PSN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

(An Autonomous Institution)

Melathediyoor, Tirunelveli-627 152.
(Approved by AICTE, New Delhi and Recognised by UGC Under Section 2 (f))
An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Institution
(Accredited by NBA and NAAC, Affiliated to Anna University)
Web Site: www.psncet.ac.in, E-Mail: [email protected]
DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
EXTERNAL QUESTIONS – ANSWERS

201014 – AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE

PART – A

OCT / NOV 2018 [201014] Q.N -1

1. What are the factors which decide the flying path of an airplane as a
rigid body?
Airplane as a rigid body its flying path is decided by ,
 Its inertia characteristic.
 Earth‘s acceleration due to gravity
 Propulsive force generated by power plant
 Aerodynamic forces (L&D) and moments created on it due to the
reaction between airplane and air.
2. Name some factors affecting Drag.
 Angle of attack
Angle of attack increase the drag.
 Motion of air
Drag actually varies with the square of the relative velocity
between the object and the air.
 Object geometry
Drag produces (depends) linearly on the size of object moving
through the air.
 Properties of air
Pressure, temperature, viscosity, compressibility, density these are
properties affect in drag.

1
3. Define equivalent airspeed and write its Equation.
Equivalent airspeed (EAS) is defined as the speed at sea level, under ISA
conditions that would produce the same incompressible dynamic pressure
that is produced at the true airspeed and the altitude at which the vehicle is
flying.
EAS = TAS x √𝜌/𝜌0
Where,
𝜌= Actual air density
𝜌0= Standard sea level density (1.225 Kg / m3)
EAS = Function of dynamic pressure
4. Define Stalling speed.
The speed of an airplane in steady flight at its maximum lift coefficient.
5. What is the impact of acceleration in R/C as compared to non-
accelerating climb?
Angle of climb is related to R/C as Sin = (R/C ) /V.
Also Sin =(T-D-F1)/W
Where
 T is thrust ,
 D- drag and
 F1 -inertia for acceleration
Then R/C (m/s) = V(T-D-F1)/W --(1) And
R/C without acceleration =V(T-D)/W --(2)
If acceleration is not considered (2), the R/C will be higher than R/C with
acceleration (1). That is the time to climb to a particular altitude will be
higher by 25 - 30% than that of without acceleration .
6. Define range and endurance of an airplane.
For an airplane-engine combination, the range (R- km ) may be determined
By multiplying the total fuel (F-kg) available by the average km traveled per
kg of fuel consumed .
ie; R (km) = F(kg) * (km/kg )
Similarly for an airplane -engine combination, the endurance (E-hrs) may be
computed by dividing the total fuel (kg) available by the average
consumption of fuel in kg/hr .
ie ; E (hrs) = F (kg) /(kg/hr)

2
7. Explain the significance of load factor.
Load factor (n) is defined as the lift (L) divided by the weight (W) at
the stalling speed corresponding to CLmax.
Any attempt to increase the lift by further increasing the angle of
attack will result in the reduction of CL and increase of CD.
This will result in increase of thrust required to maintain the flight at
lower speed.
Hence a load factor of 1, at CLmax, only feasible provided enough
power is available.
8. How load factor (L/W) is related to bank angle?
During turning, the bank angle is related to Lift (L) and weight (W) as
follows: L Sin = C.F = 2 W v g R.
i.e, Sin = 2 2 1 v W v gR L gR
Loadfactor = Hence bank angle decreases when load factor (L/W) increases.
9. What is meant by aileron reversal speed?
 The deflection of the aileron will create a pitching moment tending to
twist the wing.
 When the wing twists it rotates in a direction tending to reduce the
rolling moment created by the aileron.
 When the speed is high enough, a point can be reached where the
wing twist will just counter the aileron rolling moment and lateral
control will be lost.
 This speed is known as the aileron reversal speed.
 Hence designer should ensure that wings are sufficiently rigid in
torsion so that the aileron reversal speed is higher than the maximum
speed anticipated by the airplane.
10. Define power of lateral or aileron control.
The power of lateral or aileron control will be expressed as the change
in rolling moment coefficient per degree deflection of the ailerons.
It is expressed as dCl /d a and it acts in such a way that to counter
balance the dihedral effect so that the wings can be held level from
straight flight or maintained at some equilibrium angle of bank during
turn.

3
OCT / NOV 2018 [101014] Q.N - 2
1. What is ISA?
 ISA is the model atmosphere used for that stand station
 It is hypothetical model
 Representation of ideal atmosphere by thermodynamic equation
 It is defined by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
 It uses of the standard reference value for pressure, density,
temperature, viscosity and how these values changes with respect to
altitude.
2. Define the terms (a) Pressure altitude (b) Temperature altitude (c)
Density altitude
Pressure altitude:
If an aircraft senses the actual outside air pressure which
corresponds to some standard altitude ,then that altitude is called
pressure altitude
Temperature altitude and density altitude:.
Similarly if an aircraft senses the actual outside temperature and
density which corresponds to some standard altitude ,those are called
temperature altitude and density altitude respectively.
3. Define Steady level flight.
In a steady level flight an airplane moves with constant velocity at a
constant altitude.
This analysis would give information on the maximum level speed
and minimum level speed at different altitudes
4. What are all the types of airspeed?
☺ Indicated airspeed (IAS)
☺ Equivalent airspeed (EAS)
☺ True airspeed (TAS)
☺ Groundspeed(GS)
☺ Calibrated airspeed (CAS)
5. Define absolute ceiling and service ceiling.
Absolute ceiling:
The absolute ceiling is the altitude at which the (maximum) rate
of climb goes to zero.

4
 A more useful definition is the service ceiling
Service ceiling:
The maximum height at which a particular type of aircraft can
sustain a specified rate of climb.
6. What are all the factors affecting takeoff performance.
The primary factors most affecting by performance are the takeoff and
landing distance, rate of climb, ceiling, payload, range, speed,
maneuverability, stability, and fuel economy.
7. What are all the types of loads acting on the airplane?
 Landing Loads
 Maneuver Loads
 Gust Loads
 Control Deflection
 Component Interaction
 Buffet

8. What are the airworthiness requirements for aircraft?

 Airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft’s suitability for safe flight.
 Certification of airworthiness is conferred by a certificate of
airworthiness from the state of aircraft registry national aviation
authority, and is maintained by performing the required maintenance
actios.
9. What is a high lift device?
 The angle at which stall happens is referred to as stall angle (αs).
 The stall angle is the highest angle that a wing may be safe to have in
a flight.
 The magnitude of this angle depends on the aircraft configuration and
sometimes can be increased a few degrees by utilizing a high-lift
device such as flap.

10. Define STOL and VTOL.

 STOL: An aircraft that could take off and land in a runway with a
length of less than 500 ft is called STOL (short takeoff and landing).
 VTOL: The aircraft that is able to take off and land vertically are
referred to as VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing).

5
APRIL / MAY 2016 Q.N -3
1. Differentiate between geothermal and geometric altitude?
 Geometric altitude (hg) is the physical altitude above the sea level.
 Geopotential altitude (h) is the fictious altitude and differs from
geometric altitude (hg) and is physically compatible with the
assumption of constant acceleration due to gravity (go), ie; h =
(g/go)0.5 hg.
 The ratio of acceleration due to gravity at an altitude ha, to that on the
earth surface (go) is : g/go = (r/ha)
2. Define center of pressure?
☺ The center of pressure is the point where the total sum of a pressure
field acts on a body, causing a force to act through that point.
☺ The total force vector acting at the center of pressure is the value of
the integrated vectorial pressure field.
3. What is parasite drag? Calculate the total parasite drag over an
aircraft?
 Parasite drag is a drag produced due to the motion of an object
through a fluid. With respect to aviation, the object is an aircraft and
the fluid is the atmospheric air.
 Parasite drag occurs due to air molecules.
The total parasite drag:
Total parasite drag (DP) can be found by multiplying dynamic
pressure by an area.
Equivalent parasite area (f) is a mathematically computed value equal
to the area of a flat plate perpendicular to the relative wind that would
produced the same amount of drag as form drag, friction drag and
interference drag combined.
It is not sectional area of the airplane.
4. Plot the variation of thrust required with flight velocity in steady level
flight and given a brief explanation ?

6
5. Draw the hodograph for unpowered flight in sink rate condition?

6. Define service and absolute ceiling?

Absolute ceiling:
The absolute ceiling is the altitude at which the (maximum) rate
of climb goes to zero. A more useful definition is the service ceiling
Service ceiling:
The maximum height at which a particular type of aircraft can
sustain a specified rate of climb.

7. Mention the names of the aircraft loads?

 Landing Loads

7
  Maneuver Loads
 Gust Loads
 Control Deflection
 Component Interaction
 Buffet

8. Draw the V-N diagram for Gust loads?

9. Why propeller blades are given a geometric twist from root to tip?
The cross section of a propeller similar to that of a low drag wing and
is subject to the same aerodynamic issues such as angle of attack,
stall, drag and transonic air flow.
There is a twist along the length of a propeller blade because the
blade speed is much higher at the tip than it is at the root.
10. What is Spoilers? And mention it uses?
Spoiler is a device intended to intentionally reduce the lift component of an
airfoil in a controlled way. Most often spoilers are plates on the top surface
of a wing that can be extended upward into the airflow to spoil it.
Uses:
That are fully deployed immediately on landing to greatly reduce lift and
increase drag.

8
OCT/NOV 2017 Q.N -4
1. Define aspect ratio?
Aspect ratio of the wing is the ratio of its span (length) to its chord (breath).
It is the measuring of the narrowness of the wing.
It is represented by “A” or “AR”
A or AR = b2 / S
A or AR = Span2 / area
2. What are the conditions required for maximum drag and minimum
power?
 Maximum drag occurs when the angle of attack exceeds the critical
angle of attack and the speed approaches the stalling speed . The left
hand limit of PR versus Vcurve shows the stalling speed
corresponding to maximum lift (CLmax) and maximum drag.
 Minimum power occurs at the speed at which total power(PR) is
minimum .This occurs when parasite drag is 1/3 of induced drag .In
drag coefficient form, CDf = 1/3(CL**2/ Ae) .
3. Plot a graph between velocity and thrust required?

4. What is meant by zero lift drag?

Mathematically Zero lift drag coefficient is defined as where is the total
drag coefficient for a given power, speed, and altitude, and is the lift –
induced drag coefficient at the same conditions.
5. Write down the expression for maximum climb angle?
The max angle of climb occurs when the following is a maximum:

9
 𝑇−𝐷
sin 𝛾 =
𝑊
𝑇 𝐷 𝑇 𝐷
= − = −
𝑊 𝑊 𝑊 𝐿
𝑇 𝐶𝐷
= −
𝑊 𝐶𝐿
Since T/W is a constant, CD/CLis a maximum when is a minimum, (or
L/Dmax).
6. Total take off distance (S) = __________ + __________

7. What is meant by VTOL?

VTOL: The aircraft that is able to take off and land vertically are referred to
as VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing).
8. What are the different types of loads acts in an aircraft?
 Landing Loads
 Maneuver Loads
 Gust Loads
 Control Deflection
 Component Interaction
 Buffet

9. What is meant by STOL?

STOL: An aircraft that could take off and land in a runway with a length of
less than 500 ft is called STOL (short takeoff and landing).
10. Write down the high lift devices?
 The angle at which stall happens is referred to as stall angle (αs).
 The stall angle is the highest angle that a wing may be safe to have in
a flight.
 The magnitude of this angle depends on the aircraft configuration and
sometimes can be increased a few degrees by utilizing a high-lift
device such as flap.

10