WING THEORY

ASPECT RATIO TAPER RATIO

𝑏2 𝑏 𝑆 𝑐𝑡
𝐴= = = 𝜆=
𝑆 𝑐̅ 𝑐̅2 𝑐𝑟
MEAN AERODYNAMIC CHORD, MAC
2 𝜆2 +𝜆+1
𝑐̅ = 𝑐𝑟 ( )
3 𝜆+1
Geometric Wingspan, b – the distance between tip to tip of the wing,
measured perpendicular to the wing centerline, regardless of the geometric
shape of the wing
Sweep Angle, Λ – angle between a line perpendicular to the centerline and
the leading edge or the quarter chord line.

IMPORTANCE OF WING GEOMETRY PARAMETERS

Aspect Ratio – an increase of aspect ratio, increases wingspan. This will
decrease the effect of wing tip vortices.
Lower aspect ratio increases stalling angle. This is one reason why tails
tend to be of lower aspect ratio. Delaying tail stall after the wing stalls to
assure adequate control.
Wing Sweep – it is used to reduce the adverse effects of transonic and
supersonic flow. Shock formation on a wing is determined by the
chordwise flow. Swept wing introduces spanwise flow that decreases the
amount of chordwise flow and therefore delaying the formation of shock
waves allowing airplane to fly faster.

M>1
Shockwave
M<1
M<1
M>1 Shockwave
Shockwaves reduce lift and increase drag. Shockwaves appear when airflow
speed reaches the speed of sound i.e., M = 1 (critical Mach number)
Wing sweep also has a natural dihedral effect thus improves stability.
Taper Ratio – a tapered wing has a shorter tip chord compared to
rectangular wing. A shorter tip chord reduces the lift generated at the tips
therefore decreasing induced drag. Increasing the amount of taper i.e.,
reduce the taper ratio, will resemble the ideal lift distribution which is
elliptical lift distribution
Twist (Washout) – it is used to prevent tip stall and to revise lift distribution
to approximate an ellipse. When twisting a wing, the root airfoil must be
thicker and at higher incidence angle and the tip airfoil must be thinner and
at lower incidence angle. This is called washout.

Thicker airfoils stall at a lower angle of attack than a thinner airfoil. To stall
at the root first is the purpose of the washout or twist. Stalling first at the
root alerts the pilot while at the same time ailerons remain effective because
the flow is still attached at the tip.
 Wing Incidence – it is the pitch angle or setting angle of the wing with
respect to the fuselage. It is chosen to minimize drag at some operating
condition, usually at cruising condition.
Dihedral – the angle of the wing with respect to the horizontal as seen in
front. When an airplane rolls, sideslip will occur because of the bank angle.
The airplane slides toward the lowered wing which increases its angle of
attack thus producing a higher lift that returns the airplane at level position.
WING AERODYNAMIC FORCES AND MOMENT

𝐿 = 𝐶𝐿 𝑞̅𝑆 𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷 𝑞̅𝑆 𝑀 = 𝐶𝑚 𝑞̅𝑆𝑐̅

DOWNWASH AND INDUCED DRAG
Vortices tend to drag the surrounding air with them, and this secondary
movement induces a small velocity component of downward direction
called downwash. Downwash combines with the freestream velocity to
produce a local relative wind which is canted downward.
w – downwash velocity
V∞ – freestream velocity
Local relative wind = resultant of w and V∞
Di – induced drag
L – lift
INDUCED ANGLE OF ATTACK AND DRAG COEFFICIENT
𝐶𝐿 e = span efficiency factor
𝛼𝑖 =
𝜋𝐴𝑒 = Oswald’s efficiency factor
𝐶𝐿2 = 1, for elliptic lift distribution
𝐶𝐷 𝑖 =
𝜋𝐴𝑒 Ae = Aeff = effective aspect ratio
ASPECT RATIO CORRECTIONS
𝐶𝐿 1 1
𝛼1 = 𝛼2 + [( ) − ( ) ] , α is in radians.
𝜋 𝐴𝑒 1 𝐴𝑒 2
𝐶𝐿2 1 1
𝐶𝐷 1 = 𝐶𝐷 2 + [( ) − ( ) ]
𝜋 𝐴𝑒 1 𝐴𝑒 2
LIFT CURVE SLOPE
Finite Aspect Ratio to Finite Aspect Ratio
𝑎2
𝑎1 = 𝑎 1 1 , a is in per radians.
1+ 2 [( ) −( ) ]
𝜋 𝐴𝑒 1 𝐴𝑒 2
Infinite Aspect Ratio to Finite Aspect Ratio
𝑎∞
𝑎1 = 𝑎 , a is in per radians.
1+ ∞
𝜋𝐴𝑒
TOTAL DRAG COEFFICIENT FOR A WING
(𝑊/𝑏)2
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷 𝑂 + 𝐶𝐷 𝑖 𝐷𝑖 = 𝐶𝐷𝑖 𝑞̅𝑆 =
𝜋𝑒𝑞̅
𝐶𝐿2 𝐶𝐿2 1
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷 𝑂 + 𝐷𝑖 = ( ) ( 𝜌𝑉 2 𝑆)
𝜋𝐴𝑒 𝜋𝐴𝑒 2
 𝟑 𝟐
MAXIMUM 𝑪𝑳 /𝑪𝑫 MAXIMUM 𝑪𝑳 ⁄𝑪𝑫

𝐶𝐿 = √𝜋𝐴𝑒𝐶𝐷 𝑂 𝐶𝐿 = √3𝜋𝐴𝑒𝐶𝐷 𝑂
𝐶𝐷 𝑖 = 𝐶𝐷 𝑜 𝐶𝐷 𝑖 = 3𝐶𝐷 𝑜
𝐶𝐷 = 2𝐶𝐷 𝑂 𝐶𝐷 = 4𝐶𝐷 𝑂
𝐶𝐿 1 𝜋𝐴𝑒 𝐶𝐿3 3 3𝜋𝐴𝑒
= √ 2 = 𝜋𝐴𝑒√
𝐶𝐷 2 𝐶 𝐷𝑂 𝐶𝐷 16 𝐶𝐷 𝑂

UNPOWERED FLIGHT OR GLIDE

ℎ
𝑡=
𝑅𝐷

ℎ 𝐶𝐿
𝑅= ̅
= ℎ ( ) , maximum range for maximum 𝐶𝐶𝐷𝐿
tan 𝛾 𝐶𝐷
Glide Angle
1 𝐶𝐿
tan 𝛾̅ = 𝐶𝐿 , minimum glide angle for maximum 𝐶𝐷
𝐶𝐷
Airspeed

𝑊 2 1
𝑉 = √( ) ( ) ( ) cos 𝛾̅
𝑆 𝜌 𝐶 𝐿
Rate of Descent

𝑅𝐷 = 𝑉 sin 𝛾̅
𝐶𝐷 𝑊 2 1
𝑅𝐷 = cos 𝛾̅ √( 𝑆 ) (𝜌) (𝐶 ) cos 𝛾̅
𝐶𝐿 𝐿

𝑊 2 1 3 𝐶𝐿3
𝑅𝐷 = √( 𝑆 ) (𝜌) (𝐶 3 /𝐶 2 ) cos 𝛾̅ , minimum RD for maximum 𝐶𝐷2
𝐿 𝐷

LEVEL FLIGHT CONDITIONS

𝐿=𝑊 𝑇=𝐷 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷 = 𝐷𝑉

𝑅. 𝐶. = 0 = 𝛾 𝑃𝐴𝑉 = 𝑇𝑉 𝑃𝐴𝑉 = 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷

LEVEL FLIGHT SPEED DRAG IN LEVEL FLIGHT

𝑊 2 1 𝑊
𝑉 = √( ) ( ) ( ) 𝑇=𝐷=
𝑆 𝜌 𝐶 𝐿 𝐶𝐿 /𝐶𝐷
POWER REQUIRED

𝑊 𝑊 2 1
𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷 = √( 𝑆 ) (𝜌) (𝐶 )
𝐶𝐿 /𝐶𝐷 𝐿

𝑊 2 1
𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷 = 𝑊 √( ) ( ) ( )
𝑆 𝜌 𝐶𝐿3 /𝐶𝐷
2

𝑊 2 𝐶𝐷
𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷 = 𝑊 √( ) ( ) ∙ 3/2
𝑆 𝜌 𝐶𝐿
MINIMUM DRAG

𝐶𝐷 𝑂
𝐷𝑀𝐼𝑁 = 2𝐷𝑂 = 2𝑊 √
𝜋𝐴𝑒
SPEED AT MINIMUM DRAG

𝑊 2 1
𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔 = √( ) ( ) ( )
𝑆 𝜌 √𝜋𝐴𝑒𝐶𝐷 𝑂
POWER REQUIRED AT MINIMUM DRAG

𝑊 2 𝐶𝐷 𝑂
𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔 = 2𝑊 √( ) ( ) √(
𝑆 𝜌 𝜋𝐴𝑒 )3

POWER AVAILABLE

𝑇𝐻𝑃𝐴𝑉 = 𝜂𝑝 𝐵𝐻𝑃
MINIMUM POWER REQUIRED

4 𝑊 2 3𝐶𝐷 𝑂
𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑊 √( ) ( ) √(
3 𝑆 𝜌 𝜋𝐴𝑒 )3

SPEED AT MINIMUM REQUIRED POWER

𝑊 2 1
𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑃 = √( ) ( ) ( )
𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑑 𝑆 𝜌 √3𝜋𝐴𝑒𝐶𝐷 𝑂

DRAG AT MINIMUM POWER REQUIRED

𝐶𝐷 𝑂 3𝐶𝐷 𝑂
𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑃 = 𝑊√ + 𝑊√
𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑑 3𝜋𝐴𝑒 𝜋𝐴𝑒
THRUST HORSEPOWER REQUIRED

𝑊 𝑊 2 1
𝑇𝐻𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷 = √ ( ) ( ) ( 3 2)
550 𝑆 𝜌 𝐶 /𝐶 𝐿 𝐷

At Sea Level

𝑊 𝑊 2 1
𝑇𝐻𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷𝑂 = 𝑇𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷𝑂 𝑉𝑂 = √( 𝑆 ) (𝜌) ( 3 2 )
550 𝐶𝐿 /𝐶𝐷
At altitudes
𝑉𝑂 𝑇𝐻𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷𝑂
𝑉= ; 𝑇𝐻𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷 =
√𝜎 √𝜎
RATE OF CLIMB

𝑊 ∙ 𝑅. 𝐶. = 𝑇𝑉 − 𝐷𝑉 = 𝑃𝐴𝑉 − 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷
𝑇𝐻𝑃𝐴𝑉 −𝑇𝐻𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑄𝐷
𝑅. 𝐶. = 𝑅. 𝐶.
𝑊 𝛾 = sin ( −1
)
𝑊 ∙ 𝑅. 𝐶. = 𝑃𝐶𝐿 = 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑏 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑉
CEILINGS AND TIME TO CLIMB Best climb angle,
𝑅.𝐶.
γmax, for ( )
𝑉 𝑚𝑎𝑥

By ratio and proportion: Time to climb to h

𝐻(𝑅.𝐶.𝑜 −𝑅.𝐶.𝐻𝑆 ) 𝐻 𝐻
𝐻𝑆 = 𝑡= ln
𝑅.𝐶.𝑜 𝑅.𝐶.𝑜 𝐻−ℎ
ℎ𝑅.𝐶.𝑜
𝐻=
𝑅.𝐶.𝑜 −𝑅.𝐶.ℎ
TAKE-OFF AND LANDING PERFORMANCE
Take-off Phases of Flight Landing Phases of Flight
1. Accelerating ground run 1. Descent
2. Rotation 2. Flare
3. Lift-off 3. Touchdown
4. Climb out 4. Decelerating ground
SPEED IN TAKE-OFF PHASES run

𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 = 1.1𝑉𝑆
for military and commercial aircraft
𝑉𝐶𝐿 = 1.2𝑉𝑆
𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 = 1.1𝑉𝑆
for civil aircraft
𝑉𝐶𝐿 = 1.1𝑉𝑆

SPEED IN LANDING PHASES

𝑉𝐴 = 1.2𝑉𝑆 (𝐿)
for military aircraft
𝑉𝑇𝐷 = 1.2𝑉𝑆 (𝐿)
𝑉𝐴 = 1.3𝑉𝑆 (𝐿)
for civil and commercial aircraft
𝑉𝑇𝐷 = 1.15𝑉𝑆 (𝐿)

GROUND DISTANCE METHOD 1 (zero wind speed)

2
𝑊 𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹
𝑆𝐺 = ( )
2𝑔 𝐹𝑚
𝐹𝑠 +𝐹𝐿𝑂𝐹
𝐹𝑚 = = 𝑘𝐹𝑠 , average net force for acceleration
2
𝐹
1− 𝐿𝑂𝐹
𝐹 𝑠
𝑘= 𝐹𝑠
ln𝐹
𝐿𝑂𝐹
 𝐹𝑆 = 𝑇 − 𝜇𝑊 − 𝑊𝜙
𝐹𝐿𝑂𝐹 = 𝑇 − 𝐷 − 𝜇 (𝑊 − 𝐿) − 𝑊𝜙 At V = VLOF
𝐹𝐿𝑂𝐹 = 𝑇 − 𝜇𝑊 − (𝐶𝐷 − 𝜇𝐶𝐿 )𝑞̅𝑆 − 𝑊𝜙 & 𝑉 = 𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 /√2
𝐶𝐿 𝛼(𝐼𝐺𝐸)
𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶𝐿 (𝐼𝐺𝐸) = 𝐶𝐿 (𝑂𝐺𝐸) − 𝐶𝐿 𝛼(𝐼𝐺𝐸) Δ𝛼𝑂
𝐶𝐿 𝛼(𝑂𝐺𝐸)

2𝜋𝐴
𝐶𝐿 𝛼(𝑂𝐺𝐸) = , per radian
𝐴2 𝛽2 tan2 Λ𝑐/2
2+√ 2 (1+ )+4
𝑘 𝛽2

2𝜋𝐴𝑒𝑓𝑓
𝐶𝐿 𝛼(𝐼𝐺𝐸) = , per radian
𝐴2
𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝛽
2 tan2 Λ𝑐/2
2+√ (1+ )+4
𝑘2 𝛽2

𝐴 2ℎ
= 𝑓 ( ) , in Fig. 7
𝐴𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝑏

𝛽 2 = 1 − 𝑀∞
2

𝑎∞
𝑘= 2𝜋 𝑎∞ = 2𝜋 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛
𝛽

𝑡 3.5655 0.1177
∆𝛼∞ = [ − (ℎ/𝑐̅)2 ] , in deg. 𝜎 ′ = 𝑓(ℎ/𝑏)
𝑐 ℎ/𝑐̅

𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 𝐶𝐷 (𝑂𝐺𝐸) + ∆𝐶𝐷 𝑖 1−1.32ℎ/𝑏

𝜎′ =
1.05+7.4ℎ/𝑏
2
𝐶𝐷
(𝑂𝐺𝐸)
∆𝐶𝐷 𝑖 = −𝜎 ′ For 0.033 < h/b < 0.25
𝜋𝐴𝑒

GROUND DISTANCE METHOD 2 (non-zero wind speed)

𝑊 (𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 ±𝑉𝑊 )2
𝑆𝐺 =
2𝑔 𝐹𝑚𝑤
2
𝑉𝑊
𝐹
(1− 𝐿𝑂𝐹 )(1− )
𝐹𝑠 𝑉2
𝐿𝑂𝐹
𝐹𝑚𝑤 = 𝑘𝑤 𝐹𝑠 𝑘𝑤 = 𝑉2 𝑉2
𝐹
ln[ 𝑠 (1− 2𝑊 )+ 𝐿𝑂𝐹 ]
𝐹𝐿𝑂𝐹 𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 𝑉2
𝑊

TAKE-OFF TIME
𝑡𝑇𝑂𝑇𝐴𝐿 = 𝑡𝐺 + 𝑡𝑅 + 𝑡(𝑇𝑅+𝐶𝐿)
 𝑊 𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 ±𝑉𝑊
𝑡𝐺 =
𝑔 [(𝑇−𝑊)−(𝐶𝐷 −𝐶𝐿 )𝑞̅𝑆−𝜑]𝑉=𝑉
𝐿𝑂𝐹 /√2
𝑡𝑅 = 1 𝑡𝑜 3 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 (𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑡)
𝑆𝐶𝐿
𝑆𝑇𝑅 +
cos 𝜃𝐶𝐿
𝑡(𝑇𝑅+𝐶𝐿) =
𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹

APPROXIMATE METHOD FOR ROTATION DISTANCE

2
𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹
𝑆𝑇𝑅 = 𝑅 sin 𝜃𝐶𝐿 𝑅= 𝑉2 𝐶𝐿 𝑇𝑅
𝑔[( 𝐿𝑂𝐹 )( )−1]
𝑉2𝑆
𝐶𝐿 𝑚𝑎𝑥

𝐶𝐿 𝑇𝑅
𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 0.8
𝐶𝐿 𝑚𝑎𝑥

𝑇−𝐷 𝑉𝑆 2
𝜃𝐶𝐿 ≈ ( ) , in radians 𝐶𝐿 𝑇𝑅 = 𝐶𝐿 𝑚𝑎𝑥 ( )
𝑊 𝑉=𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹

APPROXIMATE METHOD FOR CLIMB DISTANCE

50−ℎ𝑇𝑅 𝑆𝑇𝑅
𝑆𝐶𝐿 = ℎ 𝑇𝑅 = (1 − cos 𝜃𝐶𝐿 )
tan 𝜃𝐶𝐿 sin 𝜃𝐶𝐿
AIR DISTANCE
𝑊 𝑉𝐴2 −𝑉𝑇𝐷
2
ℎ𝐹 𝑅′𝛾 ℎ𝐹 𝑉𝐹2 𝛾
𝑆𝐴 = ( + ℎ𝐹 ) 𝑆𝐴 = + 𝑆𝐴 = +
𝐷−𝑇 2𝑔 𝛾 2 𝛾 2𝑔(𝑛−1)
𝑉𝐴 = 1.3𝑉𝑆 (𝐿) 𝑉𝑇𝐷 = (1.10 − 1.15)𝑉𝑆 (𝐿)

1 𝐶𝐿2
𝐷 = 𝐷𝐴 = 𝐶𝐷 𝐴 𝜌𝑉𝐴2 𝑆 𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷 𝐴 = 𝐶𝐷 𝑜 + 𝐴
2 𝜋𝐴𝑒
𝑊
𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶𝐿 𝐴 = 1 ℎ𝐹 = 50 𝑓𝑡
𝜌𝑉𝐴2 𝑆
2
𝐷−𝑇 𝐶𝐷 𝑇
𝛾≈( ) = − , in radians
𝑊 𝑉=𝑉𝐴 𝐶𝐿 𝑊
FREE ROLL DISTANCE
𝑆𝐹𝑅 = 𝑡𝐹𝑅 𝑉𝑇𝐷 ; 𝑡𝐹𝑅 = 0 𝑡𝑜 3 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 (𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑡)
BRAKING DISTANCE
𝐴𝑡 𝑉𝑤 = 0
2
𝑊 𝑉𝑇𝐷 𝐹𝑠 −𝐹𝑇𝐷
𝑆𝐵 = ( ) 𝐹𝑚 = 𝐹 𝐹𝑠 = 𝜇𝑊 − 𝑇𝑒 + 𝑊𝜑
2𝑔 𝐹𝑚 ln 𝑠
𝐹𝑇𝐷

𝐹𝑇𝐷 = (𝜇𝑊 − 𝑇𝑒) − (𝐶𝐿 − 𝐶𝐷 )𝑞̅𝑆 + 𝑊𝜑 At V = VTD

𝐴𝑡 𝑉𝑤 ≠ 0
𝑉2
(𝐹𝑠 −𝐹𝑇𝐷 )(1− 2𝑤 )
𝑊 (𝑉𝐿𝑂𝐹 ±𝑉𝑊 )2 𝑉𝑇𝐷
𝑆𝐵 = 𝐹𝑚𝑤 = 𝑉2 𝑉2
2𝑔 𝐹𝑚𝑤 𝐹𝑠
ln[ (1− 2 )+ 2𝑤 ]
𝑤
𝐹𝑇𝐷 𝑉𝑇𝐷 𝑉𝑇𝐷

RANGE (PROPELLER-DRIVEN AIRPLANES)

𝜂𝑝 𝐶𝐿 𝑊𝑜
𝑅 = ( ) ( ) ln ( )
𝑐 𝐶𝐷 𝑊1
Maximum range for following conditions:
 Fly at maximum L/D.
 Have the highest possible propeller efficiency.
 Have the lowest possible specific fuel consumption
 Have the highest possible ratio of gross weight to empty
weight (i.e., carry a lot of fuel)
 𝜂𝑝 𝐶𝐿 𝑊𝑜
𝑅(𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠) = 375 ( ) ( ) ln ( )
𝑐 𝐶𝐷 𝑊1

Where:
𝑙𝑏
𝑐 = 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
𝑏ℎ𝑝∙ℎ𝑟
𝑊 = 𝑙𝑏 𝑊1 = 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 𝑊0 − 𝑊𝑓

ENDURANCE (PROPELLER-DRIVEN AIRPLANES)

3/2
𝜂𝑝 𝐶𝐿 1 1
𝐸 = ( )( ) (√2𝜌𝑆) ( − )
𝑐 𝐶𝐷 √𝑊1 √𝑊𝑂

Maximum endurance for following conditions:

3/2
 Fly at maximum 𝐶𝐿3 /𝐶𝐷2 or 𝐶𝐿 /𝐶𝐷 .
 Have the highest possible propeller efficiency.
 Have the lowest possible specific fuel consumption.
 Have the highest possible difference between 𝑊𝑂 and
𝑊1 (i.e., carry a lot of fuel).
 Fly at sea level, where density is the largest value.
 3/2
𝜂𝑝 𝐶𝐿 1 1
𝐸 (ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠) = 778 ( ) ( ) (√𝜌𝑆) ( − )
𝑐 𝐶𝐷 √𝑊1 √𝑊𝑂

Where:
𝑙𝑏
𝑐= 𝜌 = 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔/𝑓𝑡 3
𝑏ℎ𝑝∙ℎ𝑟

𝑊 = 𝑙𝑏 𝑆 = 𝑓𝑡 2
𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 (𝐶𝐿3 /𝐶𝐷2 )𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐶𝐿3 3 3𝜋𝐴𝑒
( 2)
𝐶𝐷
=
16
𝜋𝐴𝑒√ 𝐶
𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐷𝑂

RANGE (JET-PROPELLED AIRPLANES)

1/2
22 𝐶𝐿
𝑅= √ (√𝑊𝑂 − √𝑊1 )
𝑐𝑡 𝜌𝑆 𝐶𝐷

Where:
𝑙𝑏 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙
𝑐𝑡 = 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = (
𝑙𝑏 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡)(ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 )

Maximum range for following conditions:

1/2
 Fly at maximum 𝐶𝐿 /𝐶𝐷 .
 Have the lowest possible thrust specific fuel consumption
 Fly at high altitude, where density is small.
 Carry a lot of fuel.
 𝟏/𝟐
𝑴𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝑪𝑳 /𝑪𝑫
1
𝐶𝐿 = √ 𝜋𝐴𝑒 𝐶𝐷0
3

𝐶𝐷0 = 3𝐶𝐷𝑖
𝐶𝐷 = 4𝐶𝐷𝑖
1/2 1/4
𝐶𝐿 3 𝜋𝐴𝑒
( ) = ( 3 )
𝐶𝐷 𝑚𝑎𝑥 4 3𝐶𝐷0

𝑊 2 1
𝑉(𝐶 1/2/𝐶 = √( ) ( ) ( )
𝐿 𝐷) 𝑆 𝜌 1
𝑚𝑎𝑥 √ 𝜋𝐴𝑒 𝐶𝐷0
3

ENDURANCE (JET-PROPELLED AIRPLANES)

1 𝐶𝐿 𝑊0
𝐸= ( ) ln ( )
𝑐𝑡 𝐶𝐷 𝑊1
Maximum endurance for following conditions:
 Fly at maximum CL/CD.
 Have the lowest possible thrust specific fuel
consumption.
 Have the highest possible ratio of W0 and W1 (i.e., carry
a lot of fuel)
CENTRIPETAL FORCE

2 𝑉2 𝑊 𝑉2
𝑎=𝜔 𝑅= 𝐶. 𝐹. = = 𝑊√𝑛2 − 1
𝑅 𝑔 𝑅
MINIMUM RADIUS MINIMUM RADIUS
𝑊
23.56
𝑆 𝑉𝑆2
𝑅= 𝑅𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
𝜎 𝑔
BANKING

𝐶.𝐹.
tan 𝛽 =
𝑊
𝑉2
tan 𝛽 =
𝑔𝑅

𝑊 = 𝐿 cos 𝛽
𝑉2
𝑅=
𝑔√𝑛2 −1

TIME FOR 360° TURN MINIMUM SPEED IN TURNS

2𝜋𝑅 2𝜋𝑉 𝑉𝑆
𝑡= 𝑡= 𝑉𝑆′ =
𝑉 𝑔 tan 𝛽 √cos 𝛽
LOAD FACTORS

2.5<n<3.8 , for normal category

 2.5<n<4.4 , for utility category
2.5<n<6.0 , for acrobatic category
𝐿 𝑘𝑈𝑉𝑎
𝑛= 𝑛 =1+ 𝑊 , due to gust
𝑊 575
𝑆
Horizontal Turns U = nominal gust velocity, ft/s
V = airplane velocity, mph
𝑉4
𝑛 = √1 + ( ) a = lift curve slope, /rad.
𝑔2 𝑅 2 1
1 𝑊 4
𝑛 = sec 𝛽 𝑘 = ( ) , W/S<16 psf
2 𝑆
Dives and Pull-outs 2.67
𝑘 = 1.33 − 3 , W/S>16 psf
𝑊 4
𝑉2 ( )
𝑛= 𝑆
𝑉𝑆2
MANEUVERING LOAD FACTOR
1
24,000 ±𝐶𝑁 𝐴 𝜌𝑉 2
2
+𝑛 = 2.1 + ±𝑛 = 𝑊
𝑊+10,000
𝑆

−𝑛 = 0.4𝑛 , for normal and utility category

−𝑛 = 0.5𝑛 , for acrobatic category
PULL-UP MANEUVER PULL-DOWN MANEUVER
𝑉2 𝑉2
𝑅 = ( ) 𝑅 = ( )
𝑔 𝑛−1 𝑔 𝑛+1
𝑔(𝑛−1) 𝑔(𝑛+1)
𝜔 = 𝜔 =
𝑉 𝑉
DESIGN MANEUVERING SPEED DESIGN CRUISING SPEED

𝑉𝐴 = 𝑉𝑆 √𝑛 𝑉𝐶 𝑑𝑒𝑠 = 0.9𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑊
𝑉𝐶 𝑚𝑖𝑛 (𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑠) = 33√ , for normal and utility category
𝑆

𝑊
𝑉𝐶 𝑚𝑖𝑛 (𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑠) = 36√ , for acrobatic category
𝑆

DESIGN DIVE SPEED

𝑉𝐷 = 1.4𝑉𝐶 𝑚𝑖𝑛 , for normal category

𝑉𝐷 = 1.5𝑉𝐶 𝑚𝑖𝑛 , for utility category
𝑉𝐷 = 1.55𝑉𝐶 𝑚𝑖𝑛 , for acrobatic category

Speed
Max Best Speed
Max for Best
Altitude R.C. Climb for Max
Speed Climb
Angle R.C.
Angle
ℎ 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅. 𝐶.𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝛾𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑉𝑦 𝑉𝑥
increasing increasing
(as TAS) (as TAS)
increasing decreasing decreasing decreasing
decreasing constant
(as IAS) (as IAS)
 1
𝑉𝑆 < 𝑉𝑥 < 𝑉𝑦 𝑉𝑀𝑃 < 𝑉𝑀𝐷 𝑉∝
𝛼
𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑡ℎ 1 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ
𝑉 ∝ 𝛾, ( , 𝛾) 𝑉∝ ,( , 𝜃)
𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝜃 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒

𝑉𝑆 < 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 < 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒

3⁄2 1⁄2
𝐶𝐿 𝐶𝐿 𝐶𝐿
𝑉𝐶 3⁄2⁄𝐶 < 𝑉𝐶𝐿⁄𝐶𝐷 < 𝑉𝐶 1⁄2⁄𝐶 < <
𝐿 𝐷 𝐿 𝐷 𝐶𝐷 𝐶𝐷 𝐶𝐷

(𝐶𝐿 )𝐶 1⁄2⁄𝐶 < (𝐶𝐿 )𝐶𝐿⁄𝐶𝐷 < (𝐶𝐿 )𝐶 3⁄2⁄𝐶

𝐿 𝐷 𝐿 𝐷

𝛼𝐶 1⁄2⁄𝐶 < 𝛼𝐶𝐿⁄𝐶𝐷 < 𝛼𝐶 3⁄2⁄𝐶

𝐿 𝐷 𝐿 𝐷

𝜃
𝛾
BIPLANE INDUCED DRAG
The added induced drag on one of the wings caused by the
other wing is, by Prandtl,
𝜎𝐿1 𝐿2
𝜋𝑞̅𝑏1 𝑏2
Total induced drag,
𝐿21 𝜎𝐿1 𝐿2 𝐿22
𝐷𝑖 = +2 +
𝜋𝑞̅𝑏12 𝜋𝑞̅𝑏1 𝑏2 𝜋𝑞̅𝑏22
𝐿2 𝜇2 +2𝜎𝜇𝑟+𝑟 2
𝐷𝑖 = [ 2 ( )2 ]
𝜋𝑞̅𝑏12 𝜇 1+𝑟

Induced drag coefficient,

𝐶𝐿2 𝑆 𝜇2 +2𝜎𝜇𝑟+𝑟 2
𝐶𝐷 𝑖 = [ 2 ( )2 ]
𝜋𝑏12 𝜇 1+𝑟
𝐶𝐿2
𝐶𝐷𝑖 = (𝑐12 + 2𝜎𝑐1 𝑐2 + 𝑐22 )
𝜋𝑆

Equivalent Monoplane Aspect Ratio of a biplane,

𝑏12 𝜇2 (1+𝑟 )2 𝑏2
𝐸. 𝑀. 𝐴. 𝑅 = [ ] 𝜇=
𝑆 𝜇2 +2𝜎𝜇𝑟+𝑟 2 𝑏1
𝑆 𝐿2 𝑆2
𝐸. 𝑀. 𝐴. 𝑅 = 𝑟= =
(𝑐12 +2𝜎𝑐1 𝑐2 +𝑐22 ) 𝐿1 𝑆1
If c1 = c2,
 𝑆
𝐸. 𝑀. 𝐴. 𝑅 =
2𝑐 2 (1+𝜎 )
Where:
σ = Prandtl’s Interference Factor
= dependent on ratio of gap and mean span
L1 = lift of one wing (long span)
b1 = span of one wing (long span)
L2 = lift of the other wing (short span)
b2 = span of the other wing (short span)
𝑞̅ = dynamic pressure
1
𝑞̅ = 𝜌𝑉 2
2
c1 = chord of one wing (long span)
c2 = chord of the other wing (short span)
S = total wing area
r = ratio of shorter span lift to the longer span lift
𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝐿2
𝑟= =
𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝐿1
L = total lift
𝐿 = 𝐿1 + 𝐿2 = 𝐿1 + 𝑟𝐿1 = 𝐿1 (1 + 𝑟)
μ = ratio of shorter span to the longer span
𝑏2
𝜇=
𝑏1