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Aircraft Performance

Problems in Aircraft Performance


Aircraft Performance
as a subject is
concerned with
Maximum range
Maximum speed
Maximum endurance
Best rate of climb
Minimum takeoff distance To estimate
Minimum turn radius performance, we need to
etc. know how aerodynamic
forces and propulsive
forces vary with aircraft
velocity.
Aircraft in Steady, Level Flight
For an aircraft to be in steady (V = constant), level
flight, the forces must balance (no accelerations).

Recall that (neglecting compressibility effects)


Consider the DC-10 aircraft (Problem 4 from
Assignment 5).
Information we may want from this
graph:
What is the maximum speed of this aircraft at 35,000
ft?
What is the minimum speed of this aircraft at 35,000
ft?
At what speed should the DC-10 fly for maximum
range?
At what speed should the DC-10 fly for maximum
endurance?

To answer these, we must know how the DC-10 engine


performs at 35,000 ft.
DC-10 Powerplant

General Electric CF6-6


High-Bypass Ratio
Turbofan

Static Thrust at Sea Level: 40,000 lbs


Max Continuous Static Thrust at Sea Level:
32,000 lbs
Max Continuous Thrust at 35,000 ft: 9,600 lbs
*We will simplify engine performance by assuming thrust does
not vary with Mach number. In general, thrust decreases as
Mach number increases, especially at low altitude.
What is the aircrafts maximum speed at 35,000 ft?
Find where Tavail = D
Hard to tell from the figure. By extrapolation, we estimate
approximately 650 kts.
What is the aircrafts minimum speed at 35,000 ft?
About 250 kts according to the figure.

Must consider stalling speed:

Using an estimated CLmax = 1.5, Vstall = 436 ft/s or 258


kts.
Effect of Compressibility Drag
We see that the actual maximum cruising
speed at 35,000 ft is approximately 506 kts ( = 855
ft/s = Mach 0.88).

Now we concern ourselves with


how long can the aircraft stay in the air
(endurance)?
how far can the aircraft fly (range)?
Further properties of the turbofan
engine
Define the specific fuel consumption
c = weight of fuel burned/unit of thrust/time
Units of sfc are either
lbs fuel / lb thrust / hr, or
N fuel / N thrust / hr
Strictly speaking, the sfc is a function of throttle
setting. We will assume it is a constant (to simplify
the calculations).
The CF6-6D has c 0.6 lb/lb/hr
Newer engines have lower values for sfc.
The fuel flow is given by
Turbofan Aircraft Endurance
Let WI be the weight at the start of cruise and W0 be
the weight at the end of cruise then WI - W0 is the
fuel weight, Wf.
In steady, level flight, T = D, but the drag, and hence
the thrust, changes as the weight decreases (as fuel
is burned).
If the fuel flow (cT) remained constant, we could just
divide to get the total time in hours: (WI - W0 )/ cT
However, since the fuel flow does not remain
constant, we have to integrate to get the expression
for endurance.
Turbofan Aircraft Endurance, cont.
Using standard units, the expression for endurance is
in hours:

Note the following:


Arriving at this expression required that CL/ CD remains
constant throughout the flight
The speed for maximum endurance occurs at minimum
drag. Thus the speed for maximum endurance will change
throughout the flight.
The speed for minimum drag is the same as the speed for
maximum CL/ CD .
Example Problem
Estimate the maximum endurance of the DC-10
aircraft.
C = 0.6 lb fuel / lb thrust / hr
WI = 500,000 lb
W0 = 370,000 lb
You may assume that the L / D remains constant
throughout the flight.
Turbofan Aircraft Range
The range is the distance traveled on a tank of fuel.
To find the range, need to know the specific range:

Note that a unit conversion must be done to get SR in


consistent units. A typical unit for SR is Nmi / lb fuel:

If SR remained constant, we could multiply SR by Wf


to get total range in Nmi
Turbofan Aircraft Range, cont.
SR does not remain constant because the thrust required
changes as the weight changes (as fuel is burned).
Therefore, we must integrate to account for the change in
weight:

This is called the Breguet Range Equation for jets. It assumes


that V and L/D are constant throughout the flight. (Altitude must
change.)
Note that the formula in the book assumes that the altitude is
constant throughout the flight.
Note that the speed for best range occurs where V L/D is
maximized.
Example Problem
A DC-10 is begins its cruise at 35,000 feet. It weighs
500,000 lbs at the beginning of cruise and 370,000
lbs at the end of cruise.
Find the speed for best range for these starting conditions.
Find the maximum range of the aircraft.
How much time does it take to fly the maximum range?
Speed for minimum D

Speed for
minimum D/V

D
tan 1
V

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