Aircraft Aerodynamics and Performance

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Calculate airspeed by reading tables and graphs and applying Bernoulli's equation, the ideal gas equation, the relationship between the speed of sound and air temperature, International Standard Atmosphere charts and airspeed error information
2. Apply aerodynamic lift theory at subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds associated with wings and high lift devices, using graphs, the lift equation, general formulae and tables to transform Aerofoil Lift data into a lift curve for a wing at various Reynolds Numbers and wing aspect ratios, taking into account Mach number and wing planforms including straight, tapered, swept and delta wings, and explain in writing and through calculation the high speed aerodynamic terms including Drag Divergence, Critical Mach Number, Crest critical Mach Number and Mach Angle
3. Calculate drag and the components of drag (parasite, induced and Mach drag) at subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds through the use of the drag and drag coefficient equations to construct the graphs for drag force and drag power to calculate and then apply this information to calculate the Lift on Drag Ratio at various airspeeds
4. Explain the principles of Longitudinal, Directional and Lateral Stability and Control, including static and dynamic stability and such terms as positive static longitudinal stability, stick fixed, stick free and neutral point, as well as dynamic oscillations such as Phugoid, S.P.O and Dutch Roll
5. Calculate Cruise, Climb and Descent Performance for turbojet, turboprop and piston engine aircraft by using formulae and graphs to describe in writing and through calculation criteria for maximum range, maximum endurance, long range cruise, buffet boundaries, energy management, angle and rate of climb or descent, the condition for minimum glide angle, turning performance parameters such as bank angle, load factor, rate of turn and turn radius taking into account aircraft weight, altitude and engine type and performance. This includes the calculation of maximum range and long range cruise speed and describing how these speeds can be optimised
6. Construct a payload range diagram for Payload – Range Optimisation to solve a simple route analysis problem
7. Explain the factors that affect aircraft Take-off Performance, including V Speeds, MTOW, aircraft characteristics, ambient conditions, obstacles, One Engine Inoperative take-off parameters and associated distances, take-off path segments, and gross and net flight path descriptors, and calculate take-off path climb gradients and minimum third segment heights