AE 302

Lecture Notes #9
We have looked at..
Airfoil aerodynamics (Chapter 5)
Sources of Drag (Chapter 5)
Induced Drag on finite wings (Chapter 5)
Wave Drag, Profile Drag, Form drag
Airfoil and Aircraft Drag Polar
High Lift Devices
AERODYNAMIC PERFORMACE
Performance is a study to see if the aircraft meets all the
requirements.
Level Flight (Is there enough thrust and/or power?)
Climb Performance (Will it meet the requirement that the
aircraft can gain altitude at a required rate given in feet/sec?)
Range (How far can it fly without refueling?)
Takeoff and Landing Requirements
Others (e.g. Turn radius, Maneuverability)
You will learn to evaluate aircraft performance in AE 3310.
Performance engineers are hired by airlines, buyers, and aircraft
companies.
Your Fighter Has Certain Requirements
Level Flight at a Maximum Speed of Mach
2 at 30,000 feet altitude.
Range (1500 Nautical Mile Radius with 45
Minutes of Fuel Reserve)
Takeoff (6000 foot Runway with a 50 foot
obstacle at the end)
Landing (6000 foot Runway)
Will your fighter do the job?
Your transport aircraft has certain
requirements, say..
Payload:150 passengers weighing 205 lb. each
including baggage.
Range:1600 nautical miles, with 1 hour reserve.
Cruise Speed: M=0.82 at 35,000 feet.
Takeoff/Landing: FAR 25 field length
5000 feet at an altitude of 5,000 feet on a 95 degrees F day.
Aircraft should be able to land at 85% of Take-off weight
Performance calculation is the process where
you determine if your design will do the job.
Level Flight Performance
We assume that the gross weight GW is available. You will know this for your
aircraft after Homework Set #4. An estimate of wing area S is assumed to be
known (Homework, later in the course).
Select a cruise altitude. Compute the speed of sound
Select a set of M

: 0.4, 0.6, 0.8.

Find Aircraft Speed = M

times a

Find C
L
= GW / (1/2 *

* V

2
* S)
Find C
D
= C
D,0
+ C
L
2
/(t AR e) (this info is given in our course)
Find Thrust required T = C
D
* (1/2) *

* V

2
* S
Plot Power Required (T times V) or thrust required vs. Speed
Plot Power Available for your Engine (number of engines times T times V) or
thrust available at this altitude and Speed (Supplied by Engine Manufacturer)
Where these two curves cross determines maximum and minimum cruise
speeds.
1.4 where = =

RT a
Level Flight Performance
Aircraft Speed (Knots)
Power
HP
Power Required
Power Available
with all engines
Best speed for longest endurance flights
since the least amount of fuel is burned
Excess Power
Maximum Rate of Climb
Find Excess Power from
previous figure.
This power can be used to
increase aircraft potential
energy or altitude
Rate of Climb=Excess
Power/GW
Aircraft Speed (Knots)
Power
HP
Excess Power
Absolute Ceiling
Absolute ceiling is the
altitude at which
Power available equals
power required only at
a single speed, and no
excess power is
available at this speed.
Rate of climb is zero.
Aircraft Speed (Knots)
Power
HP
Power available
Power
required
Equilibrium Gliding Flight
Glide Angle, u
W cosu = L
W sinu = D
W
L
u
Gliding Distance
Glide Angle, u
Ground
Altitude h
Gliding Distance = h/tanu = h * L/D
Gliding Flight
D=W sinu where u is the equilibrium glide angle.
L= W cosu
Tanu = D/L
Glide distance = h/ tanu = h ( L/D).
Cruise Speed for Maximum Range
Aircraft Speed (Knots)
V

L/D
From your level flight performance data plot V

L/D vs. V

As will be seen later, the speed at which V

L/D is maximum
gives maximum range.
Speed for maximum range
Calculation of Range
We have selected a cruise V

.

Over a small period of time dt, the vehicle will travel a distance
equal to V

dt

The aircraft weight will decrease by dW as fuel is burned.

If we know the engine we use, we know the fuel burn rate
per pound of thrust T. This ratio is called thrust-specific
fuel consumption (Symbol used: sfc or just c).

dt = Change in the aircraft weight dW/(fuel burn rate)
= dW / (Thrust times c)
= dW/(Tc)
Distance Traveled during dt=V

dW/(Tc) =V

[W/T](1/c) dW/W
Calculation of Range (Contd)
From previous slide:
Distance Traveled during dt=V

[W/T](1/c) dW/W
Since T=D and W=L, W/T = L/D
The aircraft is usually flown at a fixed L/D.
The L/D is kept as high as possible during
cruise.
Distance Traveled during dt= V

[L/D](1/c) dW/W
Calculation of Range (Contd)
From previous slide:
Distance Traveled during dt= V

[L/D](1/c) dW/W
Integrate between start of cruise phase, and end
of cruise phase. The aircraft weight changes
from W
i
to W
f
.
Integral of dx/x = log (x) where natural log is
used.
Range = V

[L/D](1/c) log(W
i
/W
f
)
Breguet Range Equation
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

final
initial
e
W
W
D
L V
c
Range log
1
Propulsion Group/
Designer Responsibility
to choose an engine
with a low specific
fuel consumption c
Aerodynamics Group/
Designer Responsibility
to maximize this factor.
Structures & Weights
Group/
Designer Responsibility
to keep W
final
small.