THE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN ROGER D. SCHAUFELE Department of Aerospace Engineering California State University, Long Beach ARIES PUBLICATIONS, Santa Ana, California 92705Published by Aries Publications, Santa Ana, California 92705 First published 2000. Second printing 2007 Copyright © 2007 by Roger D. Schaufele Al fights reserved. No part ofthis Book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and retrieval systems, without Waifen Permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote briefly in a review. ISBN 0-9701986-0-4 brary of Congress Catalog Card Number 00-091000 Typesetting by Victoria Graphics, Orange, California Cover design and artwork by Dillon Design Printed and bound in the USATo BarbaraAcknowledgments | am indebted to many friends and colleagues who have e Preparation of this book. I owe particular th, State University Long Beach, for giving m to Professor Richard Shevell of sor, the Boeing Company, ‘0 Lau Tejwani, wunks to Professor Tancer Cebeci of California the opportunity Preliminary design, which became the inspiration forthe bovk. I am Stanford University, for providing me with much back. » Tam extremely grateful to a number of airerafe cially the Douglas Aircraft Company, McDonnell Douglas Corporation, for allowing the use of data and information aircraft that I worked on during my career as a d Iho typed and retyped the original draft, and to Vietora es ncouraged me during the to teach a course in aircraft also deeply indebted sand their succes on many of the ‘sign engineer at Douglas. I am grateful Mason who pred the final draft, as well as Professors Hamid Hefaei, Brie Kendall and Dr. Eric Besnard for their helpful suggestions. I also wish to thank Ang Ebeling, for her valuable Proofreading skills in checking the final drat. And finaly, ‘my thanks to the students who tmade so many suggestions for improving the elaity of the text nt figures ivPreface “This book has been developed from a set of lecture notes and handouts for a one semester 3 credit hour course entitled “Aircraft Performance andl Design”. The basic pur pose ofthe course, and ofthis book, it teach students the concepts and procedures as80~ rived with the aircraft preliminary design process, and through the examples and home- rod assignments allow each student to do a preliminary design ofan aitcraft for a set of requirements selected by the student “The material is organized in a manner to allow the design fo evolve from the initial mission requirements, using methods and procedures based on those in 1 the aircraft grdustry, but in many eases simplified ro ciminare detailed refinements, while maintaining whe farcamental parameters which shape the design. Tt should be noted that aircraft pre Timinary design is an “open-ended” process; there is nor one single unique solution to a set of mission requirements. A variety of choices nay be made in establishing an aircraft pre- Timinary design. The book describes where these choices need to be made, and how to caluate the impact of those choices on the final resulting design “The methods and procedures presented in this book make generous Ht of available dtaa from actol sreraft designs. These dasa are included vo add realises the presenta- Faeroe to ey oe cones Ocoee me particular aircraft, All authoritative data om a parti Jar aircraft model must come from the manufac- turer, not from the information in this book Many of the methods presented in the text are amenable to conversiod 1 electronic personal computer programs, and indeed many of the students who have raken the course pa thie material have adapted existing programs or written ew Oe to perform the required calculations. Future editions of the book will incorporass appropriate computer based methods. “The minimnurn prerequisites for the material in the course ate the usual college engi- neering curricula a least through the junior yean although course! applied aerodynam- senvaierafe propulsion, and airraft structures and materils are extremely useful “Phe material is presented in English units, utilized almost exclusively in the U.S. air~ craft industry.About the Author Roger D. Schaufele retired fiom Douglas Aircraft Company, McDonnell Douglas Corporation in 1989, as Vice President/ General Manager, Commercial Advanced Products Schaufele joined Douglas in 1949 as an Aerodynamicist on the Douglas X-3 Research Aircraft. Later assignments included Project Acro- dymamicist on the DC-8, DC-9, & DC-10 jetiners ln 1971 htewas appointed Disector Technologies for Douglas andin 1976 be was appointed Director, Engineering Design, and in 1981 ‘was made Vice President, Engineering, where he Participated in the development of the MD-11, C-17, and T-45 aireaft In 1987, he was appointed Vice President/General Manager, Commercial Advanced Prod- ‘cts, where he oversaw the launch of the MD-90. After retirement, he served as a corpo fare consultant to McDonnell Douglas on the MD-12 Program. He holds a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1949). He also served two years in the U.S. Navy as an Aviation Engineering Officer at the Bureau of Acronautics, Washington, D.C. He isa Fellow of the Ameriney Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Society of Automotive Engineers and has written numerous can uttees for the National Academy of Engineering, NASA, and thet) S. Congress. He Was formerly @ member of the NASA Aerospace Safety ‘Advisory Panel and is Professor CrAireraft Design inthe Aerospace Engineering Departivent, California State University, Long Beach, viChapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Table of Contents REVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS ‘The Airplane in Motion ‘Aerodynamic Forces and Moments Relative Wind Flight Speed Terminology Standard Atmosphere Dynamic Pressure Airspeed Terminology Flight Performance Equations Airplane Lift Curve Airplane Drag Curve Mach Number Effects on Lift and Drag Curves Preliminary Design Methods THE AIRCRAFT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Product Development Sequence Mission Specification and Mission Profile Payload Range Cruise Speed and Altitude Takeoff Distance Landing Distance Reserve Fuel Federal Aviation Regulations Military Specifications Design Exercise PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE OF MAXIMUM TAKEOFF WEIGHT General Procedure Detailed Procedure Fuel Fraction Example Problem vii Dewwese 12 17 19 20 24 27 31 31 35 39 39 44 45 52 52 52 54 35 57 37 61 61 76Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Weight Empty Fraction Payload Fraction Graphical Solution for W, and was Design Exercise PRELIMINARY WING DESIGN Wing Area Detailed Procedure Wing Airfoil Sections Wing Airfoil Selection Wing Sweepback Angle and Average Thickness Ratio Fclection of Wing Sweepback Angle and Average Thickness Ratio Wing Aspect Ratio and Taper Ratio Wing Thickness Distribution Aerodynamic Twist High Life Systems Lateral Control Devices Wing Spar Locations ‘Wing Inboard Trailing Edge Extensions Available Wing Fuel Volume Wing m.a.c. Determination Wing Line Diagram Design Exercise PRELIMINARY FUSELAGE DESIGN General Considerations Cross Section Passenger Compartment Length Nose Section Aft Fuselage Shape Military Fighter/Attack and Trainer Crew Stations Fuselage Location on the Wing Design Exercise HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL TAIL SIZING General Considerations Static Aerodynamic Stability in Pitch Effect of c.g. Location Vii 77 86 86 88 89 89 90 95 99 99 100 101 101 104 104 106 107 107 107 108 110 110 113 113 113 115 127 131 133 135 136 137 137 137 138Chapter 7 Chapter 8 ‘Aerodynamic Center ‘Aerodynamic Center Buildup Longitudinal Control Horizontal Tail Sizing Procedure Static Directional Stability Directional Control Vertical Tail Sizing Procedure ‘Additional Geometric Characteristics Horizontal and Vertical Tail Line Diagrams Design Exercise LANDING GEAR DESIGN General Requirements Basic Arrangements Fixed vs Retractable Gear ‘Tip-over Criteria Static Load Considerations Gear Length Considerations Wheel Arrangements Tire Size ‘Wheel Brakes Landing Gear Mechanical Design Design Exercise ENGINE SIZING and ARRANGEMENT ‘Number of Engines Engine Ratings Takeoff ‘Maximum Climb ‘Maximum Cruise Performance Requirements Engine Size for Takeoff Field Length Engine Size for Operational Rate of Climb Engine Size for Initial Cruise Engine Geometric Characteristics Engine Placement Design Exercise ix 139 140 142, 144 147 149 1st 1st 153 153 157 157 158 158 158 161 161 161 166 168 168 174 47s 175 176 176 176 176 176 477 181 183 189 189 193Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 eS PRELIMINARY 3-VIEW LayouT DRAWING General Considerations Procedural Steps for Layout Drawing termination of Fuselage Cross-Section Fuselage Shaping and Length Wing Wing Location on Fuselage Propulsion System Landing Gear Empennage Concluding Remarks Design Exercise PRELIMINARY WEIGHT AND BALANCE CALCULATIONS Group Weight Statement Check on c.g. Location Balance Diagram and c.g. limits Design Exercise COW SPEED LIFT CURVES AND MAXIMUM uFT COEFFICIENTS Cruise Configuration Takeoff and Landing Configuration Design Exercise DETAILED DRAG BUILDUP FOR CRUISE, TAKEOFE, AND LANDING Cruise Configuration Parasite Dr Example Problem Induced Drag Compressibility Drag L/D Curves for the Cruise Configuration Design Exercise ‘Takeoff and Landing Configurations Takeoff Configuration Landing Configuration Additional Low Speed Drag Items 195 195 196 196 197 199 199 199 200 201 201 203 205 205 210 21 213 215 215 220 221 223 223 224 226 237 237 238 240 244 244 247 248Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 L/D Curves for Low Speed Configurations Design Exercise OPERATIONAL ENVELOPE AND ESTIMATED AIRCRAFT BUFFET BOUNDARY Operational Envelope Concept Procedure for Estimating the Operational Envelope Example Problem Procedure for Estimating the Buffet Boundary Buffet Boundary Related t0 Cru Buffet Boundary Related to Moyy Complete Buffet Boundary Margin to Buffet Onset Design Exercise DESIGN AIRLOAD REQUIREMENTS AND DESIGN AIRSPEEDS General Considerations Flight Load Factor Ven Diagrams Ven Diagram-Maneuver Envelope V-n Diagram-Gust Envelope Design Airspeeds Design Exercise PAYLOAD-RANGE PERFORMANCE Payload-Range Curve ‘Additional Comments Design Exercise FAR REQUIRED TAKEOFF FIELD LENGTH FAR 25 General Requirements ‘Example Problem FAR 23 Requirements Design Exercise FAR CLIMB GRADIENT REQUIREMENTS Requirements for Specific Flight Conditions ‘Maximum Permissible Flight Weight xi 248 249 253 253 255 256 262 262 262 264 264 264 267 267 268 268 268 272 274 277 279 279 282 283 285 285 289 293 295 297 297 298Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Index Eflct of Second Segment Limiting Weights on Permissible TOGW. FAR 23 Climb Performance Requirements Design Exercise FAR REQUIRED LANDING FIELD LENGTH General Concepts and Definitions Design Exercise AIRCRAFT PRICING AND DIRECT OPERATING Cost Aircraft Pricing Cost Based Pricing ‘Market Based Pricing Study Price Net Price Direct Operating Cost Elements of DOC ‘Typical Presentation of DOC's Typical DOC Values Relative Importance of DOC Elements FAR AIRCRAFT NOISE REQUIREMENTS Background Sound and Noise Fundamentals Engine Noise Sources Noise Suppression ‘Techniques DESIGN OPTIMIZATION AND TRADE STUDIES Sizing Chars Trade Studies PROGRAM BUSINESS PLANNING Planning Phases, Overall Market Forecast ‘Market Share Forecast Non-recurring Costs Recurring Costs xii 299 304 304 305 305 310 311 311 311 311 312 312 312 313 316 320 320 323 323 326 328 329 333 334 334 345 345 345, 347 347 347 351REVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS THE AIRPLANE IN MOTION In the aitplane preliminary design process achieving the performance objectives of altitude, speed, range, payload, and takeoff and landing distance requires analysis of the airplane in motion. It is therefore convenient to adopt some symbols and conventions related to airplane motion. A set of mutually perpendicular axes are defined within the Fig. 1-1 The Airplane Axis System‘THE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN airplane as shown in Fig, 1-1 with their origin at the airplane center of gravity or c.g, This isa right hand axis system with the positive X and Z, axes in the plane of symmetry and with the X axis out the nose of the airplane pointing along the flight path. The Z axis is perpendicular to the X axis, positive downward, and the positive Y axis is out the right hand wing perpendicular to the plane of symmetry. For the material presented in this book, the airplane is considered to be a rigid body with six degrees of freedom, three linear velocity components along these axes, and three angular velocity components around these axes. The angular motion around the Y axis is called pitch; the angular motion about the X axis is called roll; and the angular motion about the Z axis is called yaw. Nearly all of the airplane motions encountered in aircraft preliminary design and performance are in the plane of symmetry. The other three com- ponents of the airplane's motion lie outside the plane of symmetry. The symmetric de- _grees of freedom are referred to as the longitudinal motion, and the asymmetric degrees of freedom are referred to as the lateral-directional motion. In the plane of symmetry, Fig. 1-2, the inclination of the flight path to the horizontal is the flight path angle, Y, and the angle between the flight path and the airplane reference line is the angle of attack, ot. The angle between the airplane reference line and the horizontal is the airplane's pitch angle, @. When the flight path does not lie in the plane of symmetry, Fig. 1-3, the angle be- ‘ween the flight path and the airplane's centerline isthe yaw angle, W . For straight flight in this situation, the yaw angle is equal in magnitude but opposite in sign to the sideslip angle, B. In roll about the flight path, the angle between the Y axis and the horizontal is the roll or bank angle, 6. Fig, 1-2 Alreraft Axis Notation in the Plane of SymmetryREVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS Fig. 1-3 Aircraft Axis Notation for Asymmetric Fight AERODYNAMIC FORCES AND MOMENTS, The aerodynamic forces acting on an aircraft consist of two types: pressure forces which act normal to the aircraft surface, and viscous or shear forces which act tangentially to the aircraft surface. The pressure forces are due to the air pressure acting on the aircraft surface, and by definition can only act normal to the surface. The viscous or shear forces do not depend on air pressure, only on the viscosity or stickiness of the air. Viscosity is a property of air that gives rise to the shear stresses developed between adjacent parallel layers of air very close to the airplane surface. The region close to the airplane where the shear stresses are developed is called the boundary layer. ‘The physical parameters that govern the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on an aircraft have been developed through a method called dimensional analysis. This pro- cedure is treated in detail in many textbooks on aerodynamics, and will only be summarizedTHE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN here. Dimensional analysis considers the dimensions or units of the physical quantities involved in the development of aerodynamic forces and moments, and divides them into ‘two groups, fundamental and derived. The fundamental units are mass, length, and time, and all physical quantities have dimensions that are derived from a combination of these three fundamental units. Equations that express physical relationships must have dimen- sional homogeneity, that is, each term in the equation must have the same units in order for the equation to have physical significance. The broad physical relationships are postulated by logic, reason, or perhaps some experimental evidence, and then the specific relationships are derived by dimensional analysis. For aerodynamic forces and moments acting on an aircraft in the plane of symmetry the broad physical relationships are postu- lated as Fcc Muay = £ (shape, size, attitude, velocity, fluid properties) ‘The specific relationship for aerodynamic forces, derived from dimensional analysis is 5 APN LTA e ee re = a) Kis a constant of proportionality or dimensionless coefficient Vis the velocity of the aircraft Lis an arbitrary characteristic length P is the air density is the attitude of the airplane with respect to the flight path Wt is the coefficient of viscosity for ais” oe is a dimensionless quantity called Reynolds number, R ais the speed of sound in air V/a is a dimensionless quantity called Mach number, M ‘The aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the airplane in the plane of symme- ‘ry are shown in Fig, 1-4. The resultant of the aerodynamic forces is resolved into the lift component acting perpendicular to the flight path, or velocity vector, and the drag compo- nent acting parallel to the velocity vector. ‘The lift and drag components are defined as acting at the airplane center of gravity, while all of the moments acting on the airplane are “cis usally more convenient to work with a quantity called the kinematic viscosity, V,defined asj/p. Reynold's number is then R-VLW.REVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS lumped into one couple acting around the airplane center of gravity. The equations for lift and drag of the airplane may be written as Lif = C, os (1-2) pv's T Diag = Cy (3) Fig. 1-4 Aerodynamic Forces and Moments in the Plane of Symmetry where C, and Cy, are the lift and drag coefficients, respectively, and the area term in the equation (1-1) is arbitrarily taken as the wing area, S. To make the equation for the aerodynamic moment about the center of gravity dimensionally correct, the length of the ‘wing mean chord, c, the mean distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing, is arbitrarily selected. ‘The moment in the plane of symmetry is ealled the pitching moment, and the equation is written as Moment = Mcg= Cm pV*Sc (1-4) a where Cm is defined as the pitching moment coefficient. As noted in equation (1-1), while the primary relationship between the physical quantities involved in the develop- ment of aerodynamic forces and moments is expressed in terms of the dimensionless coef ficients, these coefficients are functions of both Reynolds number and Mach number. The aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the airplane in asymmetric flight are shown in Fig. 1-5. The side force acts normal to the airplane center line, while the aerodynamic moments acting around the Z-axis through the c.g. are lumped together and called the ‘yawing moment. In addition, the aerodynamic moments acting around the X-axis are lumped together and are called the rolling momentTHE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN Velocity Fig. 1-5 ‘Aerodynamic Forces and Moments in Asymmetric Flight Roting Moment ‘The equations for side force, yawing moment, and rolling moment are Side fore = C,5-v's (5) Yawing moment = C,-5V°Sb (1-6) Rolling moment = C, £-V$ (7) where C,, C,, and C, are the side force, yawing moment, and rolling moment coefficients, and b is the airplane wing span, selected as more appropriste than the wing mean cord for ‘use with the asymmetric moment coefficients. Tn summary, then, these three defined aerodynamic forces acting along the airplane ‘axes, and three aerodynamic moments acting around the airplane axes, are:REVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS Force Alon Moment Around x Drag Rolling Moment Y Side Force Pitching Moment Zz Lift Yawing Moment RELATIVE WIND Up to now, the aerodynamic forces acting on the airplane have been defined in terms of the airplane velocity vector. It should be noted that the aerodynamic forces and moments depend only on the relative velocity between the airplane and the air that it is flying through. The same aerodynamic forces are generated if the airplane moves through the air ‘with a velocity, V, or if the airplane is held fixed in space, as in a wind tunnel, and the air ‘moves past the airplane, with a velocity, V, equal and opposite to the actual velocity, as shown in Fig. 1-6. wou saat is, SSSI ae sen Relative Wind te, f Veloaty, V “> Relative ea Se Figure 1-6 Relative Velocity and Relative Wind FLIGHT SPEED TERMINOLOGY One of the key parameters ofa specific airplane design is the maximum level flight speed. For a variety of reasons, both technical and economic, various types of airplanes are de~ signed to operate at flight speeds most appropriate to their design mission. For example, propeller driven personal utility airplanes are usually designed with maximum speeds of 250 knots or less, while commercial jet transports are designed with maximum speeds ofTHE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN about 500 knots or a Mach number of 0.88. Military fighter and attack aireraft have maximum speeds of around 1400 knots, or a Mach number of 2.5, while a specialized rocket powered research airplane, the X-15, was designed for a maximum speed of 3600 ‘knots, or a Mach number of 6.0. Over such a wide range of flight speeds, the characteris- tics of the airflow around the airplane change dramatically. These changes, associated with the compressible nature of air, ae directly related to the flight Mach number defined in ‘equation (1-1) as the flight speed divided by the speed of sound in the ambient air in the atmosphere. This situation has given rise to some general terms to describe airplane flight speeds in terms of Mach number as illustrated in Fig. 1-7. Also shown are the types of airplanes having maximum level flight speeds within the various flight speed regimes. By far the largest number of aircraft in operation today, and indeed the greatest number of new designs will be the types with maximum speeds in the subsonic and transonic speed regimes, and the material in this book will focus on these types. STANDARD ATMOSPHERE Before starting any of the preliminary design and performance calculations outlined later in the book, itis appropriate to establish a standard set of characteristics for the earth’ atmosphere in which aircraft operate. The U.S. Standard Atmosphere is a widely used set whose essential characteristics, that is, the temperature, pressure, density, and viscosity as a function of altitude have been derived using: P = PRT equation of state for a gas (1-8) dp = pgdh hydrostatic equation (1-9) where = pressure in Ib/sq, ft density in slugs/eu fe absolute temperature in degrees Rankine gas constant (1718 ft-b/slug *R) for air ‘= gravitational constant (32, 17 fe/sec!) = height above sea level in ft FR DH yg With these equations, only a defined variation of T with altitude is required to establish the standard atmosphere. ‘The defined variation, based on experimental data, is shown in Fig. 1-8. It should be noted that once the temperature variation with altitude was defined, the characteristics of the standard atmosphere can be calculated directly. TheREVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS ‘A6ojounuel poods Bild J-F eun6is aay 09 7 oe st a so ; : t Hi eo a mnt serstaotoon | saci ote et ser pnao | anya et serves |v aameen, [aces ox want owt aon anvTHE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN US. STANDARD ATMOSPHERE 10 Temperate Figure 1-8 Temperature Variation with Altitude characteristics of the U.S, Standard Atmosphere are tabulated in Fig, 1-9. From sea level to 36,089 ft, the temperature decreases linearly with altitude. This region is called the ‘troposphere. Above 36,089 ft, the temperature is constant up to 65,617 ft, in the region called the stratosphere, Above 65,617 ft the temperature increases linearly beyond 100,000 fr, the upper level of interest for current or foreseeable aircraft. Although the concept of geometric altitude, the altitude above sea level as determined 10REVIEW OF BASIC CONCEPTS ‘Nttade Temperate Sonic veooty nF wou _ HnDDUREEEEEEEOEE 858: SSRESERESES Be £8 as Fars 28 28 3 Be 2 a ee 2 = be 3 = EB 2) fe 2 2 ge 2 2 Be 3 2 ae 3 = Siam or mah ie 2 Ey f= 3} i 25 3; 2 Se 2 S Re 2 Be Figure 1-9 Characteristics of the U.S. Standard AtmosphereTHE ELEMENTS OF AIRCRAFT PRELIMINARY DESIGN by a tape measure is most familiar, of prime important for aircraft preliminary design and performance calculations is pressure altitude, the geometric altitude on a standard day for which the pressure is equal to the ambient atmospheric pressure. Aircraft altimeters are pressure gages calibrated to read pressure altitude. Also important is the density altitude, the geometric altitude on a standard day for which the density is equal to the ambient air density. Pressure altitude, density altitude, and temperature are related through the equa- tion of state, p = pRT. It should be noted that another standard atmosphere has been defined by the Inter- national Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO Standard Atmosphere and the USS. Standard Atmosphere are identical up to 65,617 ft. Beyond 65,617 ft, the ICAO Standard Atmosphere maintains a constant temperature up to 82,800 ft, while the U.S. Standard Atmosphere reflects an increasing temperature with a constant gradient to be~ yond 100,000 ft. We will use the ULS. Standard Atmosphere throughout this book, DYNAMIC PRESSURE In the discussion of aerodynamic farces and moments, the expressions forall of them show a dependency on the quantity 2. This quantity which appears throughout aerody- namic theory, is equal to the kinetic energy of a unit volume of air, and is defined as the dynamic pressure, 9 pv? 2 Another form of the equation for dynamic pressure which is especially useful in aircraft preliminary design performance calculation is q (1-10) y pM? qe = (1-11) where ‘is the ratio of specific heats for air equal to 1.4 pis the ambient pressure Mis the flight Mach number AIRSPEED TERMINOLOGY One of the more confusing concepts in aircraft preliminary design and performance studies is that of airspeed. Since the very early days airplanes have been equipped with airspeed indicators, which are operated by the pressure difference between two pressures 12