TheT/WandW/S(wingloading)arethetwomostimportantparametersaffectingaircraft

performance.Optimizationoftheseparametersformsamajorpartoftheanalyticaldesign
activitiesconductedafteraninitialdesignlayout.

S
W T
,
S W

Lowlargewingenoughvolumeforlandinggearandfuel.

Highsmallwingnotenoughvolumeforlandinggearandfuel.
incrementofwettedareaandadditionaldragforce
Takeoffdistance
Forshorttakeoff

T
W

largewing,smallengine;

W
S

smaller
Thrust

T
W

W
S

higher
Thrust

smallwing,largeengine;

It is frequently difficult to use historical data to independently select initial

valuesforT/WandW/S

Thedesignermustguessatoneoftheparametersandusethatguesstocalculatetheother
parameterfromthecriticaldesignrequirements.

Criticaldesignrequirement;stallspeedduringtheapproachforlanding.
(Approachstallspeedisindependentofenginesize.)

Then,theestimatedW/ScanbeusedtocalculatetheT/Wrequiredtoattainother
performancedriverssuchassingleenginerateofclimb.

landing

takeoff

landing

landing

ThrusttoWeightRatio
ThrusttoWeightDefinitions

quickaccelaration
rapidclimb
highermaximumspeed
higherturnrates

T
W ( fuel burning ) const
W

T T (h, V )

morefuelconsumption
higherengineweight

DesignT/WmustbemeanT/Wduringsealevel(zerovelocity),standarddayconditionsat
designtakeoffweightandmaximumthrottlesetting.

IfarequiredT/Wiscalculatedatsomeothercondition,itmustbeadjustedbacktotakeoff
conditions.

PowerLoadingandHorsepowertoWeight

T
Jetengineaircraft
W

Propellerpoweredaircraftpowerloading

W
hp

Powerloadingformostaircraft:1015[lb/hp]
Powerloadingforaerobaticaircraft:6[lb/hp]
EquivalentT/Wforpropelleredaircraft:

T p P 550 p hp
[ fps units ]

W V W V W

StatisticalEstimationofT/W
Aircrafttype

TypicalinstalledT/W

Jettrainer

0.4

Jetfighter(dogfighter)(afterburner)

0.9

Jetfighter(other)

0.6

Militarycargo/bomber

0.25

Jettransport
(highervalueforfewerengines)

0.250.4

Thrustto
weightratio.

Atmaximumpowersettings
at sealevel and zero
velocity(static)condition.

(Inmksunits,thethrustforceisfoundas(T/W)x(mass)x(g[9.807]))

TypicalP/W
hp/lb

[watt/g]

Typicalpower
loading[lb/hp]

Poweredairplane

0.04

[0.07]

25

Homebuilt

0.08

[0.13]

12

Generalaviation(singleengine)

0.07

[0.12]

14

Generalaviation(twinengine)

0.17

[0.30]

Agricultural

0.09

[0.15]

11

Twinturboprop

0.20

[0.33]

Flyingboat

0.10

[0.16]

10

Aircrafttype

Powerto
weightratio.

Attakeoffweights:ModernjetfighterT/W1.0
Atcombatconditions(withfuelburningW):T/W>1.0
T/W0=aMCmax

Jettrainer

0.488 0.728

Jetfighter(dogfighter)

0.648 0.594

Jetfighter(other)

0.514 0.141

capableofaccelerating

T/W0vsMmax

Militarycargo/bomber 0.244 0.341

Jettransport

0.267 0.363

P/W0=aVCmax:hp/lbor[watt/g]

Sailplanepowered

0.043[0.071]

Homebuiltmetal/wood

0.005[0.006] 0.57

Homebuiltcomposite

0.004[0.005] 0.57

Generalaviation(singleengine)

0.025[0.036] 0.22

Generalaviation(twinengine)

0.036[0.048] 0.32

Agriculturalaircraft

0.009[0.010] 0.50

Twinturboprop

0.013[0.016] 0.50

Flyingboat

0.030[0.043] 0.23

P/W0vsVmax
Knotsor
[km/hr]

Curvefit equaitons based

upon maximum Mach
numberorvelocity.

Thesecanbeusedforfirst
estimation.

ThrustMatching
Foraircraftdesignedprimarilyforefficiencyduringcruise:

AbetterinitialestimateoftherequiredT/Wcanbeobtainedbythrustmatching:

Comparisonoftheselectedenginesthrustavailableduringcruisetotheestimatedaircraftdrag.
Cruiseflightcondition:

L W
T D

1
T
D

W cruise L cruise L / D cruise

estimatedvaluecanbeused.

ThisT/Wisatcruisecondition.T/W,fortakeoffatsealevelcondition,mustbecalculated.
Swet / Sref

Cruise
Jet
Propeller

0.866(L/D)max
(L/D)max

Thismethodassumesthattheaircraftiscruisingatapproximatelytheoptimumaltitudefor
theasyetunknownW/S.

Themethodwouldbeinvalidiftheaircraftwereforcedbythemissionrequirementstocruise
atsomeotheraltitude,suchassealevel.

Whenthewingloadinghasbeenselected,theL/Dattheactualcruiseconditionsshouldbe
calculatedandusedtorechecktheinitialestimateforT/W.

The highest weight during cruise occurs at the beginning of the cruise. Fuel burned during
takeoffandclimbtocruisealtitudecanbecalculated.
Mission segments
weightfractions

Atthebeginningofthecruise:

W cruise start 0.956W takeoff

Thrustduringcruiseisdifferentfromthetakeoffvalue.Jetaircraftsaredesignedtocruiseat
approximatelyatwhichtheselectedenginehasthelowestspecificfuelconsumption(SFC),
typically10000m.WhileSFCisimprovedatthesealtitudes,thethrustdecreases.

Also, the engine is sized using the thrust setting that produces the best SFC. This is usually
70100%ofthemaximumcontinuous,nonafterburningthrust.

T cruise T takeoff
RequiredcruiseT/WmustbeadjustedtoobtaintheequivalenttakeoffT/W.
asubsonic,highbypassratio
turbofanforatransportaircraft:

2025%ofthe T
take off

alowbypassafterburning
turbofanorturbojet:

4070%ofthe

T takeoff

AircraftDesign:AConceptualApproach,
RaymerD.P.

Thrustlapse
atcruise.

Forapistonpowered,propellerdrivenaircraft,thepoweravailablevarieswiththedensity
oftheairprovidedtotheintakemanifold.Iftheengineisnotsupercharged,thenthepower
fallsoffwithincreasingaltitudeaccordingtodensityratio,:

Anonsuperchargedengineat3048mwillhaveabout73%ofitssealevelpower.

To prevent this power

decrease, many piston
engines use a supercharger
to maintain the air provided
tothemanifoldatessentially
sealevel density up to the
compression limit of the
supercharger. Above this
altitude,thepowerbeginsto
dropoff:

Piston powered aircraft

typicallycruiseatabout75%
oftakeoffpower.

Pistonenginepower
variationwithaltitude

AircraftDesign:AConceptualApproach,
RaymerD.P.

With a turboprop, there is an additional, residual thrust contribution from the turbine
exhaust.Itiscustomarytoconvertthisthrusttoitshorsepowerequivalentandaddittothe
actualhorsepower,creatinganequivalentshafthorsepower(eshp).

Foratypicallyturbopropengineinstallation,thecruiseeshpisabout6080%ofthetake
offvalue.

ThetakeoffT/Wrequiredforcruisematchingcannowbeapproximated:

Wcruise
T
T

W take off W cruise Wtake off

Ttake off

T
cruise

0.956

shouldbeobtained
fromactualengine
dataifpossible.

After an initial layout has been completed, actual aerodynamic calculations are made to
comparethedragduringcruisewiththethrustavailable.

T/Wisoftendeterminedbyaclimbrequirementratherthanbycruiseconditions.

Commonproblem:TheT/Wforclimbcanbesolargethattheenginesmustthrottledway
backduringcruise,andanaircraftengineisusuallyveryinefficient.Thisisespeciallytruefor
jetengines.

1
T

W cruise L / D cruise

T/Wforclimb:

(anextrathrustpowerrequired
(T/Wforlevelflight)+
fortheclimbgradient)

Vvertical
1
T

V
W cli mb L / D cli mb

design
requirement

Forthefirstpassestimate,theT/W(orP/W)shouldbeselectedasthehigherofeitherthe
statisticalvalueobtainedfromthetablesorthevalueobtainedfromthethrustmatching.

AfterselectionofW/S,theselectedT/Wshouldberecheckedagainstallrequirements.

WingLoading

W
Takeoffgrossweight
S

W
S

stallspeed
climbrate
takeoffdistance
landingdistance
turnperformance
designliftcoefficient
wettedarea,wingspandrag

Wingloading

W

S

Largerwing

Performance
improvement

Drag
Wtakeoff

Historicalternds

Typicaltakeoff(W/S)
lb/ft2

[kg/m2]

Sailplane

[30]

Homebuilt

11

[54]

Generalaviation(singleengine)

17

[83]

Generalaviation(twinengine)

26

[127]

Twinturboprop

40

[195]

Jettrainer

50

[244]

Jetfighter

70

[342]

Jettransport/bomber

120

[586]

(Inmksunits,thethrustforceisfoundas(T/W)x(mass)x(g[9.807]))

T/WandW/Smustbeoptimizedtogether.

InitiallyestimationofW/Sallowthedesignertobeginthelayoutwithsomeassurancethat
thedesignwillnotrequirecompleterevisionaftertheaircraftisanalyzedandsized.

Toensurethatthewingprovidesenoughliftinallcircumstances,thedesignershouldselect
thelowestoftheestimatedwingloadings.

If an unreasonably low wing loading value is driven by only one of these performance
conditions,thedesignershouldconsideranotherwaytomeetthatcondition.

Forexample,ifthewingloadingrequiredtomeetastallspeedrequirementiswellbelowall
otherrequirements,itmaybebettertoequiptheaircraftwithahighliftflapsystem.Iftake
offdistanceorrateofclimbrequireaverylowwingloading,perhapstheT/Wratioshould
beincreased.

StallSpeed
ThestallspeedofanaircraftisdirectlydeterminedbytheW/SandcLmax.

Stallspeedisamajorcontributortoflyingsafety,withasubstantialnumberoffatalaccidents
eachyearduetofailuretomaintainflyingspeed.

Also, the approach speed, which is the most important factor in landing distance and also
contributestoposttouchdownaccidents,isdefinedbythestallspeed.
FAR23certifiedaircrafts:

W<12500lb(5670kg)Vstall<61knots(113km/h)

Whilenotstated:(civiliantrainerorotheraircraft)

Vstall<50knots(95.6km/h)

Theapproachedspeedisrequiredtobeacertainmultipleofthestallspeed:
Civilapplications:

Vtouchdown1.3Vstall

Militaryapplications: Vtouchdown1.2Vstall

Stallspeedflightwithmaximumliftcoefficient

1
1
L W V 2 ScL SLV 2 ScL
2
2

cLmax

Wing geometry
Airfoil shape

Flap geometry

Span

f
Leading edge slot

Re number

Surface texture

Interference

Vstall

2(W / S )

SLcLmax

1/ 2

?
Aplainwingwithnoflaps

1.21.5

Awingwithlargeflapsimmersedinthepropwashorjetwash

5.0

Shorttakeoffandlandingaircraft

3.0

Aregulartransportaircraftwithflapsandslats

2.4

Otheraircraftswithflapsontheinnerpartofthewing

1.62.0

(Thetrimforceprovidedbythehorizontaltailwillincreaseorreducethe
maximumlift,dependingonthedirectioofthetrimforce)

Duringlanding,theflapswillbedeployedthemaximumamounttoprovidegreatestlift.
However,fortakeoffthemaximumflapanglewillprobablycausemoredragforce:

Typically,thetakeoffmaximumliftcoefficientisabout80%ofthelandingvalue.

A > 5 the maximum lift coefficient of wing will be approximately 90% of the airfoil
maximumliftcoefficientatthesameReynoldsnumber.

Ifpartialspanflapsareused,theirdeflectionwillintroducealarge,discontinuoustwistinto
thewinggeometrythatchangestheliftdistribution,thustheinduceddownwash,causing
theeffectiveangleofattacktovaryatdifferentspanstations.

cLmax

S flapped
Sunflapped
0.9(cl max ) flapped
(cl ) unflapped

S ref
S ref

The lift coefficient of the unflapped

airfoil at the angle of attack at which
theflappedairfoilstalls.
For a better initial estimation
ofmaximumlift,itisnecessary
to resort to test results and
historicaldata.
(remember:thetakeoffmaximumlift
coefficientisabout80%ofthelandingvalue)

AircraftDesign:AConceptualApproach,RaymerD.P.

TakeoffDistance
Groundrollistheactualdistancetraveledbeforethewheelsleavetheground.

Theliftoffspeedforanormaltakeoffis1.1Vstall.

Obstacleclearancedistanceisthedistancerequiredfrombrakereleaseuntiltheaircraft
hasreachedsomespecifiedaltitude.

This is usually 50 ft (15.24 m) for military or small civil aircraft and 35 ft (10.7 m) for
commercialaircraft.

BalancedFieldLengthisthelengthofthefieldrequiredforsafetyintheeventofanengine
failureattheworstpossibletimeinamultiengineaircraft.

Thespeedatwhichthedistancetostopafteranenginefailureexactlyequalsthedistanceto
continuethetakeoffontheremainingenginesiscalledthedecisionspeed.(V1)

S LO

1.44 W

g SL 2 cLmax

TSL

ForinitialestimationoftherequiredW/S,
astatisticalapproachforestimationof
takeoffdistancecanbeused.
Thetakeoffliftcoefficientistheactuallift
coefficientattakeoff,notthemaximum
liftcoefficientattakeoffconditionsas
usedforstallcalculation.

Theaircrafttakesoffatabout1.1Vstallso
thetakeoffliftcoefficientisthe
(cLmax/1.21).

Required(W/S)tomeetagiventakeoff
distancerequirement:

AircraftDesign:AConceptualApproach,RaymerD.P.

TOP

Propeller:

Jet:

hp

(
)

TOP
c

LTO
W

T
W
(TOP )cLTO
W
S

Aircraft
TakeoffWeight
TakeoffSpeed
Boeing737 100,000lb[45,360kg] 150mph[250km/h,130kts]
Boeing757240,000lb[108,860kg] 160mph[260km/h,140kts]
AirbusA320 155,000lb[70,305kg] 170mph[275km/h,150kts]
AirbusA340571,000lb[259,000kg] 180mph[290km/h,155kts]
Boeing747 800,000lb[362,870kg] 180mph[290km/h,155kts]
Concorde 400,000lb[181,435kg] 225mph[360km/h,195kts]
Speed
Description
Vs Stallspeedintakeoffconfiguration
Vmc Minimumcontrolspeedwithoneengineinoperative(OEI)
V1 OEIdecisionspeed
Vr

Rotationspeed

Vmu Minimumunstickspeedforsafeflight
Vlof Liftoffspeed
V2 Takeoffclimbspeedat35ft

FAR25Requirement

=or>Vmc
5%>Vmc
=or>Vs
10%>Vmu
5%>Vmu(OEI)
20%>Vs
10%>Vmc

CatapultTakeoff
Mostnavalaircraftmustbecapableofoperationfromanaircraftcarrier:

Acatapultacceleratestheaircrafttoflyingspeedinaveryshortdistance.

Catapultsaresteamoperated,andcanproduceamaximumforceontheaircraftdependingon
thesteampressure.

Therefore,alightaircraftcanbeacceleratedtoahigherspeedbythecatapultthanaheavyone.
1
W
2 (c Lmax ) take off
Vend Vwod Vthrust

1.21
S takeoff 2

catapult windoverdeck engine

LandingDistance
Landing ground roll is the actual distance the aircraft travels from the time wheels first
touchtothetimetheaircraftcomestoacompletestop.

Landingfieldlengthincludesclearinga50ft(15.24m)obstaclewhiletheaircraftisstillat
approachspeedandontheapproachglidepath(normally30).

Landingdistanceislargelydeterminedby(W/S).
Areasonablefirstguessofthe

Vapproach 1.3Vstall
Civilaircraft:

Militaryaircraft: Vapproach 1.2Vstall

S landing

W
80
S

S landing

W
5
S

cLmax

cLmax

totallandingdistance:

0.3(Vapproach ) 2 [knots ]
Obstacleclearencedistance

S a ( ft )

S a ( m)

Sa

Airlinertype,30glideslope

1000ft[305m]

Generalaviationtype,
poweroffapproach

600ft[183m]

STOL,70glideslope

450ft[137m]

Withthrustreverser:

0.66 S landing

Commercialaircraftrequiredsafetymargin:

1.67 S landing

ArrestedLanding
Aircraft that land on Navy aircraft carriers are stopped by a cableandbrake arrangement
calledarresteinggear.

Oneofseveralcablesstrungacrosstheflightdeckiscaughtbyahookattachedtotherear
oftheaircraft.

Thecableisattachedatbothendstodrummechanismswhichexertadraguponthecable
asitispulledbytheaircraft,thusstoppingitinaveryshortdistance.

Forcarrierbasedaircraft,theapproachspeedis1.2Vstall.Carrierpilotsdonotflareandslow
downforlanding.Instead,theyaretaughttoflytheaircraftrightintothedeck,relyingupon
the arresting gear to make the landing. By using this technique, the aircraft has enough
speedtogoaroundifthecablesaremissed.
Thefigurecanbeusedtodetermine
theallowableapproachspeedbased
uponafirstguessofthelanding
weight.

Theapproachspeeddividedby1.15
definesthestallspeed,whichcan
thenbeusedtoestimatethewing
loading.

WingLoadingforCruise

Jetaircraft0.015
Zeroliftdragcoefficient

cD0 ?

Cleanpropelleraircraft0.02
Dirty,fixedgearpropelleraircraft0.03

Oswaldefficiencyfactor e ?

(measureofdragduetoliftefficiency)

Fighteraircraft0.60.8
Otheraircraft0.8

Tomaximizerangeduringcruise(W/S)shouldbeselected

toprovideahigh(L/D)atthecruiseconditions.

Cruiseflight

L W 0

L W cL qS k 1
Ae
W /S
cL
q
1/ 2
c
D0

cLBR jet
3k

Cruiseflight
Jet

Propeller

0.866(L/D)max

(L/D)max

cLBR propeller cLE

cD0

k

1/ 2

Maximumjetrange

Maximumpropellerrange

W
q AecD0 / 3
S

W
q AecD0
S

Cruiseflightfuelburnedweightreduces(W/S)
Thiscanbeeqalizedq

1
V 2
2

; h cruiseclimbflight

Airtrafficcontroldoesnotlikeaircrafttokeepgraduallyclimb:
Aircraftsometimesallowedtoperformstepclimbduring
cruisewithhof600mor1200m.

WingLoadingforLoiterEndurance
20minutesofloiterbeforelanding

Formostaircraft,thwingloadingwillbeselectedfor
best cruise or other requiremenys and the loiter
capabilitieswillbeasecondaryconsideration.
Loiterflight

cLBR jet cLE

cD0

k

1/ 2

Jet

Propeller

(L/D)max

0.866(L/D)max

cLBR propeller

cD0

3k

1/ 2

Maximumjetloiter

Maximumpropellerloiter

W
q AecD0
S

W
q AecD0 / 3
S

Intheabsenceofbetterinformation,thisratiocanbeassumedtobeabout0.85
Iftheloiteraltitudeisnotspecified: cJetaircraft:h=3000040000ft[10000m]
Pistonpropeller:h=limitaltitudeforturbocharger

h=sealevelfornonturbocharger
Forinitialdesignpurposes:
1/ 4
1/ 2

Loitervelocity:150200knots[325km/h]forturbopropsandjets V V 2(W / S ) k
loiter
t

80120knots[180km/h]forpistonprops
SL cD
max

TurningFlight

g tan g (n 2 1)1/ 2

V
V
V
V2
V2
r

g tan g (n 2 1)1 / 2

V , n
rmtr

Vstall, turning

2n ( W / S)

SL c L max

1/ 2

g(n 2max 1)1 / 2

Vcorner

Cornerspeed:

rcorner

2
Vcorner

g (n 2max 1)1 / 2

Vcorner

2n max ( W / S)

SL c L max

1/ 2

 T /S
V
SL c D0

n2
1 1
2
(
E
[
T
/
W
])

m

1/ 2

1/ 2

nV
T

InstantaneousTurn/InstantaneousTurnRatewhereaplanepullsmaxG's(near6right
beforeblackout)toturnquicklyforashortperiodoftime,turnratevarieswithspeed,
usuallybestedatthecornerspeed/cornervelocityofagivenaircraft.Aturnthatquickly
expelsspeedandpossiblyalt,whileaninstantaneousturnisbydefinitionunsustainable,
mosttimestobenomorethana180degreeturnorchangeindirection.Whileusually
bestedatthecornerspeedofthegivenaircraft,thisturncanbeperformedathigheror
lowerspeedswithlessbenefit.

SustainedTurn/SustainedTurnRatewhereaplanemaximizesitssmallestturnradius,g
load,andspeedtoacquirethebestpossibleturnrateandcontinuouslysustainstheturn
forlongperiodsoftime,withoutgivingupalt,speed,ordegreesofturn.
Astheabovedefinitionshavedefined,thedifferencebetweenthetwoistheperiodof
timeyou'reabletomaintaintherateofturn.Whileyoucanachieveahighinstantaneous
Gloadbypullingbackhardonthestick,youwillnotbeabletomaintainthathighrateof
turnforverylongbecausethathighGloadwillincreasedragandslowtheaircraft,in
returnthiswillreducethemaximumGobtainable.Conversely,alowerGloadproduces
lessdrag.Eventuallyyou'llreachapointwherethrustwillbesufficienttoovercomethe
dragbeingproduced.ThiswillallowyoutomaintainthecurrentGloadandspeed.Thisis
calledsustainedturnrate.

InstantaneousTurn
Anaircraftdesignedforairtoairdogfightingmustbecapableofhighturnrate.

dt

Whenairtoairmissilesareinuse,
thefirstaircrafttoturntowrdsthe
other aircraft enough to launch a
misslewillprobablywin.

Inagunsonlydogfight,theaircraft
with the higher turn rate will be
abletomaneuverbehindtheother.

Aturnratesuperiorityof20/sisconsideredsignificant.
Sustained turn rate is turn rate at which the thrust of the aircraft is just sufficient to
maintainvelocityandaltitudeintheturn.

T D0

Instantaneousturnrateisthehighestturnratepossible.Iftheaircraftturnsataquicker
rate,thadragbecomesgreaterthantheavailablethrust,sotheaircraftbeginstoslowdown
orlosealtitude.

TD

LoadFactororgloadingduringaturnistheaccelarationduetolift
expressedasamultipleofthestandardaccelerationduetogravity.

L
n
W

[g ]

W
L sin V
g
L cos W
W
L
cos

L
1

n
W cos
qcL
n
W /S

g tan g (n 2 1)1/ 2

V
V

n2 1

tan n 2 1

Instantaneousturnrateislimitedonlybythrusablemaximumlift,uptothespeedatwhich
themaximumliftexceedstheloadcarryingcapabilityofthewindstructure.

Afighteraircraft:nmaxis7.33g,fornewerfightersnmaxis89g
The speed at which the maximum lift available exactly equals the allowable load factor is
called hte corner speed and provides the maximum turn rate for that aircraft at that
altitude. In a dogflight, pilots try to get to corner speed as quickly as possible it provides
bestturnrate.

Amodernfighteraircraft:cornerspeedis300350knots[550650km/h]

Designspecifications:

V
n
2

1 nallowable

Therequired(W/S)canbesolvedas:

W qcLmax

S
n

atcombatconditions
notforlanding

Machnumbereffectwhichreducesmaximumliftathigherspeeds.
Buffetingorcontrollabilityconsiderations.
Afighteraircraftwithonlyasimpletrailingedgeflapforcombat:
Afighteraircraftwithcomplexsystemofleadingandtrailingedge
flapswhichcanbedeployedduringcombat:

cLmax 0.6 0.8

cLmax 1.0 1.5

Theresultingwingloadingmustbedividedbytheratioofcombatweighttotakeoffweight
toobtaintherequiredtakeoffwingloading.Usuallythecombatweightisspecifiedasthe
aircraftdesigntakeoffweightwithanyexternalfueltanksdroppedand50%oftheinternal
fuelgone.Thisisapproximately0.85xWtakeoffformostfighters.

Theresultingwingloadingisthemaximumwhichwillallowtherequiredinstantaneousturn.

SustainedTurn
The sustained turn rate is also important for success in combat. It two aircraft pass each
otherinoppositedirections,itwilltakethemabout10secondstocomplete1800turnback
towardstheother.Theaircraftwillprobablynotbeabletomaintainspeedwhileturningat
the maximum instantaneous rate. If one of the aircraft slow down below corner speed
duringthistimeitwillbeataturnratedisadvantagetotheother,whichcouldprovefatal.

Sustainedturnrateisusuallyexpressedintermsofthemaximumloadfactoratsomeflight
conditionthattheaircraftcansustainwithoutslowingorlosingaltitude.Forexample:

Theabilityforsustaining4or5gat0.9Mat30000ft[9144m]

Ifthespeedistobemaintained: T D 0

L T L
n

W W D
T
W

Loadfactorinasustainedturnismaximizedby:

L nW

cL
qS qS

1
k
Ae

W q

AecD0
S n

c LE

cD0

k

1/ 2

withregardlessofthrustavailable.

Thewingloadingtoexactlyattainarequiredsustainedloadfactorusingalloftheavailable
thrustcanbedetermined:

T D cD qS

cL2
n 2W 2
qScD0
T qScD0 qS
qSAe
Ae
T
W n
W

W W / S S qAe
S
2

qScD0

T / W T / W 2 4n 2cD / Ae
0

2n 2 / qAe

(T/W)atcombatconditions

Wtake off
T

W take off Wcruise

T / W 2 4n 2cD / Ae
0

W
f (e,...)
S

nosolution

Tcombat

Ttake off

cD0
T
2n
W
Ae

available
solution

e f (cL ) Athighangleofattacktheeffectiveevaluemaybe
reducedby30%ormore.Becareful!!!

ClimbandGlide
TherearenumerousclimbrequirementsforFARormilitaryaircraft.
Engineout
Landinggearposition
Flapsettings

Climbgradient

Thesespecifyrateofclimb

dh
V sin
dt

h
G
X

T D
G

T D W sin

qScD0 qS cL2 / Ae
W

W (T / W ) G

T
G
W W

L W cos
D

qcD0

W 1

W / S S qAe

(T / W ) G 4cD
2

2 / qAe

/ Ae

availablesolution

cD0
T
G2
W
Ae

MaximumCeiling

(T

/ W ) G

(T

/ W ) G 4 c D 0 / Ae
2

2 / q Ae

canbeusedtocalculatethewingloadingtoattainsomemaximumceiling,giventheT/Wat
those conditions. The climb gradient G can be set to zero to represent level flight at the
desiredaltitude.

W
q AecD0
S

forminimumpower

This may suggest a wing loading so low as to be impractical, and so should be compared
withthewingloadingrequiredtoflyatagivenliftcoefficient:

W
qcL
S

Forefficiencyduringhighaltitudecruise,theliftcoefficient
shouldbeneartheairfoildesignliftcoefficient.
Typicalairfoil:cLis0.5
Highaltitudeaircraft,newhighliftairfoils:cLis0.951.0

SelectionofThrusttoWeightandWingLoading
FromtheW/Sestimatedabove,thelowestvalueshouldbeselectedtoensurethatthewing
islargeenoughforallflightconditions.

Dontforgettoconvertallwingloadingstotakeoffconditionspriortocomparisons.

AlowW/Swillalwaysincreaseaircraftweightandcost.

IfaverylowW/Sisdrivenbyonlyoneoftherequirements,achangeindesignassumptions
(suchasabetterhighliftsystem)mayallowahigherW/S.

When the best compromise for W/S has been selected, the T/W should be rechecked to
ensurethatallrequirementsarestillmet.

The equations in the last section which use T/W should be recalculated with the selected
W/SandT/W.

First
Aircraft
TakeOffWeight WingLoading ThrusttoWeight ThrusttoWeight
Flight
Type
lbs
lbs/ftsq
Military
Afterburner

Year
CF105

68,602

56

0.56

0.76

1958

CF18A

35,800

90

0.60

0.89

1978

F16C

26,536

88

0.57

0.94

1974

MirageF1

25,530

94

0.44

0.63

1966

MiG23

38,000

117

0.46

0.67

1967

MiG29

35,000

88

0.64

1.05

1977

InInternationalSystem
Engine(s)ThrustMaximum(kgf)

F15K

F15C

Mig29K

Mig29B

JF17

J10

F35A

F35B

F35C

F22

26,456(2) 21,274(2) 18,000(2) 16,600(2) 08,300(1) 12,500(1) 18,098(1) 18,098(1) 18098(1) 31,764(2)

AircraftWeightEmpty(kg)

17,010

14,379

12,723

10,900

06,586

09,250

13,290

14,515

15,785

19,673

AircraftWeightFullfuel(kg)

23,143

20,671

17,963

14,405

08,886

13,044

21,672

20,867

24,403

27,836

AircraftWeightMaxTakeoffload(kg)

36,741

30,845

22,400

18,500

12,700

19,277

31,752

27,216

31,752

37,869

Totalfuelweight(kg)

06,133

06,292

05,240

03,505

02,300

03,794

08,382

06,352

08,618

08,163

1.14

1.03

1.00

1.15

0.93

0.96

0.84

0.87

0.74

1.14

T/Wratio(Thrust/ACweightfullfuel)