—— he CHAPTER 8: FUNDAME! OF FLIGHT PERFORMANCE In this chapter, the fundamentals needed for calculating in-flight performance characteristics of airplanes will be derived and discussed. Before doing this certain conventions for axes and angles must be introduced, That is accomplished in Section 8.1. Next, the fundamental aspects of in-flight airplane performance characteristics will be presented in the corresponding sections: 8.2 Steady, un-powered flight 8.3 Steady, powered, flight 8.4 Steady, powered, level flight ‘The methods in this chapter are concerned primarily with the level flight performance of air- planes, Methods to calculate climb performance, fieldlength performance, cruise and endurance performance and maneuvering performance are presented in Chapters 9 through 12 respectively. 8.1 DEFINITION OF ANGLES AND AXIS SYSTEMS Figure 8.1 shows how the most important angles and axis systems are defined. The reader should carefully note the meaning of several key words in the title of Figure 8.1: * ‘The word steady implies that no accelerations act on the airplane. Exceptions to this will be noted in Chapter 12. * The word symmetrical implies that the flight takes place at zero sideslip. * ‘The words straight line imply, that only straight line flight paths are assumed. Exceptions to this will be noted in Chapter 12. ‘The meaning of the symbols in Figure 8.1 should be clearly understood: U, __ isthe steady speed of the airplane relative to the air X, _ is the body fixed X-axis which points through the c.g. The selection of the orientation of this axis relative to the airframe is arbitrary. In transport airplane the X-axis is usually selected to be parallel to the cabin floor. is the body fixed Z-axis which points through the c.g. and is perpendicular to X, Chapter 8 331Fundamentals of Flight Performance X, © 6 is the pitch attitude angle © Gis the angle of attack © + is the Might path angle vy = RC Horizon Figure 8.1 Definition of Angles, Axes and Velocities in Steady, Symmetrical, Straight Line Flight X, is the stability X-axis which points through the c.g. and points along the steady state velocity vector, U; Zs is the stability 2-axis which points through the c.g, and is perpendicular to X, ‘The following angles are of key importance to in-flight performance: isthe airplane angle of attack, defined as the angle between X,,and U, © isthe airplane pitch attitude angle, defined as the angle between X,and the horizon y isthe flight path angle, defined as the angle between U, and the horizon A very important relationship, which is always satisfied and should be memorized is: @-a+% eb Tt should be noted, that the angles «, y, and @ as shown in Figure 8.1, are positive. The following velocity components are of key importance to inflight performance: Vy = RC __ isthe vertical velocity component, also called the rate-of-climb, RC. If the rate of climb is negative, it is called the rate-of-descent, RD. Note that if RC is negative, the flight path angle, y, is also negative. VE is the horizontal velocity component. The following relationship between speed, Uy. flight path angle, y, and ratc-of-climb, RC, must also be kept in mind: RC = U;siny (8.2) 332 Chapter 8Fundamental of Flight Performance A fundamental assumption which will be made in all performance discussions in this and subse- quent chapters is that the airplane is trimmed about all axes X, Y and Z in Figure 8.1. This means that the total pitching moment, rolling moment and yawing moment which act on the airplane are assumed to be zero. The drag effect of this was discussed in Chapter 5, Sub-section 5.2.10. Tt will also be assumed that the airplane does not undergo any acceleration in the Y-axis direc- tion. The net result of all this is that only equations in the X and Z axis directions are needed to de- scribe the performance characteristics of an airplane. Finally, the airplane is assumed to have no angular rates, with exceptions noted in Chapter 12. From a Newtonian viewpoint, the airplane is therefore treated as a point-mass model on which only forces (and no moments) can act. For amore general treatment of the equations of motion, the reader is referred to Chapter 1 of Reference 8.1 Figure 8.2 provides a definition of all forces which act on the airplane in steady, un-accelerated flight. Observe especially the thrust force at an inclination angle, . For most airplanes this angle is very small. Obviously, when thrust vectoring is used, it is not small. Note the body-fixed axis and the stability axis notations. Remember that stability axes are also body-fixed axes. R is the resultant aerodynamic force Figure 8.2 Definition of Forces in Steady, Symmetrical, Straight Line Flight Chapter 8 333Fundamentals of Flight Performance At can be seen from Figure 8.2 that a condition for in-flight equilibrium is; R+T+W-=o0 (8.3) For analytical purposes Eqn (8.3) is normally split into its two component forms in the stability axis system: Teos(a + oz) — D - Wsiny = 0 (4) and Tsin(a + py) + L — Weosy 0 (8.5) Substitution of the standard form for expressing lift, L and drag, D yields: Toos(a + 7) — CpgS — Wsiny and Tsin(a + oy) + CygS — Weosy 0 (8.6) 4 ° (7) Eqns (8.6) and (8.7) have seven variables which together completely define a steady state flight condition, These variables are: W, h (altitude through Q), a, gp. Vs, and T Innearly all reai world situations, the variables W, $-; and h (altitude) will be pre-selected. That leaves four variables in Eqns (8.6) and (8.7). Of these four variables, two must be arbitrarily se- lected, before the other two can be solved for from Eqns (8.6) and (8.7). Example cases of practical interest are: * Level flight(y = 0)atagiven speed, V. The magnitudes of required thrust, T, and the angle of attack, at, follow from Egns (8.6) and (8.7). * Flight at a given thrust, T, and any desired flight path angle, y,. The variables speed, V, and angle of attack, a, follow from Eqns (8.6) and (8.7). Itis instructive to examine first the case of un-powered flight. As will be seen (and totally ex- pected), in un-powered flight, maintaining altitude at constant speed is not possible. This yields the important glider design prohlem of finding that aerodynamic design which results in the lowest pos- sible rate-of-descent, RD. Un-powered flight is discussed in Section 8.2 while powered flight is discussed in Section 8,3. 334 Chapter 8Fundamental of Flight Performance 82 STEADY, UN-POWERED FLIGHT 8.2.1 EQUATIONS AND DEFINITIONS Figure 8.3 shows the forces which act on an airplane in un-powered flight. The angles shown in Figure 8.3 have been exaggerated for clarity, Since T=0 in this case, Eqn (8.3) yields: R+W=0 (8.8) Since R is the resultant of lift, L , and drag, D, it is possible to write: Figure 8.3 Forces Acting on an Airplane in Un-powered Flight cas = a8 /(Ch + Ch) = W 69) where: Cy is the resultant force coefficient, The vector relationship of Eqn (8.8) can be written in component form as: -D - Wsiny = 0 (8.19) and L — Weosy = 0 8.11) ‘Chapter & 335Fundamentals of Flight Performance ‘The reader should observe, that Eqns (8.10) and (8.11) can also be obtained from Eqns (8.6) and (8.7) by simply substituting: T=0. Because the flight path angle, y, is negative as shown in Figure 8.3, itis useful to introduce: ye-y (8.12) With this construct and upon introducing the usual drag and lift coefficients Eqns (8.10) and (8.11) can be re-written as: CpaS = Wsiny (8.13) and CGS = Weos? (8.14) Observe, that there are five variables in these two equations: W, h (altitude through 9), a, V, and y Since (in the absence of thermals) equilibrium flight can only be maintained in descending flight, altitude will in fact vary. However, since the objective of any gliding flight is to descend as slowly as possible, altitude will not change rapidly. Therefore, selecting altitude, although mathematically speaking fictitious, is a reasonable approximation. By selecting weight and altitude, three variables remain, one of which must be selected. It is physically evident, that to stay aloft as Long as possible in a glider, the numerical value of RD should be minimized. To cover the longest track (distance) along the ground, the numerical mag- nitude of the flight path angle, 7 (glide angle), should be minimized. Both cases are important in the design of gliders and in the conduct of power-off flight in powered airplanes. ‘The effect of aerodynamic design on the glide angle, 7 , the rate-of-descent, RD, and air-speed, V, are discussed in Sub-section 8.2.2. 8.2.2. GLIDE ANGLE, RATE-OF-DESCENT AND SPEED An expression for the glide angle, 7 , can be recovered from Eqn (8.13) and (8.14) by division: j tany = & i (8.15) hy ‘The speed in the glide, V, can be solved from Eqn (8.9) as: (8.16) 336 Chapter 8