AIRCRAFT

CHARACTERISTICS!
PRESENTATION

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Aircraft, noun
A machine (such as airplane or
helicopter) that flies through the air.
—Merriam Webster Dictionary

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LECTURE OUTLINE

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Aircraft Influence of
Characteristi Aircraft
cs Characteristi
cs

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 1
AIRCRAFT
CHARACTERISTICS
 AIRCRAFT
CHARACTERIS
TICS
1. Engine Type and Propulsion
2. Size of aircraft
3. Aircraft weight and wheel configuration
4. Minimum Turning Radius
5. Speed
6. Minimum Circling Radius
7. Capacity 5
1 Engine Type and
Propulsion
• Propulsion may be through any type of engine –
• Piston engine, Jet engine (Turbo jet, turbo
propulsion or Ram jet), or Rocket engine
• These
may provide speed as high as 500 km/hr,
800 km/hr, 1280 – 2400 km/hr, 4600 km/hr
respectively
• The
aircraft may operate at low, low to high,
middle altitudes. Ram jet is used in missiles and
rocket engine is used for outside atmospheric 6
2 Size of Aircraft
• This is defined using basic parameters like:
• fuselage length (from nose to tail)
• gear tread (distance between main gears)
• height (at tail)
• tail width
• wheel base (distance between nose gear and
main gear) and
• wing span (near main gear)
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8
 AIRCRAFT weight and

3 wheel confi guration

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3 Aircraft weight
•Operating Empty weight (OEW) - a
•Pay-load (PL) - b
•Zero-Fuel weight (ZFW) – c = a+b
•Maximum Structural Pay-load
= (ZFW –OEW) > b
•Maximum Ramp Weight (MRW): Apron
to Runway end
•Trip Fuel Weight (TFW)
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3 Aircraft weight
•Maximum Gross Take-off weight
(MGTOW)-d
•Maximum Structural Take-off weight
(MSTOW): at sea level, Temp. 15oC, Standard
Design Wheel weight
•Maximum Structural landing weight
(MSLW): e Weight for which landing gear is
designed
•Landing weight < MSLW
•Take-off weight < MSTOW 11
3 wheel configuration

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3 Aircraft weight and wheel
configuration

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4 Minimum Turning
Radius
•Angle of Rotation –Angle made by nose gear
with the axis of main gear while turning
•The maximum angle of rotation is around 50 –60
degrees
•Point of Rotation -The point of intersection of
axis of main gear and line through axis of steered
nose gear
•The line joining the center of rotation and the tip
of farthest wing of the aircraft is known as the
minimum turning radius

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4 Minimum Turning
Radius
•Minimum Turning
Radius
•R = WB*Tan(90 -) +
t/2
•WB = Wheel Base
•  = Steering angle
•t = Wheel track
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5 Minimum Circling
Radius
- This is the radius in space
required for the aircraft to take a
smooth turn. It depends upon
•Type of aircraft
•Air traffic volume
•Weather condition

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6 Speed
• Speed of aircraft relative to the medium
(i.e. air), depending upon air density
• Indicated speed –indicated by the
instrument on board
• This is around 2 percent lower than the
true speed at each 330 m (1000ft) above
sea level

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6 Speed

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6 Speed
• Speed of aircraft relative to the ground
• Air speed = Ground speed (+/-) wind
velocity
• Mach 1 ~ equivalent to speed of sound
• Speed of sound = 33.4 T0.5miles per hr
• T = Temperature in degree Rankine
• 1 knot = 1 naum/h (1 nautm = 6080ft =
1.15 land mile)
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6 Speed

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7 Capacity
• Defined as the number of passengers and
amount of cargo it can handle
• Dependent up on
•Size and design of an aircraft
•Propulsive power of aircraft
•Speed of aircraft

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8 Noise
• This is a big problem in the areas where
airports are quite near to the developed
areas.

Major sources of noise are

• Engine
• Machinery (prominent during landing)
• Primary jet (prominent during take-off)
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8 Noise
Disturbances are much more sever during
take-off than during landing
• Since the inception of the jet engines, the
noise has reduced due to technological
advancement
• Aircraft noise is less damaging than road
traffic noise.

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9 Vortices at tail ends
• Vortices are made up of two counter
rotating cylindrical masses extending
along the flight path
• These are formed near the tail ends of the
wings or tail end of the aircraft
• The velocity of wind in these vortices may
be very high

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10 Jet Blast
• This is the blast that comes out of the jet
engine at the rear of the aircraft to provide
it force for movement.

• Its severity depends up on:

Height of the tail pipe from the round
Angle of the tail pipe

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11 Fuel Spillage
Spilling of fuel occurs when the
engine is shut down or is losing speed

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 2
INFLUENCE OF
AIRCRAFT CHARACTERISTICS
 Engine
Type &
Propulsion
• Size of aircraft
• Speed of aircraft
• Length of runway
• Weight
• Carrying capacity
• Noise nuisance
• Circling radius 28
 Size of
Aircraft
• Load carrying capacity
• Facilities like size of apron, terminal area, etc
• Wing span – taxiway width, separation between
traffic lanes, size of gate, apron size, width of
hanger gate
• Length –widening of taxiway on curves, size of
apron, hangers, aircraft capacity, width of exit
taxiway 29
 Size of
Aircraft

• Height – height of hangar gate, etc.

• Tail width –size of parking and apron
• Wheel base –minimum radius of taxiway
• Gear tread –minimum turning radius

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Aircraft Weight
& Wheel
Configuration

• Thickness of runway, taxiway, apron.

• Distribution of load through wheels.
- 5% on nose gear and rest on landing gears
• Generation revenue
• Turning
• Stability
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 Min.
Turning
Radius
• Radius of taxiways.
• Position in the landing aprons and hangers.
• Path of nose and main gears.

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 Min.
Circling
Radius
• Separation of two nearby airports.
• Adjustments of timings of landing and take-off
aircrafts.
• Airport capacity.
• Zoning laws relating to height of an obstruction
(in turning zone area)

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 Speed

• Reduced journey times

• Increase in frequency of operations
• Broadening of air network

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 Capacity

• Facilities like processing terminals

• Passenger and baggage handling
• Cargo processing
• Need of equipment
• Size of apron
• Range proportional to Payload
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 Noise

• Sleep disturbances, startle

• Annoyance
• Health risks, deafness, heart attack, etc
• Loss of Concentration, attentiveness

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 VORTICES
AT TAIL
ENDS
• Hazardous to the following aircraft due to tail
vortices and wing vortices
Tangential velocities ~ weight of aircraft and
inversely proportional to speed
• More intense when near the airport
• Stresses at the joints with fuselage
• Pressure on or under the wings producing lifts or
drags 37
JET BLASTS

• Inconvenience, discomfort or ever injury to

passengers
• Wake velocities and hot exhaust gas may
harm nearby aircraft (if directed towards it)

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 FUEL
SPILLAGE
• Seriously affects the bituminous pavement
• Slip of wheels

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