2017

Conceptual Design of a Transport Aircraft

NADJA RABIZADEH, BAHAR KASBI

2017-05-25
KANDIDATEXAMENSARBETE SA115X, VT 2017
KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HÖGSKOLAN, FLYGTEKNIK
Abstract
The mission of this project is to conceptually design a transport aircraft. A typical mission for a transport
aircraft is to deliver supplies to countries in need of help. The given requirement is that the aircraft should be
able to travel from a place within EU to a place along the equator in Africa, deliver the supplies, and return
(to the takeoff location) without refueling. The operational mission will be to provide people in need with
supplies such as food, water and tents. The aircraft will be able to carry necessities that will be able to
provide 5000 persons during a week. Since a landing runway is not available at the destination, the payload
will be airdropped in parachutes.

First off, the desired requirements are defined, they are either already given or estimated. An analysis of
the mission and the desired performance of the aircraft is made by creating a mission profile. With the help
of this a weight estimation is done, most importantly the takeoff weight of the aircraft is estimated. With
the takeoff weight known and by the help of the desired performance requirements, a constraint diagram
is made. By a constraint analysis the optimal wing loading and thrust-to-weight ratio is found. This makes
it possible to choose an appropriate engine and to design the wings so that they are customized for the
desired mission. Other parts of the aircraft such as the tail and fuselage are designed, and the center-of
gravity of the aircraft is found. Throughout the project, different aerodynamic parameters are changed in
order to optimize the aircraft and its performance to make it as adapted as possible to the desired mission.

Sammanfattning
Målet med detta projekt är att konceptuellt designa ett transportflygplan. Ett typiskt uppdrag för ett
transportflygplan kan vara att leverera förnödenheter till länder i behov av hjälp. Det givna kravet är att
flygplanet ska kunna flyga från en plats inom EU till en plats längs ekvatorn, leverera förnödenheterna, och
återvända (till avreseplatsen) utan att behöva tanka. Det operativa uppdraget kommer att vara att förse
människor i nöd med förnödenheter som mat, vatten och tält. Flygplanet kommer kunna transportera
förnödenheter som ska räcka under en vecka till 5000 personer. Eftersom det inte finns en landningsbana vid
destinationen, kommer nyttolasten att släppas i luften med hjälp av fallskärm.

Till en början definieras de önskade kraven, de är antingen redan givna eller estimerade. En analys av
uppdraget och den önskade prestationen görs genom att skapa en så kallad ’mission profile’. Med hjälp av
detta kan en viktuppskattning göras, huvudsakligen uppskattas flygplanets startvikt. Med hjälp av den kända
startvikten och flygplanets önskade prestationskrav skapas ett begränsningsdiagram (constraint diagram).
Genom en begränsningsanalys fås den optimala vingbelastningen (wing loading) och förhållandet mellan
dragkraft och vikt (thrust-to-weight ratio). Detta gör det möjligt att välja en lämplig motor och att designa
vingarna så att de är anpassade till det önskade uppdraget. Andra delar av flygplanet som stabilisatorn och
flygplanskroppen är designade, och flygplanets masscentrum beräknas. Under hela projektet ändras olika
aerodynamiska parametrar i syfte att optimera flygplanet och dess prestanda för att anpassa så bra som
möjligt till det önskade uppdraget.
PREFACE

We would like to say a thank you to our tutors Fredrik Edelbrink and Christer Fuglesang, for their help and for
the huge inspiration we got from them. With them as our tutors, this project became even more interesting.

Bahar Kasbi, Nadja Rabizadeh

Stockholm, maj 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Idea ............................................................................................................................................................ 1
2. MISSION SPECIFICATION 1
2.1 Mission Profile ........................................................................................................................................... 1
2.2 Performance requirements ....................................................................................................................... 2
2.3 Payload ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
3. WEIGHT ESTIMATION 3
4. AERODYNAMICS 4
4.1 Drag Coefficient CD .................................................................................................................................... 4
4.2 Lift Coefficient CL ....................................................................................................................................... 5
4.3 Velocity Estimations .................................................................................................................................. 5
4.4 Dynamic pressure ...................................................................................................................................... 6
5. CONSTRAINT ANALYSIS 6
5.1 T/W as a function of W/S........................................................................................................................... 6
Desired rate of climb ................................................................................................................................... 7
Desired takeoff distance ............................................................................................................................. 7
Desired cruise airspeed ............................................................................................................................... 8
5.2 Constraint Diagram .................................................................................................................................... 8
Stall speed limit ........................................................................................................................................... 8
Selecting wing loading and thrust-to-weight ratio...................................................................................... 9
6. FUSELAGE DESIGN 9
6.1 Geometry Sizing ......................................................................................................................................... 9
7. CENTER OF GRAVITY 10
7.1 Weight approximation ............................................................................................................................. 10
Wings:........................................................................................................................................................ 10
Engines: ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
7.2 Center-of-gravity location........................................................................................................................ 11
8. WING DESIGN 12
8.1 Airfoil type ............................................................................................................................................... 12
8.2 Wing Geometry........................................................................................................................................ 13
9. TAIL DESIGN 13
9.1 Tail type ................................................................................................................................................... 13
9.2 Tail volume and placement...................................................................................................................... 14
10. LIFT-TO-DRAG RATIO ESTIMATION 14
REFERENCES 15
ANNEX 17
1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
This report treats a bachelor thesis project made in aeronautics, at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The
bachelor thesis project is a part of the vehicle engineering program.
The main assignment is to conceptually design a transport aircraft, based on some predetermined
requirements.

1.2 Idea
Transport aircraft, also called cargo aircraft, are used for transporting goods a long way. The idea of this project
is to design an aircraft intended for transport of necessities for people in need. The operational mission is to
provide victims of the current drought in Congo with supplies such as food, water and tents. The takeoff
location is in Athens, Greece and the destination is Kisangani, Congo. The aircraft has to be able to carry
necessities that can provide 5000 persons during a week. As long as help is needed, one aircraft will be sent
per week. The transport aircraft has to have the capacity to fly the whole distance (back and forth) without
refueling. When at the destination in Kisangani (Congo), the supplies will be airdropped with the help of ten
parachutes, while the aircraft is circulating over a specific area.

2. MISSION SPECIFICATION
2.1 Mission Profile
The figures (annex (1) and annex (2)) describe the route the aircraft will take, from the city Athens in Greece
to the city Kisangani in Congo. The whole route involves take-off, climb, cruise, loiter, descend and landing.

The altitude for cruising is 8000 m. The cruise airspeed is set to Mach 0.85 (262 m/s). When the aircraft is at
the destination and before loiter phase occurs, the aircraft descends to an altitude of 5000 m. At this point
the aircraft will during 30 minutes (Endurance E1) loiter. During this loiter phase the payload will be
airdropped in ten parachutes, one at a time evenly spread over the region. When this is done, the aircraft will
climb to 8000 m, and return to Athens. Right before descending and landing in Athens, the second loiter
phase will occur. This time the aircraft will loiter during 20 minutes (Endurance E2). The reason for this loiter
phase is that the pilot has to wait for clearance to land.
The distance from Athens to Kisangani is 4173 km (= 2250 nautical miles), this is also denoted range.

Table 2.1. Desired performance parameters given in the mission profile.

Range Endurance E1 Endurance E2 Cruise altitude Cruise speed
[nmi] [h] [h] [m] [Mach]
2250 0.5 0.33 8000 0.85

The crew of the aircraft will consist of 3 persons: pilot, co-pilot and load master (80 kg each approximately),
and have a total weight of 240 kg. They will during the flight be seated in the cockpit. The load master is
responsible for loading the cargo on the aircraft before takeoff, and for releasing the cargo during airdrop.

1
2.2 Performance requirements
In addition to those already given in chapter 2.1, other performance requirements needs to be defined.

Table 2.2. Desired performance requirements.

Payload Climb rate Takeoff distance Landing distance Engine Type
[kg] [m/min] [m] [m]
42300 660 3170 1230 4 jet engines
(high-bypass turbofan)

The main classification for the aircraft is that it is a subsonic transport jet aircraft.
The climb rate is 660 m/min (=11m/s), see chapter 5.1 (Desired rate of climb).

Takeoff distance is estimated to 3170 m, see chapter 5.1 (Desired takeoff distance) to see how this value was
chosen. The landing distance is approximated to 1230 m. By looking at the similar cargo aircraft Boeing C-17
Globemaster III and its landing distance in relationship to its takeoff distance, this value was chosen. [1]
The engine that is chosen is Rolls-Royce Trent 7000, which is a jet engine. 4 engines will be used, each wing
will have 2 engines evenly placed under them. The dry weight of each engine is 7750 kg. The maximum thrust
force T of each engine is 302-320 kN. Given the total thrust force T needed for the desired performance that
is calculated in chapter 5.2, the thrust force needed per engine will only be 127.6 kN, which is 40 % of the
maximum thrust force.
The chosen optimal Mach number during cruise is 0.85.
An important speed requirement is the approach speed, which is set to VA  78.0 = m/s. This is the speed at
which the aircraft approaches the runway. This value (=152 knots) is chosen by looking at different aircraft
approach categories [2], and choosing aircraft category D which is typical for large jet/military jet. By having
the approach speed VA known, the stall speed can be calculated, given that VA  1.3  Vstall . This results in a
stall speed Vstall of 60 m/s.

Table 2.3. Desired speed requirements.

Approach speed VA [m/s] Stall speed Vstall [m/s]
78.0 60.0

2.3 Payload
The payload of the aircraft is of 42 300 kg and consists of 35 000 packages of water and food (1 kg each), 50
pieces 100 man tents (100 kg each), and 10 parachutes (230 kg each) [3].

The parachutes work with the 10000 lb Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System (JPADS 10k) program, which is
an American military airdrop system. The system uses GPS, steerable parachutes and an onboard computer
to steer the loads. It has the capacity to carry cargo of 10000 lb, which is equal to 4536 kg. [3] Each parachute
will be loaded with 4000 kg consisting of packages with supplies and 5 tents. The total weight of the cargo
that will be airdropped is 40 000 kg, 42 300 kg including the weight of the parachutes.

Table 2.4. Different parts of the payload and their separate weights.
Type of payload Packages with 100 man tents Parachutes
supplies
Weight [kg] 1 kg  35000 = 100 kg  50 = 230 kg  10 =
35000 5000 2300

2
3. WEIGHT ESTIMATION
During the flight, the total weight of the aircraft will decrease due to the use of fuel (decrease of fuel weight
WF ). The takeoff weight of the aircraft is estimated by dividing the mission profile in individual mission
segments. For each segment a fuel fraction is determined. By multiplying all fuel fractions for each segment,
the total weight fraction during the flight is determined. Following is a table of predetermined fuel fractions
for specific mission segments for a transport jet.

Table 3.1. Given fuel fraction estimates for a transport jet according to [4], for different mission segments.
Engine startup Taxi Take-off Climb Descent Landing Taxi
0.990 0.990 0.995 0.980 0.990 0.992

Values for transport jet are chosen, see the highlighted row in annex (3). The cruise-segment mission weight
fraction is found by using the Breguet range equation [5] which gives:
Wi  RCcruise
 exp (3-1)
Wi 1 vcruise ( L / D)
Where R is the range and defined as before. C is the specific fuel consumption during cruise, and depends on
the type of engine. For high-bypass turbofan it is equal to 0.5 (1/hr) [6]. The lift-to-drag ratio is 0.866 
(L/D)max during cruise. vcruise is the velocity of the aircraft during cruise at the altitude 8000 m. It is found using
the definition of Mach number M, where M = 0.85.
v
M (3-2)
a
The local flow velocity v in the equation is the same as our cruise velocity vcruise . The speed of sound a at
the altitude 8000 m is 308.1 m/s according to annex (4), where characteristics of the standard atmosphere
are found. vcruise is calculated as vcruise  a  M  308.1  0.85  261.9 m/s.
The maximum lift-to-drag ratio is estimated to 17 by comparing data for similar aircraft, which is subsonic jet
aircraft, see annex (5).The lift-to-drag ratio L / D varies during the flight and depends on the velocity of the
aircraft. At approximately the velocity for maximum L / D , the most efficient loiter occur for a jet aircraft.
Therefore the maximum L / D is used in the following endurance equation. The most efficient cruise for a
jet aircraft occurs at a velocity that yields an L / D that is 86.6 % of the maximum L / D . Therefore 0.866 
L / Dmax is used in the Breguet range equation.The loiter weight fraction is found by using the Breguet
endurance equation which gives:

Wi  EC
 exp (3-3)
Wi 1 ( L / D) max

E is the endurance/loiter time, and defined as before. The specific fuel consumption C during loiter for high-
bypass turbofan is 0.4 (1/hr).To found out the total mission weight fraction Wx for the whole flight, the product
W0
of all twelve fuel fractions is calculated. The fuel fraction can now be estimated:

WF  Wx 
 1.06  1 
 (3-4)
W0  W0 
Here it is assumed that all weight lost during the mission must be due to fuel usage, payload drops are not
taken into account. In equation (3-4) there is a multiply of 1.06, which stands for 6 % allowance for reserve

3
and trapped fuel. With an estimated fuel fraction WF , the take-off weight WTO and empty weight WE can be
W0
solved with following two equations.
WE  WTO  A  (WTO )C (3-5)
WPL  WC
WTO  (3-6)
W W
1 F  E
WTO WTO

The empty weight WE and the fuel weight WF are determined by the take-off weight WTO. Following table
shows the result of the weight estimation calculations.

Table 3.2. Weight estimations of total take-off weight of aircraft, empty weight of aircraft and fuel weight.
Payload and crew weight are determined according to mission requirements.
Take-off Empty Fuel Payload weight Crew weight WC
weight WTO weight WE weight WF WPL [ton]
[ton] [ton] [ton] [ton]
213.6 99.2 71.9 42.3 0.24

4. AERODYNAMICS
4.1 Drag Coefficient CD
The drag coefficient CD is used to quantify the drag force on the aircraft. The drag force has two contributes,
one is the zero-lift drag CDmin and the other is called induced drag. The zero-lift drag is not related to the lift, it
is the resistance that is created when air particles hit the surface of the aircraft. The induced drag is due to
the lift, and increases when the lift force is increasing.
The simplified drag model describes the relationship with the lift coefficient CL:

CD  CD min  k  CL 2 (4-1)
1
k – Lift induced drag constant: k  0.049 (4-2)
  Ae
A – Aspect ratio
e – Oswald span efficiency e  1.78(1  0.045 A0.68 )  0.64 (4-3)

The equation used for calculating e is adapted to a straight-wing aircraft. The aircraft will have swept wings.
But since the leading edge sweep angle  LE is less than 30 degrees, it can be assumed that the wings are
straight and not swept, according to [7].

The drag coefficient CD varies during flight, mostly due to the variation of CL . The drag coefficient is in this
project only used in the thrust-weight ratio equation for desired takeoff distance. As seen in annex (6)
showing the graph of the lift coefficient vs. angle of attack, the CL for zero angle of attack is approximately
1.78. To calculate the CD during takeoff, this value of CL is used in equation (4.1) [8].

4
The zero-lift drag coefficient (CD ) min , also called the complete parasite-drag buildup, depends on the Mach
number and can be estimated with fig. 12.34 [9] for different types of aircraft. With Mach number 0.85 and
by following the curve for aircraft B-727 the (CD ) min is set to 0.019 as a first estimation.
Later when the wetted area S wet and the wing reference area S ref are known, the accurate (CD ) min can be
solved by:
S wet
CD min  C fe (4-4)
Sref
The equivalent skin friction coefficient C fe is according to table 12.3 equal to 0.0035, value for a military
cargo. The transport aircraft will have a large rear upsweep angle, and can therefore be assumed to have the
same values as a military cargo aircraft [10].

The final optimized value of (CD ) min is 0.017, solved by equation (4-4).

4.2 Lift Coefficient CL

The lift coefficient CL is used to quantify the lift force on the aircraft. The maximal lift coefficient (CL ) max is
used to determine the wing reference area S. The maximum lift coefficient C max in two dimensions depends
on the airfoil type. In chapter 8.1 it is described how this is determined with the help of airfoil data. When
this is known, the maximum lift coefficient in three dimensions can be calculated as:

CL max  0.9C max cos  0.25c (4-5)

This equation is valid for subsonic aircraft of moderate sweep and is therefore appropriate to use for this
aircraft that has a leading edge sweep angle of 29 degrees. Swept wings reduces the maximum lift, which is
why the unswept maximum lift value ( 0.9C max ) is multiplied by the cosine of the quarter-chord sweep angle,
cos  0.25c .
The final optimized value of (CL ) max is 1.98.

4.3 Velocity Estimations

During the flight the velocity of the aircraft changes, depending on the current mission segment. It is not
possible to calculate the exact velocity at all times, and therefore a few velocity assumptions are made. These
are later used in equations used in the constraint analysis.
The already known velocities of the aircraft are:

- Approach speed, vA = 77.0 m/s (vA =1.3vstall)

- Stall speed, vstall = 60.0 m/s (design requirement)
- Cruise speed, vcruise = 261.8 m/s (speed at 8000 m altitude with M=0.85)

During takeoff one can assume following of the takeoff/liftoff velocity: vLOF = 1.1vstall
During climb the climb speed can be assumed to be: vcl ≥ 1.2vstall
During landing the approach speed can be assumed to be: vA=1.3vstall

These velocity estimations can be found in takeoff and landing specifications [11].

5
4.4 Dynamic pressure
The dynamic pressure q varies during flight, because of different airspeed and air density. It is described as:
1
q  V 2 (4-6)
2
 - Air density [kg/m3]
V - Airspeed [m/s]

The air density  is used for two different altitudes, at 194 m (takeoff and climb) and at 8000 m (cruise).
(Annex (4)). Athens is located at the altitude of 194 m over the sea level, therefore this altitude is used in
equations for takeoff and climb.

Table 4.1. Air density for different altitudes.

 0 (Sea level) TO (194 m)  cruise (8000 m)
3 3
[kg/m ] [kg/m ] [kg/m3]
1.225 1.203 0.5258

The airspeed takes three different values, for take-off, climb and cruise respectively. Therefore three
different dynamic pressures will be used, one for each constraint equation in the next chapter. The take-off
and climb speed are estimated as seen in previous chapter. The cruise speed vcruise is calculated at the optimal
Mach number 0.85, see chapter 3.
The dynamic pressure during takeoff is calculated at the velocity V = VLOF / 2 . [12]

Table 4.2. Airspeed during three different mission segments that are used in constraint analysis.
Liftoff speed VLOF Climb speed Vclimb Cruise speed Vcruise
[m/s] [m/s] [m/s]
66.0 72.0 262

5. Constraint analysis

5.1 T/W as a function of W/S

The thrust to weight ratio T of the aircraft can be seen as a dependant variable that can be described as a
W
function of the wing loading W which is the independent variable. Where T is the forward thrust force that is
S
given by the engines, W is the total takeoff weight of the aircraft and S is the wing reference area. By using
different equations that describe the thrust-to-weight ratio as a function of the wing loading one can plot the
thrust-to-weight ratio graphs for different flight conditions. The flight conditions that are used in the
constraint analysis are climb, takeoff and cruise. The three plotted graphs that one will receive will create a
constraint diagram, which easily can be analysed.

6
Desired rate of climb

The following expression is used to determine thrust to weight ratio T required to achieve a desired rate of
W
climb [13].
T VV q k W 
  CD min     (5-1)
W V (W / S ) q S 

VV – vertical velocity / rate of climb [m/s]

V – Airspeed (  M  a ) [m/s]
k – Lift induced drag constant (= 0.049)

Rate of climb VV is one of the desired requirements and is set to 11 m/s. This is the velocity which the
aircraft elevates with, the upward velocity in vertical direction. By looking at similar transport aircrafts in the
same size and their rate of climbs, this value was chosen [14].
The airspeed V is during climb equal to the climb speed Vc lim b = 72 m/s. It is assumed that this does not
change during climb.

Desired takeoff distance

T
The following expression is used to determine the thrust-weight ratio required to achieve a desired
W
takeoff distance, more precisely a desired ground-roll distance[13].
T V 2 LOF q  CD ,TO  q  CL ,TO 
    1   (5-2)
W 2 g  SG (W / S )  W /S 
VLOF – Liftoff speed [m/s]
SG – Ground roll distance [m]
g – Gravity constant (= 9.807 m/s2) [m/s2]

The takeoff lift coefficient (C L ) TO is the maximum takeoff lift coefficient (C L ) max divided by 1.1 squared [15].
The takeoff drag coefficient (CD )TO is equal to the drag coefficient CD , since CD is only calculated for the
desired takeoff distance (see chapter 4.1).

The ground rolling resistance  is set to 0.03, which is a typical value for rolling resistance on a hard runway.
The takeoff runway in Athens is off dry concrete/asphalt. [16]

The ground roll distance SG is the first part of the takeoff distance and will be calculated according to [17].
The takeoff distance is estimated with fig. 5.4 in annex (7) [15] so that a FAR takeoff distance (balanced field
length) for an aircraft of 4 jet engines is achieved. The estimation gives a takeoff distance of 3170 metres. The
second part of the takeoff distance is the distance required to clear an obstacle after becoming airborne,
called the distance while airborne S A . This distance can be calculated with the help of the given obstacle
height hOB , see annex (8). The obstacle height is according to FAR-requirement equal to 35 ft. (= 10.7 m) since
the aircraft falls into the category of commercial aircraft [18].
In the figure, R is the turn radius and can be determined by:
V2
R (5-3)
g (n  1)

7
The air velocity V increase from 1.1  Vstall (liftoff speed) at liftoff to 1.2  Vstall (climb speed) as it clears the
obstacle of height 35 ft. Therefore it can be assumed that V is an average value equal to1.15  Vstall . The load
factor n is calculated as follows:
L 0.5  (1.15Vstall ) 2 S (0.9)(CL ) max
n   1.19 (5-4)
W 0.5  (Vstall ) 2 S (CL ) max

L is the lift and W is the aircraft’s weight. It is in equation (5-4) assumed that the average lift coefficient
during the airborne phase is C L  0.9(C L ) max . It is not maximal and less than (C L ) max so that one can have a
margin of safety during climb.
With equation (5-3), R is calculated to 2550 metres. In following equation the distance while airborne S A is
calculated:
S A  R sin  OB (5-5)

By the geometry, it is given that cos OB  R  hOB  1  hOB . The included angle  OB of the flight path, which is
R R
the angle between the point of takeoff and that for clearing the obstacle, can be calculated as
 hOB  With this inserted in equation (5-5), S A is calculated to 233 metres. The ground
OB  cos 1 1    5.24.
 R 
roll distance SG can now be determined:
SG  3170  S A  2940 m (5-6)
The total takeoff distance is 3170 metres.

Desired cruise airspeed

Following expression is used to determine the thrust-weight ratio T for a desired cruise airspeed at a
W
desired altitude. The desired altitude for cruise is 8000 m [13].
T  1   1  W 
 q  CD min    k    (5-7)
W  W / S   q  S 
k – Lift induced drag constant (= 0.049)

5.2 Constraint Diagram

In annex (9) the MATLAB produced constraint diagram can be found. Each graph is by a mathematical
expression representing a flight condition and its associated performance requirements (see chapter 5.1).
The interval for the wing loading is (0,6000) and for the thrust-to-weight ratio it is (0,1).

Stall speed limit

There is one more constraint that must be followed, and that is the stall speed limit [19]. This constraint
cannot be described with the thrust-to-weight ratio as a function of the wing loading. By knowing the desired
maximum stall speed Vstall which is 60.0 m/s, one can set the maximum acceptable wing loading W . Following
S
equation gives the value of W constrained by the stalling velocity: [19]
S
W 1
  Vstall
2
(CL ) max  4370 N/m2 (5-8)
S 2
The air density  is at sea level and is equal to 1.225 kg/m3.

8
Selecting wing loading and thrust-to-weight ratio

To determine the aircraft’s wing loading and thrust-to-weight ratio, a point in the diagram should be chosen.
For the values to be reasonable any point cannot be chosen, it has to be a point which fulfil the desired
performance requirements.
The wing loading value obtained from the stall constraint in equation (5-8) is chosen as the optimal wing
loading. This value is shown as the vertical line in the constraint diagram. With this known, the required wing
reference area S can be determined:

WTO  g
S  487 m2 (5-9)
W 
 
 S optimal

The area above all the graphs, is the acceptable region in which the thrust-to-weight ratio can take a value.
Any point in this area (see annex (8)), will meet the requirements. To avoid unnecessarily high thrust force
(which will need larger engines and therefore make the aircraft heavier) a low point is chosen. The lowest
T
point in the acceptable region with W = 4370 N/m2 is at equal to 0.24.
S W
The required thrust force T of the engines can now be determined:
T
T  WTO g   510.5 kN (5-10)
W

6. FUSELAGE DESIGN

6.1 Geometry Sizing

The length of the fuselage for a jet transport aircraft can be estimated with the help of the takeoff weight.
[20]

 0.287  (WTO ) 0.43 (6-1)

This equation gives a length equal to 56.2 m. The width and height of the fuselage both depend on how
much space the payload will take. These parameters are chosen so that enough space for payload storage is
created. The payload of supplies and tents will be distributed and loaded on ten cargo pallets, so called unit
load devices (ULD) [21]. The pallets will be each equipped with one parachute, ready to be airdropped at the
desired region. Each pallet is quadratic with the side length of 1.53 m.

The cargo will be stored in the centre of the fuselage, with pallets evenly placed in three rows. Left row
consisting of 3 pallets, middle row of 4 pallets and right row of 3 pallets. The length of this space where the
payload will be placed can therefore be approximated to 6.6 m, where payload =1.53  4 + 0.5 = 6.6 m. The
width of this space is approximately 5.1 m, where w payload =1.53  3 + 0.5 = 5.1 m. The width of the fuselage is
therefore chosen as 6.1 m. The height of the middle part of the fuselage (where the payload is storaged) is
also 6.1 m. This part of the fuselage has the shape of a cylinder with the radius 6.1 m.

9
Table 6.1. Dimensions of different parts of the fuselage.
Fuselage length Width Height Cockpit length Length of cargo Length of
[m] wf hf [m] compartment rear part
[m] [m]
[m] [m]
56.2 6.1 6.1 7 30.3 22

See annex (10) for CAD-figures of the aircraft.

7. CENTER OF GRAVITY
7.1 Weight approximation
To calculate the center of gravity location of the aircraft, a weight estimation of the aircraft components
must be made.

Wings:
The empty weight of the wings Wwing can be approximated by a table in [22]. It is for a transport/bomber
aircraft given that the empty weight of a wing is 49 kg/m2

Table 7.1. Approximate empty weight buildup for wing.

Empty weight/square meter Multiplier Sexposed planform
[kg/m2] [m2]

49 407.2
The multiplier Sexposed planform is the exposed planform area. This is the projected area of the exposed part of
the wing. By the wing reference area S and the area Sf of the part of the fuselage (see the figure) it can be
determined. First the exposed area of the wings Swing is calculated:

SWing  S  S f (7-1)
The wings are not parallel to the horizontal plane, but have an anhedral angle of 3 degrees. Therefore the
true exposed planform area is obtained by [23].

S wing
Sexp osed , planform  (7-2)
cos(3)
The empty weight of the wings is then:

WWing  49  Sexp osed , planform  19953 kg (7-3)

Tail:
The empty weight of the tail consisting of the horizontal tail and vertical tail can be approximated the same
way as the wings. From the same table in [22] following is given for a transport/bomber aircraft:

Table 7.2. Approximate empty weight buildup for tail.

Empty weight/square meter Multiplier Sexposed planform
Tail type [kg/m2] [m2]

Horizontal tail 27 S HT
Vertical tail 27 SVT

10
The exposed planform area for the horizontal tail is SHT and for the vertical tail it is SVT. The empty weight for
the horizontal and vertical tail is:
WHorizontalTail  27  S HT  3016 kg (7-4)
WVerticalTail  27  SVT  2094 kg (7-5)
The total tail empty weight is:
WTail  WHorizontalTail  WVerticalTail  5110 kg (7-6)
Engines:
The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine has a dry weight of 7750 kg[24]. The weight of the installed engine is a
weight ratio times the given dry weight. The weight ratio for a transport/bomber aircraft is 1.3 [22]. The total
weight of the installed engines (four engines) is:

WEngine  4  7750  1.3  40300 kg (7-7)

7.2 Center-of-gravity location

The major weight components that play a role for the center-of-gravity location are the engines, fuel tanks,
wings, tail, payload and cabin crew (weight of 240 kg) in the cockpit.
To calculate the center-of-gravity location the moments from each weight component around the nose of the
aircraft are summed and divided by the sum of the weights [25].To make this calculation the location of each
component along the fuselage must be known. The wing and tail location is dependant of the center-of-
gravity location, and for that reason they cannot be known before a first estimate of the center-of-gravity
location excluding the weight of the wings and tail is made. The engines and the fuel tanks will be placed in
the wings, and that is why their location is also unknown and must also be excluded in the first estimate.
First estimate of center-of-gravity location:
7.5  240 g  18.35 WPL g
xcfirst , estimate
  18.3 m (7-8)
240 g  WPL g
.o . g .

According to [26] the wings location with respect to the fuselage (x-location) is determined by the first
estimate of the center-of-gravity location. They should be located so that the aircraft’s center-of-gravity
coincides with the point where one have 30 % of the mean aerodynamic chord of the wing (see figure 7.1).
The x-location of the tail is also determined by the first estimate of c.o.g.-location, see figure 7.1. The
moment arms LVT and LHT which are calculated in chapter 8.2, describe the distance between the wing and
the tail.
With the relationship between the first estimate of the aircraft’s c.o.g.-location and the wing and tail location
together with the center-of-gravity of the wing and the tail, one can calculate a new, correct center-of-gravity
location. In following equation it is used that the center-of-gravity of the wing is at 40 % of the wing’s mean
aerodynamic chord, and for the horizontal and vertical tail the center-of-gravity is also at 40 % of their mean
aerodynamic chord [22]. (It is assumed that the engines and fuel tanks are centrally located in the wing, and
therefore their own center-of-gravity is at the same point as the wing’s center-of-gravity.)

7.5  240  18.35 WPL  (WWing  WEngine  WF )  ( xcfirst ,estimate

 0.1cmean )  WVT ( xcfirst ,estimate
 0.05cmean  LVT  0.15croot
VT
)  WHT ( xcfirst , estimate
 0.05cmean  LHT  0.15cmean
HT
)
xc.o.g . 
.o . g . .o. g . .o. g . (7-9)
240  WPL  (WWing  WEngine  WF )  (WVT  WHT )

11
 Figure 7.1. Center-of-gravity location is calculated according to this figure.

The final value of the center-of-gravity for a loaded aircraft (fuel and payload) is at xc.o.g. = 19.8 m.
(x marks the distance from the nose of the aircraft).
When the payload is dropped, the aircraft’s center of gravity will change and move backward. The new
center-of-gravity location after the airdrop is at xc.o.g. = 20.2 m.

8. WING DESIGN

8.1 Airfoil type

The airfoil that is chosen is NACA-632615, which is a 6-digit NACA airfoil.

Figure 8.1. NACA-632615 airfoil profile.

Following airfoil data is given for this type of airfoil: [27]

Table 8.1. Given airfoil data.

x min. pressure C ,i  t / c max C ,max  stall [°]
0.3  c 0.6 0.15 2.45 8.0

The section lift coefficient c in two dimensions is the lift coefficient for the airfoil. This is dependant of the
Reynolds number Re. The maximum section lift coefficient C ,max is of interest since it is used to calculate the
maximum lift coefficient CL max in three dimensions. C ,max can for a specific Reynolds number be read from
the section lift coefficient c vs. the section angle of attack  0 diagram in Annex (10). The C ,max is read

12
from the curve given by a Reynolds number of 6.0  10 kg/(s  m) and a standard roughness (see Annex (10)).
6

It is also the C -curve for which the lift force contribution of the flaps is included. The stalling angle of attack
 stall can also be read in the same diagram, this is the angle for which one have the maximum lift coefficient,
c ,max .
C ,i is the airfoil’s ideal lift coefficient. The maximum thickness-to-chord ratio  t / c max is the ratio between
the maximum thickness of the airfoil and its chord length.

8.2 Wing Geometry

Table 8.2, the determined wing design parameters that are needed to decide the wing geometry of the
aircraft are shown.

Table 8.2. Wing design parameters.

Aspect ratio Reference Wing area S Taper ratio Wing span Root chord Croot Tip chord Ctip
A [m2]  b [m] [m] [m]
8.0 485.4 0.30 62.3 12.0 3.6
Dihedral Leading edge sweep
angle [°] angle  LE [°]
-3 29.0

The aspect ratio A is chosen to be 8.0. This is a relatively high aspect ratio, and it is chosen because long
narrow wings are desired for the aircraft. This gives the aircraft more stability and slightly more lift. Good
manoeuvrability is not a desired quality since it is not needed for the mission profile. Therefore a high aspect
ratio is more preferable than a low [28]. The taper ratio  is chosen to 0.3, because of the swept wings. Most
Ctip
swept wings have a taper ratio of 0.2-0.3 [29]. The definition of the taper ratio is given by:  
Croot
2S
The wing span b is calculated as b  A  S . The root chord length Croot is calculated as Croot  . And
b(1   )
by the given taper ratio, the tip chord length Ctip can be calculated. These equations are given in [30].
According to table 4.2 [31] it is for a subsonic swept wing optimal that the wings have a negative dihedral
angle of -5 to -2 degrees. A negative dihedral angle of 3 degrees is chosen.
The wings will be swept and they will have a leading edge sweep angle  LE of 29 degrees. This value is
chosen according to figure 4.20 [32] for a maximum Mach number of 0.85.

9. TAIL DESIGN
9.1 Tail type
The chosen tail type is a T-tail, where the horizontal tail is placed at the top of the vertical tail. Because of the
high wing location, this tail was chosen [33]. At higher attack angles the turbulent airflow leaving the airfoil
will then not blanket and disturb the control surfaces at the tail. Most importantly the horizontal tail which
counter pitching moments of the aircraft, preventing the aircraft’s nose to pitch upward and achieve a critical
angle of attack (leading to stall).

13
9.2 Tail volume and placement
The tail surface of the horizontal and vertical tail can be determined by the tail volume coefficients and the
tail moment arm. The following are the typical tail volume coefficients for a jet transport aircraft [34].

Table 9.1. Typical tail volume coefficients for a jet transport aircraft.
Horizontal cHT Vertical cVT
1.0 0.09

The tail moment arm for the horizontal and vertical tail can be approximated. For an aircraft with the engines
on the wing, the tail moment arm is about 50-55 % of the fuselage length [34].Since the tail is a T-tail with an
angled vertical tail, the horizontal tail will be located further behind, and will therefore have a longer
moment arm than the vertical tail. The horizontal tail moment arm LHT is 55 % of the fuselage length,
LHT  0.55  l = 31.1 m. The vertical tail moment arm LVT is 52 % of the fuselage length, LVT  0.52  l = 29.4 m.

Figure 9.1. The tail moment arms along the x-axis/fuselage.

The tail surfaces are calculated:

cHT bw S w
S HT   113.3 m2 (9-1)
LHT
cVT bw S w
SVT  78.7 m2 (9-2)
LVT

10. Lift-to-drag ratio estimation

The Lift-to-drag ratio L/D is estimated by approximating the wetted area S wetted of the aircraft. For the wings
and tail the wetted area is calculated by multiplying the exposed planform area with a factor as following
equation. [23]
wing
S wetted  Sexp osed , planform [1.977  0.52(t/ c)] (10-1)
This equation is valid for a thickness-to-chord ratio (t/c) > 0.05. In equation (10-1) (t/c) is equal to 0.15, which
is given by the chosen airfoil. It is assumed that the tail has the same thickness as the wings and therefore
the thickness-to-chord ratio (t/c) is equal to 0.15 for the tail too.
The wetted area for the fuselage is calculated by approximating its shape as a cylinder:
fuselage
S wetted    wf  (10-2)
The total wetted area S wetted of the aircraft is the sum of the wetted areas of the wings, tail and fuselage and
2
this is equal to 2300 m . With this known the wetted aspect ratio Awetted is calculated 1.67. The maximum
lift-to-drag ratio can now be determined by figure 3.5, see annex (6). It takes the value 18.9.

14
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Virginia, p. 430.
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2017].
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main.pdf?_tid=3e0c3f46-371f-11e7-a152-
00000aacb361&acdnat=1494599478_6e7f38c24ab66d078863ec28168ce605. [Accessed: 05-Dec-
2017].
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[15] D. P. Raymer, “Chapter 5.3.3,” in Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, Fifth Edition., vol. 2012,
Virginia, pp. 128–131.
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[17] John D. Anderson, Jr, “Chapter6,” in Aircraft Performance, 1999th ed., pp. 363–364.

15
[18] D. P. Raymer, “Chapter 17.8.3,” in Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, Fifth Edition., vol. 2012,
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[20] D. P. Raymer, “Chapter 6.4,” in Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, vol. 1992, Virginia, p. 110.
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Virginia, p. 206.
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Virginia, p. 85.
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main.pdf?_tid=3e0c3f46-371f-11e7-a152-
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16
ANNEX
Annex (1):

Annex (1): Flight route.

Annex (2):

Annex (2): Mission profile.

Annex (3):

Annex (3): Data according to [4] ”Aircraft Design –Part I: Preliminary sizing”, Jan Roskam, 2005.

17
Annex (4):

Annex (4): Standard Atmosphere characteristics.

Annex (5):

Annex (5): This diagram is taken from figure 3.5 in Raymer 2012, chapter 3.4.4

18
Annex (6):

Annex (6): Airfoil data

Annex (7):

Annex (7): Diagram taken from figure 5.4 in Raymer 2012, chapter 5.3.

Annex (8):

Annex (8): Figure 6.16 from Anderson 1999, p. 363.

19
Annex (9):

Annex (9): Constraint Diagram

Annex (10):

Annex (10): CAD figures.

20