24th Applied Aerodynamics Conference 5 - 8 June 2006, San Francisco, California

AIAA 2006-3316

Selecting Principal Parameters of Baseline Design Configuration for Light General Aviation Aircraft
K Ibrahim* and Anshul Mohnot Plexion Technologies, Bangalore 560 025, Karnataka, India Design and performance data of light general aviation aircraft (4 to 8 Pax including crew) have been analyzed employing figure of merit expressions and heuristic approach. Simple and effective correlations have been evolved for selecting principal parameters - take-off weight, empty weight, fuel weight, wing area and span, taper ratio, dihedral, flap and aileron areas, fuselage length, area of horizontal and vertical tailplanes, elevator and rudder, engine power and propeller diameter - of baseline design configuration for light general aviation aircraft. A b C CLmax.TO D Di dP e hf l lf L N NB Pax P PO R S Nomenclature Wing aspect ratio, b2/S Sail Wingspan, m Sele Sf Mean aerodynamic chord, m sfc Take-off lift coefficient sG Drag, kg sTO Induced drag, kg Sht Propeller diameter, m Sr Airplane efficiency factor Svt Maximum depth of fuselage, m V Overall length, m WE Fuselage length, m wf Lift, kg WF Propeller rotation speed, rpm WTO Number of propeller blades Number of passengers (Including crew) Engine power, kW Standard day sea level static power, kW Range (with 45 min of fuel reserve), km Wing reference area, m2 Aileron area, m2 Elevator area, m2 Trailing edge flap area, m2 Specific fuel consumption, kg/kW.h Take-off ground run, m Take-off distance, m Horizontal tailplane area, m2 Rudder area, m2 Vertical tailplane area, m2 Airplane speed, m/s or km/h Basic empty weight, kg Maximum width of fuselage, m Internal fuel weight, kg Take-off weight, kg Propulsive efficiency Wing dihedral, deg Taper ratio Ratio of ambient air density to standard day sea level air density

I. Introduction
While the designs of civil transport aircraft and military combat airplanes are the result of continuous sustained research and development activity, designs of light general aviation aircraft are inspired by innovative instincts of individuals. Included in this category of light general aviation aircraft are single pistonprop fixed wing configurations with fixed and retractable landing gears and a seating capacity of 4 to 8 Pax (Including crew). These aircraft form a large percentage of the general aviation aircraft. It is, therefore, considered appropriate to treat light general aviation aircraft as a separate class and evolve design norms. Optimization of light aircraft configuration in terms of sizing the aircraft and its principal components has been dealt in Ref. 1. Comprehensive exposition of aircraft conceptual design with simplified analytical methods is provided by Raymer2. Roskam3 presents a rapid method for preliminary sizing in terms of take-off weight, empty weight, mission fuel weight, take-off power, wing area and aspect ratio of single pistonprop light airplanes to given mission specification. Roskam4 provides configuration data for the same category airplanes and suggests a range for each parameter. In this paper design and performance data5-7 of light general aviation aircraft (4-8 Pax), some basic parameters of which are listed in Table 1, have been analyzed using figure of merit expressions for principal design parameters. Where figure of merit expression was found infeasible heuristic approach has been employed. It is assumed that for a category of airplanes, orders of magnitude of zero-lift drag coefficient, airplane efficiency factor, propeller efficiency, specific fuel consumption of engines at cruise altitude, levels of static stability about longitudinal and directional axes, remain same. Simple and effective correlations have been evolved for selecting principal parameters - take-off and empty weights, fuel weight, wing area and span, taper ratio, dihedral, flap and aileron area, fuselage length, area of horizontal and vertical tailplanes, elevator and rudder, engine power and propeller diameter - of baseline design configuration for light general aviation aircraft. * Consulting Aerospace Engineer (Design), Plexion Technologies, Bangalore 560 025, India. Analyst Engineer, Plexion Technologies, Bangalore 560 025, India. 1 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Copyright 2006 by Ibrahim K. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.