Aircraft performance

We now know how to use aerodynamics to determine the lift, drag and moment characteristics of an aircraft.

But what about its performance ? How fast can it fly? How fast and how high can it climb? How far can it travel? How long can it remain airborne? These questions are answered by that part of flight mechanics known as aircraft performance. The answers are provided through knowledge of the lift and drag characteristics of the aircraft, as well as the propulsion.
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 87 !

Lift and Drag of the Whole Aircraft

To calculate the performance of the whole aircraft, we need an expression for the drag of the whole aircraft. Note that the development of this expression involves some redefinition of terms. We have seen that for a wing,
2 CL CD = cd + = (airfoil profile drag) + (induced drag) " e AR

We begin our search for an expression for the drag of the whole aircraft by assuming a form similar to that for the wing and writing:

! CD = CD, e +

2 CL " e AR

where CD is now the drag of the whole aircraft and CD,e is the parasite drag. CD,e includes the airfoil profile drag, cd, and the drag caused by the ! other components of the aircraft such as the fuselage, undercarriage, tail plane etc.
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 88 !

Lift and Drag of the Whole Aircraft

CD, e changes with ! and is thus somewhat lift-dependent. In response, we separate out the lift dependent component, again assuming a form akin to the wings lift-dependent term:
2 CD, e = CD, o + rCL

where CD, o is the zero-lift parasite drag coefficient and r is empirically determined .

# 1 & 2 ! CD then becomes: CD = CD, o + % r + (C $ " e AR ' L

CD = CD, o +

which is then rewritten as

! The e in this last equation a redefined e that now includes r and is known as the Oswald Efficiency Factor. ! Similarly, the CD,i is still the induced drag coefficient but is now understood to included the lift dependent behaviour of the whole aircraft.
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 89 !

2 CL = CD, o + CD, i " e AR

Thus we have the whole of aircraft drag polar:

CD

CL

or
CD, o CL CD,o CD

In reality, minimum drag, CD, min, is not necessarily the same as zero-lift drag, CD, o. CD, min usually occurs at angles of attack close to zero while, at least for cambered airfoils, CD, o occurs at slightly negative !. Result can therefore be: CL CD,min CD,o
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

CD
90 !

Equations of motion
Consider an aircraft climbing on a flight path at angle " to the horizontal. The aircraft (mean chord line) is at angle of attack, !, to the flight path. Forces on an aircraft are: !Lift (perpendicular to flight path) !Drag (parallel to flight path) !Weight (vertically downwards) !Thrust (at thrust angle !T to flight path)

October 11, 2011!

AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

91 !

Equations of motion

Apply Newtons 2nd Law in directions tangential and normal to the flight path of an aircraft. Results:

dv , dt v2 " F' = m , r " F// = m

October 11, 2011!

# T cos $T % D % W sin & = m

dv dt v2 # L + T sin $T % W cos& = m r
92 !

AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

Steady, level flight Thrust Required

Studying steady, level flight can tell us more that you would think. Consider an aircraft in steady level flight (" = 0). For small !T, cos(!T) ! 1 and sin(!T) ! 0. Hence for this flight mode, lift = weight and thrust = drag The lift to drag ratio L/D is a measure of the aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft.

L = W and T = D " T D q# SCD CD = = = W L q# SCL CL W L D

" Required thrust, TR = !

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Steady, level flight Thrust Required

Last equation shows thrust required is minimum at L D = ( L D) max as you can expect from the most efficient L/D. TR (L/D)max Slope = CL/CD CL That there is a maximum L/D = CL/CD can be seen from the drag polar: CD,o
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

Typically, (L/D)max for subsonic flight occurs for ! = 2 to 5.

V"

Point of (L/D)max CD
94 !

Steady, Steady, level Thrust Required level flight flight

Consider the following;
2 CL TR = D = q" SCD, o + q" S = parasite thrust + induced thrust # e AR

For straight and level flight, L = W. Therefore

TR = q" SC D, o +

W2 q" S# e AR

! Chain rule implies that

occurs at

dTR dTR dV" . Hence minimum required thrust = dq" dV" dq" ! dTR W2 = 0 = SCD, 0 # 2 dq" q" S$ e AR
2 W2 CL = 2 q# S 2 $ e AR $ e AR

! " C D, 0 = !

That is, parasite drag and induced drag are equal for straight and level flight at minimum required thrust.
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AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

95 !

This equality is illustrated by the following figure:

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Thrust available, maximum velocity The powerplant determines the thrust available at a given speed. The aerodynamics determines the thrust required to travel at a given speed. Maximum velocity occurs when thrust available equals thrust required.

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For example, consider the Cessna Citation :

wingspan wing area gross weight

b = 16.25 m S = 29.5 m2 W = 9000 kg (88200 N) powerplant : two turbofan engines of 16240 N thrust each at sea level zero-lift drag CD,o = 0.02 span efficiency e = 0.81 Calculate the thrust required curve at sea level.

Steady, level flight Power Required

Having considered the thrust required for steady level flight, now consider the power required. power = energy time = force x distance time

or PR = TRV" =

W CL CD

V" =

W CL CD

2W 2W 3 1 = #" SCL #" S C1.5 L CD

So while the thrust required is inversely proportional to L/D or CL/CD, the power required is inversely proportional to CL1.5/CD. Thus by maximising CL1.5/CD ! a given configuration, velocity and altitude combination, we minimise the for power required to achieve that performance. By calculating dPR/dq", it can be shown that at the velocity for minimum required power, the zero-lift drag, CD,0, is 1/3 of the lift-induced drag, CD,i. (See Anderson; method is similar to that used to calculate dTR/dq"i.
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 101 !

PR Figure shows the minimum required power point. Point 1 is the minimum required thrust point. V" Finally, it can also be shown that L/D is maximum at the point on the PR vs V" curve through the point and the origin is tangent to the curve. It can be see by inspection that the slope of this line (dPR/dV") is minimum.

PR (L/D)max VP, min VT, min V"

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Back to the Cessna Citation :

wingspan wing area gross weight

b = 16.25 m S = 29.5 m2 W = 9000 kg (88200 N) powerplant : two turbofan engines of 16240 N thrust each at sea level zero-lift drag CD,o = 0.02 span efficiency e = 0.81 Calculate the power required curve at sea level.

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Cessna Citation

Power Required, PR, (W)

(L/D)max

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Power available
The powerplant determines the power available at a given speed. Maximum velocity occurs when power available equals power required.

Power available is given by where P is shaft brake power, # is the propeller efficiency determined by the aerodynamics of the propeller.

PA = "P

!Power often quoted in horsepower.

1 hp = 550 ft.lb/s = 746 W
Best practice in problem solving is to first convert all quantities to to SI units then solve.

!
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 105 !

Power available
Jet Engine Thrust available is roughly constant with V". Hence power available is linear with V":

PA = TAV"
where TA is Thrust available.

October 11, 2011!

AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

Power Available, PA

Power Available, PA

Piston Engine Propeller Combination

106 !

Maximum velocity
Maximum velocity is determined by the point of high-speed intersection of the maximum power available and the power required curves. Applies to aircraft with pistonpropeller combinations and to jet powered aircraft. Figure here is for jet powered aircraft.

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Power required and power available Cessna Citation

Power Required, PR, (W)

V", max

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Altitude effects on PR, PA and Max velocity

The lower density at higher altitude has two major effects. 1.! The power required, PR vs V" curve is shifted up and to the right. Reason: for a given angle of attack, or given lift and drag coefficients, a higher velocity is needed to generate the lift required for steady level flight. Therefore lift and hence drag and hence thrust will be the same at this higher velocity, and a higher power is required (P = TV)

V0 =

2W " 0 SCL

# Valt =

2W " = V0 0 "SCL "

hence PR, alt = PR, 0

"0 "

!
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 109 !

Altitude effects on PR, PA and Max velocity

Power Required, PR

V"

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Altitude effects on PR, PA and Max velocity

2.! The power available, PA vs V" curve is shifted down, ie lower air density means less thrust and less power.

Power

V"
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures !

Power

V"
111 !

Altitude effects on PR, PA and Max velocity

The Cessna Citation at altitude

Power (W)

V"
October 11, 2011! AERO3000 Flight Mechanics Lectures ! 112 !

Rate of climb
Consider steady climbing flight, as shown. Continue to assume that T is aligned with the flight path. By trigonometry, the rate of climb, R/C is gien by R /C = V" sin #

October 11, 2011!

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Rate of climb
Sum force components along the flight path direction:

T " D " W sin # = 0 $

T"D = sin # W

"
!

TV# $ DV# = V# sin % = Vh = R /C W

TV" is the power available. At low angles of attack, DV" is the power required for steady flight. The difference is the excess power.

! R /C = excess power W

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Rate of climb

Power

Power

V"

V"

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Rate of climb
Hence maximum rate of climb occurs at the point of maximum excess power.

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The hodograph vertical vs horizontal velocity gives good insight into the performance of a climbing aircraft using maximum excess power. The angle of a line (eg 0-2) from the origin to the curve is equal to the climb angle, line length equals the flight speed and the intersection point with the curve gives R/C. R /C " V# Therefore point 1 is R/Cmax. Point 3 is point for maximum climb angle for steady flight. It is interesting that this does not occur at maximum climb speed.

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The Cessna Citation rate of climb (various altitudes) :

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