although the stability of an aircraft involves all three axis - as they all interact with
each other - it is usual to break-down aircraft stability into three separate areas:

* Lateral Stability - about the longitudinal axis.

* Directional Stability - about the normal axis.
* Longitudinal stability - about the lateral axis.

Lateral Stability

The most difficult stability to achieve. The designer may tackle the problem using one
or more of the following design features:

* High wing.
* Dihedral angle.
* Swept wings.
* Some parts of stability achieved from the directional and longitudinal
stabilities.

The High Wing. A high wing on an aircraft can produce a stability which is also called
the ‘Pendulum Effect’. This helps lateral stability. It is produced by the high position
of the wings (high Centre of Lift [C of L]) and the low position of the Centre of Gravity
(C of G) (figure 31).

Fig. 31 PENDULUM EFFECT

If the aircraft is disturbed about the longitudinal axis (one wing drops and the other
rises) the movement of the C of L to one side of the C of G will cause a correcting
swinging action to put the aircraft laterally level.

- 35 -
Also, the down-going wing will experience an increase in AoA as the relative airflow is
moving upwards from a position forward of, and below, the wing. This will produce an
increase in lift on that wing.

The up-going wing experiences a decrease in AoA (as the relative airflow is moving
down from a position forward of, and above, the wing), so experiences a decrease in
lift. All this helps to correct the uncommanded role.

This differential lift effect and the pendulum effect can produce an oscillatory
swinging action which may need pilot intervention to stop.

The differential lift effect applies to all conventional fixed wing aircraft whether they
have a high wing or a low wing, whether the wing is swept or straight.

Dihedral Angle. Lateral stability is also assisted by the lateral Dihedral Angle of the
mainplanes – the upward and outward inclination of the mainplanes away from the
fuselage (measured against the lateral datum line) (figure 33).

Fig. 32 AEROFOIL CENTROID

For most people this is the definition to be remembered, but to be more precise the
dihedral angle is the angle between the lateral datum line and a straight line running
along the centres of the centroids of the wing from the root to the tip. On a
symmetrical wing each centroid of each aerofoil section will be on the chord line but
on a normally cambered aerofoil the centroid will be on the mean camber line
(assuming a uniform aerofoil density). The position of the centroid will be about 1/3rd
of the chord length back from the leading edge depending on the actual aerofoil.

Fig. 33 DIHEDRAL ANGLE

Note that the lateral axis is horizontal when the aircraft is in the rigging position. This
position is obtained during maintenance by putting the aircraft on jacks and using
levelling equipment as laid down in the maintenance manual.

- 36 -
If a gust of wind raises one wing the down-going wing effectively has an increase in
angle of attack thereby increasing the lift of that wing, and the up-going wing will
have a reduced angle of attack and a reduced lift force, the total effect being to help to
restore the aircraft to its original flight path. Similar to the high wing case discussed
above but the dihedral angle enhances this effect (figure 34).

Fig. 34 DIHEDRAL ANGLE EFFECT

Note from figure 34 that while the down-going wing has the greater lift it is also acting
in the correct direction – upwards. With the up-going wing the (already reduced) lift is
acting at an angle and the vertical component is further reduced.

If the differential lift forces do not correct the aircraft (which sometimes happens) the
aircraft will stay in the banked attitude and a side-slip will occur (unless the pilot
intervenes by applying opposite aileron – or automatic roll control spoilers are
asymmetrically deployed – on the up-going wing). More on side-slip later.

Remember that dihedral angle stability applies to straight, swept and delta winged
aircraft.

Note that there is also a longitudinal Dihedral Angle which is the angle between the
chord line of the tailplane or horizontal stabiliser and the chord line of the mainplane
(figure 35).

Fig. 35 LONGITUDINAL DIHEDRAL ANGLE

The longitudinal dihedral angle is not related to lateral stability but is more
associated with longitudinal stability. It is mentioned here to ensure that you know
the difference between the longitudinal and lateral dihedral angles.

- 37 -
With negative dihedral (wings sloping down from the fuselage) the effect on stability
tends to be opposite to positive dihedral. In other words it tends to make the aircraft
less stable. Negative dihedral may be called anhedral.

Some aircraft such as some gliders do not have ailerons (helps reduce weight and
complexity, so reducing cost). The aircraft is turned and banked by the use of the
rudder only. In this case the dihedral angle is large (up to 10°) which helps the
aircraft bank naturally.

Swept Wings. Swept wings include delta wings. They may be designed for high speed
flight but come into play during an un-commanded roll at any speed. If the roll
remains uncorrected and the aircraft starts to side-slip then the low wing will meet
the airflow at a more effective angle (in plan view) than the high wing - thus creating
even more lift on the low wing and less lift on the high wing – helping to further
correct the aircraft (figure 36).

Also in a side-slip, whether the wings are swept or not the high wing (on a low winged
aircraft) will be in the Aerodynamic Shadow of the fuselage and experience a
reduction of lift because of the turbulent airflow over that part of the wing (figure 37).

Fig. 36 SWEPT WING

Fig. 37 AERODYNAMIC SHADOW (LOW WINGED AIRCRAFT)

- 38 -
So it is hoped that with dihedral angle and sweep-back and aerodynamic shadow (and
in some cases pendulum stability) that lateral stability will be achieved. However, it is
the most difficult stability to achieve out of the three and for the majority of aircraft
pilot intervention/automatic stability control systems still have to intervene if the
aircraft rolls more than a few degrees.

Directional Stability

This is assisted by the fin and rudder and the side area of the fuselage aft of the
Centre of Gravity - taken all together called the Effective Keel Surface (figure 38).

If the aircraft is caused to yaw then, like a weather-cock or weather vane on a church
spire, the airflow will ‘blow’ it back to it’s original position.

Remember that when it yaws the aircraft will tend to fly in it’s original direction for a
short time due to it’s momentum (Newton’s first law) - thus for a short time the
airflow will be acting on the side of the fuselage. This correcting moment is also
assisted by the small sideways ‘lift’ produced by the fin.

Fig. 38 EFFECTIVE KEEL SURFACE

This correcting action may set up an oscillating motion which is corrected by fitting
powered automatic yaw dampers to the rudder control system.

Note. For most aircraft the fin is vertical and its chord line is parallel to the aircraft’s
longitudinal datum line. For some single engined propeller driven aircraft the fin
chord line may be set at a small angle to the longitudinal datum line to counter the
effect of the swirling propeller slipstream.

Longitudinal Stability

This is associated with the tailplane or horizontal stabiliser. If the aircraft is a canard
configured aircraft it is associated with the foreplane (see later chapters).

For many large passenger aircraft the tailplane may be designed with its maximum
camber on the underside thus producing downwards lift. On some aircraft the
chordline is set at a small negative angle to the longitudinal datum line (negative
angle of incidence) also to produce negative lift.

This downwards lift is designed to help balance the four forces and provide for greater
stability.

- 39 -
If a gust of wind causes the nose of the aircraft to be deflected up or down then the
tailplane will experience a change in AoA (increase or decrease) but the aircraft's
momentum will keep the aircraft flying in the original direction for a short time.

Fig. 39 LONGITUDINAL STABILITY

This change in AoA will create a force on the tailplane to correct the nose-up or nose-
down condition, for example (figure 39):

1. Aircraft nose deflected down.

2. The rear of the aircraft moves up and the tailplane experiences a
negative AoA.
3. The negative angle of attack produces a downward lift force on the tail.
4. This downward force creates a correcting moment about the C of G to
raise the nose and restore the aircraft to it’s original attitude.

The mainplane will also experience a negative angle of attack at the same time
(producing a downward lift force), but the tailplane is a distance from the C of G and
creates a large turning moment which is strong enough to correct the aircraft.

The turning moment is the lift force (F) times the distance (D) from the centre of the
lift force and the aircraft’s centre of gravity.

Moment = F x D

Interaction of the Stabilities

We have considered the stability of an aircraft about the three separate axes and
considered each one in isolation. They don’t work in isolation however, and in reality
the stabilities are connected, with each one having an effect on the other. For
example, consider an aircraft that is directionally very stable, but not very stable
laterally - the following could happen:

1. The aircraft is caused to move right wing low (uncommanded role).

2. Not being very stable laterally the wing stays down.
3. The aircraft starts to side-slip – to the right.
4. Still the wing stays down and the airflow is now being felt on the side of
the fuselage and fin.

- 40 -
 5. The Effective Keel Surface comes into play and starts to turn the aircraft
towards the direction of the low wing (to the right).
6. This causes the high (left) wing to go faster - creating more lift on that
wing.
7. The high wing becomes even higher; the side-slip gets worse and the
process repeats itself.
8. We now have a very unstable aircraft which is starting to go into a spin.
If not corrected by the pilot it will enter a spin which may be such that
recovery may not be possible.

The three stabilities will all interact with each other and it is up to the designer to
make each one such that it is compatible with the other two. Some aircraft are
designed with little or no inherent stability (aerobatic aircraft, fighters etc) and are
difficult to fly. Some aircraft it is difficult to design any stability into at all
(helicopters). Some aircraft are very stable and reasonably easy to fly – easy enough in
some cases to fly ‘hands off’ (small private aircraft, commercial aircraft etc).

VARIATIONS IN AIRCRAFT DESIGN

We have dealt with the most common airframe design, that is a centre fuselage,
mainplanes (straight, swept or delta), a tailplane at the rear (usually straight) and a
fin on the centre-line of the aircraft mounted on the fuselage at the rear. There are, of
course, many other designs, some of which we shall deal with here.

Foreplanes

Some aircraft are fitted with a foreplane in place of a tailplane. It is called a Canard
configuration. The foreplane is fitted to the fuselage forward of the mainplanes and
generally provides less longitudinal stability than a tailplane.

Fig. 40 CANARD AIRCRAFT

In some cases it can actually make the aircraft unstable longitudinally (aircraft
pitches up – the foreplane has an increased AoA with increased lift which increases
the pitch-up moment).

One advantage of canard configured aircraft is that they can be made stall-proof.

- 41 -
If the foreplane is set at a positive angle of incidence on the fuselage slightly greater
than the angle of incidence of the mainplane, then just before the mainplane reaches
the stalling angle the foreplane will stall and the nose will lower so the mainplanes
will not stall.

Elevators on the foreplane are connected to the control column in the usual way
except that they move opposite to those fitted to a tailplane, eg the pilot wants to
climb and pulls the control column back (as before) this lowers the foreplane elevators
causing an upward force on the foreplane, causing the nose to rise.

On many high performance canard fighter aircraft the foreplane has no elevators but
moves as a complete surface (all-flying foreplane) to change the pitch of the aircraft.
(Some conventional aircraft with tailplanes are also fitted with all-flying tailplanes
with no elevators.)

Note that the aircraft in figure 40 has a delta wing with elevons fitted. These do the
job of elevators and ailerons (more later).

Swept Back Wings

Most airliners have swept back wings and these have the following advantages:

* Helps lateral stability once a side-slip has started (as already discussed).

* Increases the critical Mach number (MCRIT) and allows higher speeds to
be obtained in the transonic speed range before the onset of
compressibility effects. Mach (Ernst Mach Austrian physicist 1838 –
1916) is a measure of the aircraft’s speed in relation to the speed of
sound at that altitude and the higher the MCRIT the better.

* If highly swept can take advantage of leading edge vortices to increase

the stalling angle (see ‘The Delta Wing’ below).

Disadvantages include:

* Structurally more difficult to design than straight wings.

* Tend to suffer from tip stall – if this happens the lose of lift at the tip will
normally cause a nose-up moment and possible loss of lateral control.
The tendency to tip-stall may be reduced by wash-out (reduction of the
angle of incidence of the wing towards the tip).
* Less efficient at creating lift than a straight wing.

Swept Forward Wings

Aerodynamically these behave in a similar way to swept back wings, but structurally
there is a problem. Any structure that is placed out in the airflow is stable if it is
allowed to trail in the airflow (swept back wings, control surfaces etc).

If the structure is fitted so that it lies forward of its mounting then it is unstable. For
example: If a rudder could be designed to be fitted in front of the fin with its hinges on
the rear of the rudder so it is facing forward of the fin.

- 42 -
It would work the same as a conventional rudder – but – as soon as it is displaced
more than a degree or two out of alignment with the airflow the force of the airflow
would cause it to swing completely round tearing it off its hinges and causing possible
loss of control of the aircraft.

Forward swept wings have this problem, though less dramatic. Because of their
sweep, any movement caused by aerodynamic loading will cause the wing to twist.
This twisting will cause the wing tip angle of incidence and hence angle of attack to
change. If it moves up increasing the AoA it will increase the tendency for wing-tip
stall – which is always a bad thing.

With swept-back wings the opposite is true. Any movement caused by aerodynamic
loading is a stable condition.

The Delta Wing

Has the same advantages as the swept wing but generally has a greater wing area so
reducing the wing loading (aircraft’s mass per unit area of wing in plane view). It is
generally stronger and has a higher stalling angle.

It also has the same disadvantages, except for the structures problem. But as most
delta winged aircraft have a high degree of sweepback so it has further disadvantages.
These include:

* Poor lift characteristics at low speed.

* High angles of attack required for take-off and landing. Note the high
nose landing gear (and main landing gear) on Concorde to allow for
these high angles.

May be fitted with or without a tailplane. If there is a tailplane then the aircraft will
have the normal flying controls – elevators, rudder and ailerons. If there is not a
tailplane, Concorde for example (which is no longer in service), had the ailerons and
elevators combined and called elevons, and there were no elevators.

Fig. 41 TYPICAL TAILLESS DELTA WING AIRCRAFT – CONCORDE

- 43 -
Elevons are fitted to the trailing edge of delta winged aircraft, especially if they do not
have a tailplane. For climb and descent both elevons move up and down together. For
roll control they operate as ailerons – ie, in opposite directions. For a combination of
roll and climb/descent the inputs are mixed. For example, if the control column is
pulled back and to the left (climb and roll to the left) then both elevons move up but
the left elevon moves further up than the right elevon.

Fig. 42 DELTA WING AIRFLOW – PLAN VIEW

The wing will produce lift (and drag) in the normal way. It is very strong structurally
and has a very high chord length at the root with little or no length at the tip. Usually
highly swept to help reduce high speed problems when flying at supersonic speeds.

There is a tendency on delta winged and highly swept wing aircraft for the airflow at
the leading edge to ‘spill over’ the front of the wing forming leading edge vortices.

The airflow will move rearwards with a small span-wise component towards the wing
tips. As it does so, some of the air will move from the bottom, high pressure area of
the wing to the top, low pressure area. This produces a swirling vortex on top of the
wing producing a low pressure region or bubble on top of the wing. This creates lift
and will also increase the stalling angle.

HIGH SPEED FLIGHT

When studying the theory of flight, High Speed Flight (HSF) is considered to start at
the onset of MCRIT. This speed varies with the local speed of sound which could be
considered as 762mph at sea level under standard atmospheric conditions. At this
speed compressibility problems start to make themselves felt. Up to this speed the
study of theory of flight is considered to be Low Speed Flight. So for this part of the
EASA syllabus (on High Speed Flight) this is the most important part of the book.

The definitions of low speed flight and HSF could be refined still further:

* Low speed flight – subsonic flight - up to MCRIT. The aircraft is travelling

at speeds up to about M = 0.8 where all the air over the aircraft is
subsonic.

- 44 -
 * Transonic flight – going through the sonic range from MCRIT (about M =
0.8) to about M = 1.2 (M = Mach Number). The aircraft is travelling at
speeds between about M = 0.8 and M = 1.2 where some of the air moving
over the aircraft is supersonic and some is sub-sonic.
* Supersonic flight – all speeds above M = 1.2. The aircraft speed is
generally above about M = 1.2 where all the air moving over the aircraft
is supersonic.

The Speed of Sound

As HSF is related to the local speed of sound it is important to have a good knowledge
of how sound travels through air. Sound is transmitted through air as a series of
sound waves and the speed the waves travel at is related to the air temperature and is
calculated from the formula:

a = K√T

where a = Speed of sound.

K = A constant.
T = Absolute temperature (in Kelvin).

The speed of sound in air at sea level at stp (standard temperature and pressure) is
762 mph (the temperature taken as 15°C) (661 knots [kts]) it sends out pressure
waves ahead of it that ‘warn’ the air. This reduces to 660 mph at 36,000 feet (ft)
(tropopause) where the temperature is taken as -56°C. So with increasing height the
speed of sound decreases. Converting these values gives:

762 mph = 1229km/h

762 mph = 661 knots (kts)
660 mph = 1062km/h
36,000ft = 11km

As you know air moves at different speeds over the aircraft depending on what part of
the aircraft we are looking at. For example, the air moving over the top of the wing
moves faster than the air under the wing. Air moving over the top/front of the aircraft
(cockpit/flight deck area) is also moving faster than the free stream flow.

The Sound Barrier

In the early days, during the period immediately prior to the introduction of the jet
engine, aircraft (fighter aircraft for example) had flown up to the speed of sound
(usually in a dive) and at that speed problems started to occur. These included a
significant increase in drag, so much so that it was considered that there was a
‘barrier’ to going any faster. It was called the Sound Barrier. Even today, going faster
than the speed of sound is usually mentioned as going through the sound barrier.

Of course there is no barrier, but for aircraft not designed to go faster than the speed
of sound there are considerable problems in passing through this speed range.

- 45 -
These problems include:

* A significant increase in drag requiring the use of very high engine power
to get through the ‘barrier’.
* Control problems.
* Stability problems.

Mach Number (M)

Named after Ernst Mach Austrian physicist 1838 – 1916. Mach (pronounced Mark as
in the name) number refers to the speed that an aircraft is travelling compared to the
local speed of sound, ie

M = true airspeed
local speed of sound

eg: If an aircraft is flying at 700 mph at sea level (stp) its M number is:

M = 700 = 0.92
762

If it is flying at 700 mph at 36,000ft (stp) (speed of sound = 660 mph at 36,000ft) , its
Mach number is:

M = 700 = 1.06
660

The airspeed of the aircraft is indicated to the pilot by an airspeed indicator while the
Mach number is indicated on a Machmeter. This ‘sums’ the values of airspeed
(corrected for density) and altitude.

From the above you can see that if the aircraft maintained a constant speed and
climbed then, starting at 700mph at sea level, it would eventually go through the
sound barrier although its actual speed would not increase.

Mcrit

It is important that the pilot knows the speed of the aircraft in relation to the local
speed of sound as at that speed he/she is likely to encounter problems in the control
characteristics of the aircraft.

As the aircraft approaches the speed of sound so some parts of the airframe become
supersonic before others. This supersonic flow will occur over the larger cambers of
the airframe such as the tops of the wings. This supersonic flow will cause shock
waves and turbulence and may cause the aircraft to exhibit:

* Vibration and buffeting – sometimes severe.

* Stability problems.
* Control ineffectiveness.
* Control reversal.
* Inability to control the aircraft (particularly with manual controls).
* Turbulence.

- 46 -
Turbulence will occur behind the shock wave and this can affect the tail plane which
will cause buffeting, pitch control and stability problems.

Because of the high aerodynamic loads on the control surfaces at high speed, the
control surfaces can act like trimming tabs on the main aerofoil surface. If this is
associated with lack of rigidity in the structure the wing/tail plane/fin can twist
about its torsional axis and produce the opposite aircraft response to that desired by
the movement of the cockpit controls and control surfaces.

Fig. 43 AILERON REVERSAL

With reference to figure 43. When the aileron goes up the expected response is that
the complete wing moves down. If, however, the wing is not torsionally stiff enough it
will twist about its torsional axis, increasing its angle of incidence (and angle of
attack) thus causing the whole wing to go up – thus the aircraft moves in the opposite
direction to that intended. Not a good state of affairs.

In the early days this was a problem with some aircraft. Today, however, as designers
know more about structural stiffness and its relationship to aerodynamic loads, the
design engineers can anticipate the difficulties and design the airframe stiff enough to
withstand the twisting loads.

So it is important that the pilot (flying a conventional low speed aircraft) knows the
speed of his/her aircraft in relation to the local speed of sound so he/she can keep
his/her speed down below Mcrit – the speed at which the first supersonic flow occurs
around the airframe.

Of course, this only applies to aircraft that are not designed for supersonic flight.
Those that are have enough power to overcome the significant rise in drag and are
designed to have high MCRIT values so pass through the transonic range quickly and
pass through the transonic range with little adverse affect.

TRANSONIC SPEED

When an aircraft moves through the air it sends out pressure waves in all directions
and the waves moving ahead of it ‘warn’ the air of the aircraft’s approach. For aircraft
flying at speeds lower than the speed of sound this means that the air starts to move
out of the way of the oncoming aircraft before the aircraft actually gets there.

At speeds below the speed of sound the air behaves as if it is incompressible, but as
the speed of sound is approached so the behaviour of the air gradually changes. At
high speed the air will compress or expand as necessary (refer table 4).

- 47 -
 SPEED IN KNOTS COMPRESSIBILITY
ERROR %

80 0.5
260 4
440 11
520 16

TABLE 4 SPEED IN KNOTS AGAINST COMPRESSIBILITY ERROR

In very general terms it is considered that the air acts as if it is not compressible at
speeds below about M = 0.7 and is compressible at speeds above this speed – not
strictly true, but as a rough guide it is okay.

A moving object will send out pressure waves in all directions at the local speed of
sound (figure 44).

These pressure waves from a moving object warn the air that the object is coming and
the air is prepared to move out of the way. As the object moves forward (figure 44 [b])
so the waves moving ahead of it do not move so far forward.

When the object moves at the speed of sound (figure 44 [c]) then the pressure waves
being sent out ahead cannot move forward of the object but build up in front of it to
form a Bow Wave. The air in front now has no warning that the object is coming and
hence there is a sudden change in pressure and velocity as the object hits the air.

Fig. 44 SOUND WAVE PROPAGATION

- 48 -
Shock Waves

As the speed of the airflow increases over an aerofoil or streamlined shape so the air
starts to break away from the surface towards the rear. This may start at low
airspeeds (figure 44) and the position at which it starts on the aerofoil is called the
transition point. As the speed increases so this point moves forward.

Fig. 45 TRANSITION POINT (M ≈ 0.6)

As the speed of the aircraft increases and reaches about M = 0.75 an incipient shock
wave forms. This occurs at the point of maximum camber (usually on the top of the
wing and some points on the fuselage near the flight-deck). It causes a sudden rise in
pressure and density and a drop in velocity (figure 46).

Fig. 46 INCIPIENT SHOCK WAVE (M ≈ 1.0)

There is a tendency for the turbulent wake to move forward and start at the point
where the shock wave attaches itself to the aerofoil.

Shock Stall

The shock wave causes a sudden large increase in drag (by as much as a factor of 10),
and a loss of lift.

The change in the pressure distribution around a conventional aerofoil causes a nose
down pitching moment of the aircraft and the turbulent airflow behind the shock
wave causes severe buffeting – particularly if it hits the tailplane.

The effects are similar to an ordinary stall and it is often called a shock stall. This
condition is not confined to the aerofoils but can occur to any part on the aircraft.

- 49 -
The ordinary stall is often called a High Incidence Stall or Low Speed Stall to
distinguish it from a Shock Stall and the Shock Stall is often called a High Speed
Stall. Sometimes the shock stall is called ‘tuck under’.

Shock Drag

Generally considered to be made up from wave drag and boundary layer drag.

Profile drag at subsonic speed varies with the square law (drag = Cd ½ pV2S) but at
transonic speed the square law breaks down. As can be seen from graph 2 the Cd
rises rapidly during the transonic period, but decreases thereafter until it becomes
steady at about M = 2. But the Cd is still at least twice that at which it was at
subsonic speed.

GRAPH 2 Cd AGAINST MACH NUMBER

Critical Mach Number (Mcrit)

As the speed of sound is approached at below M = 1 compressibility effects are felt –

loss of lift; buffeting; loss of control etc. The speed at which this starts is called the
Critical Mach Number (Mcrit). In general the higher the Mcrit for an aircraft the
better. A higher Mcrit means a shorter transonic speed range.

To increase the Mcrit aircraft are designed with slim wings and a slim fuselage with
no ‘lumps’ to produce local shock waves. Swept wings also help, and having a high
tailplane tends to keep the tailplane out of the turbulent air from the wings.

The Machmeter will have a lubber line (a mark on the dial) indicating MCRIT and for
slow speed aircraft the pilot will not fly the aircraft beyond this mark under any
circumstances (on most modern aircraft high speed warnings will also sound).

MCRIT is also specified in the Pilot’s Notes.

- 50 -
Flying Through the Transonic Speed Range

As the aircraft becomes transonic so there is a considerable change in the

longitudinal trim – usually a nose down pitch. This is accompanied by buffeting; lack
of effectiveness of the trimming devices and a considerable increase in the force
required to move the controls. The aircraft may:

Snake - Yaw from side to side.

Porpoise - Pitch up and down.
Dutch Roll - A combination of roll and yaw.

The aircraft may become difficult to control. The control surfaces are usually behind
the shock wave and in the turbulent area, therefore, they may not be very effective.
As the speed increases so the shock wave moves back over the aerofoil and over the
control surface – this makes them difficult to move.

In some cases control surface reversal occurs. The lack of rigidity in the structure
tends to move the structure about its flexural centre line.

Better airframe design, slab tailplanes, powered flying controls etc, will help overcome
some of these problems.

Increasing the Mcrit of an Aircraft

If the fuselage and wings are kept as slim as possible this will increase the Mcrit. On
a wing this is called thickness/chord (t/c) ratio – and a wing with a lower % t/c ratio
has a higher Mcrit.

GRAPH 3 MCRIT AGAINST t/c RATIO

If the wing is swept this will also increase Mcrit. This is because the shock wave is
caused by that component of the airflow running parallel to the chord line (ie V cos α)
(V cos alpha) – so the greater the sweepback the higher the Mcrit (figure 47).

- 51 -
 Fig. 47 COMPONENTS OF AIR VELOCITY ON A SWEPT WING

Another advantage of the swept wing is that it has a lower Cd (refer to graph 4).

Sweepback also helps to keep the wing tips within the leading edge shock waves
(shockcone) created by the nose of the aircraft.

Swept wings also help to main lateral stability about the longitudinal axis at low
speed (low speed theory of flight).

GRAPH 4 Cd AGAINST MACH NUMBER

The swept wing has, however, several disadvantages:

(a) It is prone to tip stalling.

(b) CL max is low therefore landing speeds are high.
(c) Angel of attack is high for CL max.
(d) Bending stresses are high so structurally more difficult to design.

- 52 -
Going Through Mach 1 (figure 48)

The first signs of the incipient shock wave occurs at below the speed of sound, and on
a symmetrical aerofoil the wave will appear on both the top and bottom surfaces. For
wings with a more cambered top surface the first wave starts on the top. As the speed
increases so the shock wave gets stronger and tends to move rearwards (figure 48 [b]
and [c]) .

The shock wave is sometimes described as a pressure wave made up of all the sound
waves moving forward from that part of the wing aft of the wave and when they meet
air coming back at the speed of sound they cannot travel any further forward so build
up to form a pressure wave.

At just over M = 1 a bow wave forms in front of the aerofoil and the tail wave becomes
curved and attached to the trailing edge (figure 48 [d]).

As the speed increases further so the bow wave attaches itself to the leading edge and
the angle of both waves becomes more acute. At each wave there is an increase in
pressure, density and temperature, and a decrease in velocity.

All air is supersonic at about aircraft speed M = 1.2.

Note the rearward movement of the centre of lift or centre of pressure.

blank

- 53 -
 Fig. 48 SHOCK WAVE DEVELOPMENT – BI-CONVEX AEROFOIL

Area Rule

In an attempt to keep the drag as low as possible during the transonic period the Area
Rule may be applied to the design of the aircraft. This states that the total frontal
cross sectional area of the aircraft (including wings, tailplane and engines) should
increase gradually from the front of the aircraft to the middle, then reduce slowly to
zero at the rear. Thus where additions are fitted to the fuselage, such as wings and
tailplane, the fuselage should be wasted.

- 54 -
 Fig. 49 AREA RULE

SUPERSONIC SPEED

The Mach Cone

If an aircraft moves at a velocity V, which is greater than the speed of sound, it will
send out pressure waves in all directions continuously at every point along its path.
Thus it will send out pressure waves at, say, points A, B, C and D (figure 50). These
waves will have moved outwards in all directions to a point on the line DE during the
time the aircraft has travelled from A to D.

Fig. 50 MACH ANGLE (MACH CONE)

The angle sin ∝ is equal to a = 1

V M

where a = speed of sound

V = Velocity

The Mach Cone formed is called the Mach Angle.

Mach Angle = sin α = a = 1 = angle ADE

V M

The faster the aircraft goes the more acute the angle becomes. At M = 1, α = 90.

The line DE is often called the Mach Line. Mach lines are developed from many points
on the aircraft.

- 55 -
If the speed of the air over the aircraft is constant then all the Mach lines will be
parallel. If the airflow is accelerating then the Mach lines will diverge. And if the
airflow is decelerating then the Mach lines will converge (figure 51).

This gives some indication of how a shock wave is formed.

Fig. 51 MACH LINES

Supersonic Flow

In subsonic flow the air will anticipate objects in it’s path and make changes
gradually. It will also behave in accordance with Bernoulli’s theorem (see the books in
the LBP series on Science/Physics/Theory of Flight). In supersonic flow things are
different.

Supersonic flow may be divided into compressive flow and expansive flow.

Compressive Flow

Consider supersonic airflow meeting the wedge angle of the leading edge of a
mainplane (figure 52). It will not anticipate the oncoming corner but will continue
until it is forced to move by the wedge angle itself. At this point the air slows, and
temperature, pressure and density increase. An oblique shock-wave is formed.

Fig. 52 COMPRESSIVE FLOW

- 56 -
This condition will occur whenever supersonic air meets:

* The leading edge of a wing – whether it be rounded or wedge shape.

* The nose of the fuselage.
* Leading edges of tailplanes, fin, engine intakes etc.
* The beginning of a contracting duct, as in engine intakes.
* Any concave corner of the airframe.

Expansive Flow

When supersonic air passes over a convex surface/corner it is caused to move faster
around the corner – otherwise a vacuum would form (figure 53). This sudden change
in direction causes the reverse to happen as happened with compressive flow. There is
a reduction in pressure, density and temperature, and an increase in velocity. At the
same time Mach lines are formed.

Between the old and new Mach lines the air follows a curved path and the second
Mach line is at a more acute angle than the first.

Fig. 53 EXPANSIVE FLOW

There may be many Mach lines to a curved surface and the air flows through these
(which are weak compared to shock waves) without sudden changes in direction or
physical properties. The wave between these lines is called an expansion wave.

The angle the air can move through in any one expansion wave is small, but it can be
moved through a large angle by passing through a succession of expansion waves, eg
around a large curved surface.

Supersonic Aerofoils

Figure 54 shows a typical high-speed symmetrical aerofoil at a small angle of attack.

Notice the shock waves where there is compressive flow and many Mach lines where
there is expansive flow. There is also no upwash and no downwash.

- 57 -
 Fig. 54 SUPERSONIC FLOW OVER A SYMMETRICAL AEROFOIL

Curved surfaces are very good for low speed flight but for supersonic flight straight
surfaces offer a better solution. For example, a double wedge aerofoil may be used.

Figure 55 shows a double wedge aerofoil at zero angle of attack. The flow patterns are
symmetrical with shock waves at the leading and trailing edges and expansion waves
at the point of maximum thickness. At the shock waves pressure, density and
temperature increase (with a decrease in velocity) – and at the expansion wave the
reverse will occur.

Fig. 55 SUPERSONIC FLOW OVER A DOUBLE WEDGE AEROFOIL

As the angle of attack increases so the top leading edge (L/E) shock wave becomes
weaker, as does the bottom trailing edge (T/E) shock wave – this is because the wedge
angle is becoming smaller. At an angle of attack equal to half the wedge angle the top
L/E and bottom T/E shock waves disappear altogether. The other two shock waves
get stronger because their wedge angles are greater.

Figure 56 shows the aerofoil at the best angle of attack for the best L/D ratio. (The
best lift/drag ratio - the most lift for the least drag.)

- 58 -
 Fig. 56 SUPERSONIC FLOW AT A of A
GIVING BEST L/D RATIO

If the angle of attack is increased still further the bow wave becomes detached and
expansion waves form on the top L/E and bottom T/E areas (figure 57).

Fig. 57 DOUBLE WEDGE AEROFOIL AT LARGE A of A

Supersonic aerofoils may take various forms. The ideal would be a flat plate but this
is impractical structurally. Bi-convex aerofoils and various ‘straight’ aerofoils may be
used. Ideally they should have a low t/c (finesse) ratio (thickness/chord ratio); have
straight lines and have no projections or bulges. The problem with all high speed
aerofoils is that they must perform reasonably well at low speed as well to allow the
aircraft to take off, land and fly through the subsonic speed range. So most high
speed aerofoils are a compromise – to give reasonable low speed characteristics with
good high speed characteristics.

- 59 -
 Fig. 58 HIGH SPEED AEROFOILS

The x/c ratio (thickness/chord ratio of a typical aerofoil for high-speed flight can be
between 40% and 60% for least drag. These values should not affect the C of P or the
lift significantly. For low speed flight the best x/c ratio is between 30% and 40%.

The ‘hexagonal’ aerofoil (figure 58) is probably stronger and has a ‘blunter’ leading
edge compared to the double wedge. This has advantages when it comes to kinetic
heating (heating of the aircraft’s skin at high speed).

A bi-convex aerofoil is better than the others at subsonic speeds and produces the
same drag as a double wedge with an x/c ratio of 25%.

Lift/drag ratios for a conventional low speed aerofoil at low speed can be up to about
24, while the lift/drag ratio for a high speed aerofoil above M1.3 is about 12 (very
poor).

The lift coefficient, while low, is similar for all the high-speed aerofoils and because of
this it does mean high landing, take-off and stalling speeds.

Wing Plan Forms

For supersonic speeds wing plan forms can vary and can include:

* Straight wings – usually short to keep within the Mach cone.

* Swept.
* Delta.

Sweepback delays the shock stall and increases the Mcrit. It also means that the
leading edge of the wing will be within the Mach Cone (if it is swept enough). This will
put the leading edge behind the Mach Line and, if there are shock waves at the nose
of the aircraft, within a region of air that is moving slower than the rest of the airflow
(though it may still be supersonic).

To maintain this rule the faster the aircraft flies the more acute the sweepback must
be – until a delta shape is formed.

- 60 -
The more sweepback there is the more structural problems there are – and of course
there is tip stall and lack of lateral control.

Delta wing plan forms have an advantage as regards strength/weight ratio because of
their long chord length they can have quite a depth of wing and still have a good t/c
ratio. The depth of wing gives greater bending strength.

Conventional swept wings tend, however, to create less drag than delta wings. Delta
wings have a larger surface area and more skin friction. With wings swept at more
than say 55° an advantage is gained in respect to lift and drag during the high-speed
stall. The leading edge stall starts at the wing tips and works inboard – the bubble
that is formed is then swept back along the leading edge to form a trailing edge vortex.
This low pressure acts on the upper leading edge and creates lift and at the same time
creates a form of thrust (negative drag) – and because it is laminar causes little or no
buffeting.

The straight wing has an advantage when it comes to drag at high Mach numbers. As
can be seen from graph 5 the total amount of drag from a straight wing becomes less
than a swept wing after about M1.6. The wing tip will produce a Mach Line and part
of the wing will be within the Mach cone (but only a small part – the outer part of the
wing will be outside the Mach cone).

GRAPH 5 DRAG AGAINST MACH NUMBER

Variable Geometry Wings

To try and overcome some of the problems associated with straight and swept wings a
variable geometry wing plan form may be used. Thus for landing and take-off the
wings are moved to the straight position while for high-speed flight the wings are
moved to the swept position. This increases the structural problems significantly,
increases the weight and cost and makes the aircraft technically more complex.

- 61 -
Typical Wing Plan Forms

Figure 59 shows some typical wing plan forms. (a) is the plan view of a YAK-40 with a
maximum design cruising speed of M0.4 so is unlikely to have any problems as
regards Mcrit. It has straight wings with a high aspect ratio to reduce induced drag.
Straight wings for high-speed aircraft are usually short (low aspect ratio), placed well
back on the fuselage to ensure their tips are within the Mach cone.

Figure 59 (b) shows a wing plane form of a B747. Typical of a medium to long haul
passenger aircraft it has a maximum cruise of M0.76 so there could be a possibility of
flying close to its Mcrit. For many aircraft in this range the sweepback plays an
important roll in giving the aircraft stability about the longitudinal axis (lateral
stability).

Fig. 59 WING PLAN FORMS

Figure 59 (c) shows the wing plan form of Concorde (now no longer flying). It is a delta
wing aircraft without a tailplane. Some delta wing aircraft also have a tailplane
(stabiliser) normally fitted in the form of a T tail. Concorde had elevons but if a delta
winged aircraft had a tail-plane it would have ailerons (on the wings) and elevators (on
the tail-plane).

Note the acute angle of the shock cone or Mach cone – with the wingtips designed to
be within the cone. Concorde had a design top speed in the region of M2. Delta wings
have a poor coefficient of lift (CL), particularly at low speed, so on landing and take-off
they have a high angle of attack to obtain the required lift. For aircraft like Concorde
this necessitated a long main landing gear so as to allow a high nose-up attitude on
landing and take-off.

- 62 -
Figure 59 (d) shows the Mirage G fighter which as a top speed of M2.5. The drawing
shows the wings in the high speed position with the dashed profiles showing the
extended position for landing and take-off. Remember, straight wings have a better
coefficient of lift (CL) than swept or delta wings particularly at slower speeds.

Note – the plans of the aircraft in figure 59 are not to scale.

Kinetic Heating

As aircraft move through the air at high-speed so heat is created. This comes from
three sources – skin friction, air compression and shock waves.

Friction in any form creates heat and aerodynamic skin friction is no exception. Heat
is always created this way when an aircraft flies through the air – at low speed skin
friction is low and the heat created is very small. At high-speed the reverse is true.

When air is compressed (eg the stagnation point at the leading edge of the aerofoil is
compressed) its temperature rises – it is, afterall, an adiabatic compression (ie does
not lose or gain heat from another source).

This form of heating accounts for why the leading edges tend to get hotter than the
rest of the aircraft when flying at high speed.

GRAPH 6 TEMPERATURE AGAINST MACH NUMBER (28,000ft)

Shock wave heating tends to heat the air and has only a small effect on the aircraft
skin temperature.

In general, however, the faster the aircraft flies the more acute the problem of kinetic
heating becomes – particularly skin friction heating and shock wave heating.

- 63 -
The formula

t= V 2

100

gives the approximate rise in temperature in degrees Celsius where:

t = rise in temperature in degrees C and

V = speed in knots.

For example. An aircraft flying at M2 at sea level, its speed is (2 x 661)kts = 1322kts.
Putting this into the formula gives:

t = 1322 2

100

t = 13.222 = 175°C

This rise in temperature can cause problems with:

(a) Structures.
(b) Systems – fuel etc.
(c) Crew and passengers.
(d) Freight.

The solution for (b), (c), and (d) is insulation or some form of cooling/air conditioning
but (a) is more difficult to solve.

The structure cannot be allowed to heat up to temperatures that affect the

mechanical properties of the metals. Aluminium alloy, because of its good
strength/weight ratio is used extensively in aircraft construction and some Al alloy
heat treatments start as low as 100°C. As you can see from the above equation we are
well over that temperature a M2. So if the structure cannot be artificially cooled or
protected in some way, then limits to speed must be imposed depending on the
materials used, eg:

Aluminium Alloy - below M2

Titanium Alloy - about M4
Stainless Steel - higher than titanium alloy
Ceramics - higher than stainless steel

In the design of the aircraft, to reduce kinetic heating, it is better to have wave drag
than boundary layer drag and to avoid all sharp corners. At supersonic speeds the
boundary drag is relatively unimportant compared to its effect at low speed.

Stability and Control at Supersonic Speed

Some of what has been said about stability and control in the transonic region applies
to this area, particularly when it comes to control. Stability is complicated at these
speeds by the high inertia loads. Natural inherent stability provided by such things as
effective keel surface and dihedral angle is not as effective. To increase the size of
things like fins and wings to increase stability would only increase weight and drag
(and increase the inertia loads).

- 64 -
The aircraft’s inherent stability (already built in for low speed flight) can be assisted
automatically by such things as:

* A Mach trim system.

* Autopilot.
* Active stability (computer controlled).

All these stability inputs are put into effect via the flying control surfaces (ailerons,
elevators, elevons, rudder, all-flying tail-plane, slab tail-plane or all-flying aerofoils).
An all flying aerofoil is one where the whole wing moves (or a substantial part of it)
about an axis which runs along the main spar. They are very effective but come with a
considerable weight penalty. They are rare.

Mach Trim

As we have seen there is a tendency for the aircraft to pitch nose down (tuck-under)
when it moves through the transonic region. This is because the Centre of Pressure
moves rearwards. A Mach Trim system is fitted to many high-speed aircraft to
compensate for this by putting a signal into the longitudinal control/trim system
during the transonic period.

If Mach trim is via the tailplane it would cause the tailplane to decrease its angle of
incidence (and hence its angle of attack) so putting a down-load on the tail and
raising the nose. If it is put in via the elevator powered flying control system then the
elevators are caused to up pushing the tail down and the nose up.

Autopilot

This fully automates the flying control system of the aircraft using computers and
servos fitted into the powered flying control systems. In some aircraft Mach trim
would be via the autopilot system.

Active Stability

Most fixed wing aircraft are inherently stable (not so most helicopters). A fixed wing
aircraft will return to its normal flight path without assistance by the pilot. This
inherent stability is achieved by making the aircraft aerodynamically stable by the use
of such things as Effective Keel Surface (Directional Stability); Dihedral Angle (Lateral
Stability) and Tail Plane (Longitudinal Stability).

Some modern aircraft – particularly military aircraft, but some passenger aircraft are
now using it – use Active Stability. This means that the aircraft is kept stable by
active intervention of the controls and the aircraft’s stability does not rely so much on
the inherent stability afforded by the design of the aircraft aerodynamically. When the
pilot moves the controls – usually via a computer system – the aircraft will respond in
the usual way. If the aircraft is disturbed in flight laser gyros will sense the movement
and inform the computer. If the pilot has not commanded the movement of the
aircraft the computer assumes that the aircraft has been disturbed aerodynamically
and sends a signal to servos which move the powered control surfaces to return the
aircraft to its normal flying altitude.

- 65 -
The advantages of active stability are:

* Quicker response times. Inherent stability is opposite to controllability.

If the aircraft is very stable it is not very responsive to the controls. With
active stability systems the aircraft can be made inherently unstable and
easy to control and be very aerobatic. Ideal for fighter type aircraft.
* Better structural strength/weight ratios – the aircraft can be
designed as a structure with little or no consideration for aerodynamic
stability (note some of the ‘square’ shapes of some of the more modern
military aircraft).
* The aircraft can have varying levels of stability – just by the flick of
a switch.

It is, of course, a more complex system with the safety of the aircraft depending on
the correct operation of the hardware and good software, and reliable supplies of
electrical and hydraulic power. The systems are usually triplicated and may have up
to 5 or 6 levels of redundancy with software designed by different software houses to
hope to prevent the duplication of any possible software errors.

Possibly the first use of active stability in civil aircraft was the A320 gust alleviation
system. If the aircraft is caused to roll by aerodynamic forces, the laser gyros pick this
up and send a signal to the flying control computers (triplicated for each channel) who
will know that the pilot has not commanded the manoeuvre (all his/her flying control
inputs go via the computers). The computer/s will send a signal to the spoilers on the
up going wing; these spoilers will deploy, destroying lift on that wing and bringing
that wing down.

JET ENGINE INTAKES

The intakes will be affected by the same problems as the rest of the aircraft structure
when the aircraft flies faster than Mcrit. There is also a requirement that the air must
be slowed down to an acceptable speed for entry to the compressor of the jet engine.

Two features are worth noting about the design of the intake: (1) the bleed-off of the
boundary layer if the intake is close to the fuselage or wing of the aircraft and (2) the
requirement to slow the air down to an acceptable velocity for entry into the
compressor stages of the engine.

The Boundary Layer

It is a layer of slow moving low energy air on the skin of the aircraft that gets thicker
the further back it travels. The problem occurs at all speeds and effectively the layer
of air molecules next to the aircraft’s skin is almost stationary with respect to the
aircraft. The next layer of molecules move slightly faster and the next layer after that
is moving slightly faster still and so on. This state of affairs will continue to a depth of
about a centimetre or two until we get to the free-stream flow where all the air is
travelling at the same speed.

Figure 60 shows the boundary layer flowing in laminar flow. Should it become
turbulent, as happens at the transition point then the boundary layer gets thicker
and even more sluggish. This boundary layer is a problem.

- 66 -
 Fig. 60 THE BOUNDARY LAYER

Fig. 61 VORTEX GENERATORS

To try and get more energy into this layer, vortex generators are fitted to some parts of
the aircraft skin – normally the top side of the mainplanes near the leading edge.
These are lines of small pieces of metal sticking up into the airflow by about an inch
(25mm) or so. They are at an angle to the airflow so they cause the free-stream flow to
mix downwards into the boundary layer to liven it up and give it more energy. May be
fitted up-stream of the ailerons (or any other control surfaces) to improve their
effectiveness.

If there is an engine intake close to the skin of the aircraft then the boundary layer
could get into the engine, which would adversely effect its performance – so it is bled
away from the engine through air ducts to the outside, or the intake is designed so
that it is clear of the fuselage. For example, the rear engine intakes of the MD11 and
TriStar and the Eagle fighter (figure 62).

Where the intake is actually on the side of the structure then provision will be made
within the intake to bleed off the boundary layer through ducts away from the jet
engine (Concorde figure 63).

- 67 -
 Fig. 62 BOUNDARY LAYER INTAKE BLEED

Compressor Air Entry Speed

Fixed configuration circular intakes work well for aircraft travelling at subsonic
speeds. As the aircraft approaches supersonic speed, however, shock waves will form
in the intake and engine performance will be considerably reduced.

Fig. 63 SUPERSONIC INTAKE – CONCORDE

- 68 -
At speeds up to about M1.4 the shock waves do not have much effect on the pressure
recovery of the intake, as down-stream of the normal shock wave the velocity is
always subsonic (during the transonic speed range of the aircraft).

As the aircraft Mach number increases so the pressure recovery behind the shock
wave drops away and methods have to be found to restore the performance of the
intake.

For supersonic flight, intakes have to be designed to create shock waves when
required. This means that intakes must be variable geometry intakes and mechanical
means must be found to change the shape of the intake to produce different pattern
shock waves at different airspeeds.

For circular intakes this was achieved by having a moving centre cone within the
intake. Most modern intakes are of the ‘square’ type, which allows easy adjustment of
square panels within the intake to control the pattern of shock waves.

The variable geometry intake is designed to supply the engine with the correct
quantity of air at all times and to reduce the velocity to a subsonic value at the
compressor inlet.

Typical of the square section intake is that shown in figure 63. The intake has a
movable ramp assembly, an auxiliary door, a secondary air valve, an engine cooling
door and a subsonic diffuser. The moveable ramp assembly creates the shock waves
which will reflect within the intake to reduce the airspeed to subsonic speeds even
when the aircraft is well within the supersonic region.

In supersonic flight the ramp assembly is lowered to focus the pattern of shock waves
formed on the intake lip to obtain subsonic flow at the throat. Further compression
and reduction of air velocity is obtained in the subsonic diffuser.

Changes in engine airflow demand caused by varying ambient conditions are met by
spilling excess air from the intake lip. This ensures maximum intake efficiency and
good engine/airspeed matching.

With engine shut-down in flight the ramp is lowered as far as possible and the
auxiliary door opened to dump excess air overboard, and the secondary air valve is
opened. This reduces the chances of instability in the engine and reduces drag.

During take-off and subsonic flight the engine requires maximum mass airflow, so the
ramp assembly is fully raised, the auxiliary doors open in and the secondary air valve
shut. The engine cooling bay valve is open.

As speed increases so the ramp assembly is lowered, the auxiliary doors closed, the
secondary air valve open and the cooling doors shut.

On engine shut-down in flight the ramp assembly is fully lowered, the auxiliary doors
opened out and the secondary valve open to reduce engine drag on the aircraft.

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