AIRCRAFT DESIGN - UNIT - II

Data collection and Preliminary three - view drawing.

Methods of Aircraft Weight Estimation
Wing loading and Thrust loading/Power Loading Optimization

Data collection
Airplane design is an evolutionary process. Data on existing similar airplanes provides the necessary
guidance for arriving at appropriate initial design values. The sources of design data are:
1. Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft
2. www.arnoldpublishers.com/aerodata
3. Websites of aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus Industries.
A typical format for collection of aircraft data is given below. It may be mentioned that this format
includes information about
(a) General features of the airplanes
(b) Geometrical parameters of major components of the airplane
(c) Various types of weights of the airplane and
(d) Performance of parameters.

Condensed Airplane Data Sheet

Name of the airplane:
Type*:
Name of manufacturer and country of origin:
Power Plant
Type*:
Name:
Engine rating*:
Specific fuel consumption: Oil consumption:
Weight of power plant: Overall dimensions:
Diameter (m): Length (m):
Engine centre of gravity: Special accessories and controls:
No. of engines and locations: Intake/propeller details:
Wing:
Planform shape :
Aerofoil section:
Span(m) : Root chord(m) :
Tip chord(m) : Area (S) (m2) :
Mean chord* (m) : Mean adn. chord* (m) :
0
Sweep(Λ ): Dihedral. (Γ0 ) :
Twist (ε0)* : Incidence (iw)* :
Flap area (m2) : Aileron area (m2) :
Type of high-lift devices: Location of Spars:
Taper ratio (λ)*: Aspect Ratio (A)*:
Flap area/Wing area: Aileron area/wing area:
Location on fuselage (high/mid/low): Construction and other details:

Horizontal Tail surface

Type of tail:
Platform shape: Aerofoil:
Span (m): Root chord (m):
Tip chord (m): Area (m2):
Sweep: Incidence (it)* (0):

Elevator area(m2) : Tab area (m2):

Aspect ratio: Taper ratio:
Elevator area/Tail area: Tab area/elevator area:
Tail area/wing area:
Location:
Type of control and aerodynamic balancing*:
Construction and other details :
Vertical Tail Surface:
Aerofoil: Height (m):
Root chord (m) : Tip chord (m):
Area (m2): Sweep ( 0) :
Off-set angle( 0)*: Rudder area(m2) :
Tab area(m2 ): Aspect ratio (AV)*:
Taper ratio: Rudder area/tail area:
Tab area/rudder area: Tail area/wing area:
Location:
Type of control and aerodynamic balancing:
Construction and other details:
Fuselage:
Fuselage parameters
Length (m): Shape and size of cabin:

Arrangement of payload and auxiliary equipment:

Construction:
Cockpit:
Number and arrangement of seats:
Cockpit instruments:
Vision (angle):

Landing gear
Type*:
Number and size of wheels:
Tyre pressure: Wheel base* (m):
Wheel tread* (m): Location of landing gears:
Means to reduce landing run and other details:
Overall Dimensions:

Length (m) : Span (m) :

Height (m) : Tread(m) :
Length/span: Height/span:
Tread/span:

Weights:
Pay load* (kgf): Empty weight* (kgf) :
Fuel Weight (kgf) : Structural weight (kgf) :
Disposable load* (kgf) : Landing weight (kgf) :
Normal gross weight(kgf) : Maximum gross weight (kgf) :
Payload/gross weight: Empty weight/gross weight:
Fuel weight/gross weight: Structural weight/gross weight:
Wing loading* : Power (or thrust) loading* :
Performance:
Maximum speed (kmph) at Sea level:
at Altitude :
Landing speed (kmph) :
Cruise speed (kmph) and altitude (km):
Maximum sea level rate of climb (m/min):
Service ceiling (km) :
Range* or radius of action* (km) :
Endurance* (hours): Take-off run* (m) :
Landing run* (m) :

Preliminary three-view drawing

To draw the preliminary three-view drawing, we need approximate dimensions of the wing, fuselage,
tail and other components.
1. The payload i.e. weight of passengers, cargo or ammunition or the weight of the items the
airplane is being designed for, is prescribed. Let us denote this by Wpay
2. From data collection on similar airplanes we choose the ratio Wg / Wpay; Wg being the design
gross weight. Then Wg = Wpay x (Wg / Wpay)
3. From data collection on similar airplanes we choose a wing loading (W/S). Then S = W/ (W/S).
4. From data collection on similar airplanes we choose an aspect ratio (A). Then Wing span (b) is
given by b= (S x A)1/2
5. We choose a wing planform from data collection. Let taper ratio be λ then: S = (
b/2 )(cr +ct).
6. Choose from data collection on similar airplanes the ratio (lf/b); lf= length of fuselage. Then: lf
= b x (lf /b).
7. Choose from data collection on similar airplanes, the cross-sectional size of the fuselage,
position where payload is located. Also find the ratios lnose /lf , lcockpit /lf and ltailcone/lf . Obtain
lnose , lcockpit and ltailcone as lf is known in step 6. Obtain the length of the payload section as
difference between lf and and the sum of the lengths of lnose ,lcockpit and ltailcone
8. Choose from data on similar airplanes the values of collection Sht/S , Svt/S. Also choose the
values of aspect ratio, taper ratio and sweep of horizontal and vertical tails.
9. From data collection on similar airplanes choose the values of Selevator / St , Srudder / Svt ,
Sailemon /S ,Sflap / S , celevator / cht , crudder / cvt , caileron/ cwing , cflap/cwing . Hence
obtain the areas and chords of elevator, rudder , flap and aileron.
10. Choose From data collection on similar airplanes the value of T/W or W/P. Then T = (T/W) x W
or P = W/(W/P) Choose the number of engines to be used and obtain the rating of engine.
Obtain approximate dimensions of engine and the size of propellers/intake as appropriate.
11. From data collection on similar airplanes choose the locations of the wing, the horizontal tail
and the vertical tail on the fuselage. Choose from data on similar airplane landing gear.
With these data a preliminary three-view can be prepared. An example is given below.
Type and obtain (wheel base) /lf and (wheel tread)/ lf.
 .

Weight estimation
Introduction
A good estimate of the airplane weight is necessary for proceeding further with the design.
However this weight would be revised every time a major change is effected in the design.
The weight estimation is carried out by calculating the weight of the fuel required for the mission
(Wf) and using the formulae for empty weight (We) based on analysis of similar airplanes. The
stages involved are given below.
We write Wg = Wcrew+Wpayload +Wfuel + Wempty
Wcrew & Wpayload are known as they are given in the design specifications. Wf & We depend on
gross weight (Wg).
Hence
 Wg = Wcrew+Wpayload + (Wf /Wg) Wg + (We/Wg) Wg
Or
Wg = (Wcrew + Wpayload ) / [1 - (Wf /Wg) - (We/Wg)]

(a) Empty-Weight estimation:

Figure above, gives the trends of We / Wg for different types of airplanes.

These curves can be approximated by an equation of the type:
C
We/ Wg = AWg
Where Wg = Take- off gross weight in pounds or kgf A and c depend on the type of airplanes
(Table).
 Values of A & c for different types of airplanes

(b)Estimation of fuel fraction

Fuel weight consists of the following.
I. Fuel required for mission.
II. Fuel required as reserve.
III. Trapped fuel which cannot be pumped out.

Mission fuel depends on the following factors.

a) Mission to be flown.
b) Aerodynamics of the airplane viz. (L/D) ratio.
c) SFC of the engine.
Mission profile: Anti-submarine warfare (ASW)
a) Simple mission: It consists of take-off, climb, cruise, descent, loiter and landing.

Weight fractions for various segments of mission:

The fuel required in a particular phase of the mission depends on the weight of the airplane at the
start of that phase and the distance covered or the duration of time for the phase. Let the mission
consists of ‘n’ phases. The weight fraction for the phase ‘i’ is denoted as Wi / Wi-1.
Let W0 be the weight at the start of the flight (warm up) and Wn be the weight at the end of last
phase (say landing) then,
 Wn / Wo = (W1/Wo) X (W2/W1) X (W3/W2) X (W3/W4) X ………..X (Wn/Wn-1)

To analyse the fuel required in various segments, considers the mission profile to consist of the
following typical phases.
• Warm up and take off
• Climb
• Cruise
• Loiter
• Cruise back
• Loiter
• Land
It gives recommendations for fuel fractions in some of these phases and gives guidelines for
calculating them in other phases. Following guidelines are given:

After calculating the fuel fractions in various phases of the mission, the weight of the airplane at the
end of the mission is given by:

Wn / Wo = (W1/Wo) X (W2/W1) X (W3/W2) X ………..X (Wn/Wn-1)

Consequently the mission fuel fraction is: (1-(Wn/Wo))
Generally an allowance of 6 % is provided for reserve and trapped fuel.
Thus , Wf / Wo = 1.06 (1-(Wn/Wo))
Having obtained (Wf/W0) and (We/W0) the take-off weight can be calculated. However the expression
for (We/W0) involves W0 and an iterative procedure is needed.
WINGLOADING AND THRUST LOADING
Choosing wing loading (W/S) and thrust loading (T/W) or power loading (W/ P)
During the process of optimizing the wing loading, a reasonable assumption is to ignore the
changes in weight of the airplane (W0). However, when W0 is constant but W/S changes, the
wing area and in turn, the drag polar would change. This is taken into account by an alternate
representation of the drag polar

Selection of wing loading based on landing distance.

 Relation between Sland and wing loading

Wing loading from landing consideration based on take-off weight (WTO/S) land
 Selection of wing loading based on prescribed flight speed (Vp)

Procedure for optimizing the wing loading for Vmax at a prescribed altitude. However,
guidelines for Vmax, in terms of cruise speed (Vcr), are not given. Similarly, prescriptions for
Vmax are also not found in other sources.
The mission specifications for three typical cases viz. (i) a twin-engine propeller airplane, (ii) a
jet transport and (iii) a fighter, does mention about cruising speed (Vcr) or cruising Mach number
(Mcr) at specified altitude (s). Later, in chapter three of the same reference, wing loading and
thrust or power loading are also checked for cruising speed specification. In view of this, the
optimization of wing loading for prescribed velocity (Vp) at prescribed altitude (Hp) is
considered in this section. It may be added that for a passenger airplane, the power required for
take-off and climb are generally are higher than that required during cruise. With an engine
rating satisfying these requirements, a maximum speed (Vmax) of 1.05 to 1.2 times the cruising
speed is attainable at Hcr. For military airplanes, Vmax at sea level and at altitude may be
prescribed along with the airplane configuration and these may be the critical requirements. In
case of some military airplanes, the mission specification, in addition to altitude and Mach
number, may also specify ability to accelerate through a certain Mach number range in a short
duration of time.
The optimization from the consideration of Vp, aims at finding out the wing loading which will
result in the lowest thrust requirement (Tvp) for a chosen Vp at Hp. The steps are as follows.
Selection of wing loading based on absolute ceiling (Hmax)
Selection of wing loading based on rate of climb (R/C) max

The specifications of an airplane generally include the rate of climb at sea-level. In this
subsection, the wing loading is optimized such that the thrust required is minimum for the
specified rate of climb (R/C)max or (Vc)max.
Selection of wing loading based on range (R)
Other considerations for selection of wing loading
(i) Selection of wing loading and thrust loading based on take-off balanced field length
(ii) Wing loading based on consideration of wing weight
(iii) Selection of wing loading based on specific excess power and turn rate
(iv) Selection of wing loading based on specified acceleration or sustained turn rate
(v) Selection of wing loading based on sensitivity to turbulence

Selection of the optimum wing loading for a jet airplane

Optimization of wing loading for airplane with engine propeller combination (AWEPC)

Optimization of wing loading for jet engine airplane was considered. In this section the
distinguishing features of the optimization of wing loading for an airplane with engine propeller
combination are pointed out. In this section, the short form AWEPC is used for “Airplane with
Engine-Propeller Combination “.
Optimization of wing loading from consideration of landing distance (Sland) for AWEPC

Optimization of wing loading from consideration of prescribed flight velocity (Vp) forAWEPC

The power required (Pv) for AWEPC at a flight velocity (Vp) is given by:

Optimization of wing loading from consideration of prescribed (R/C)max for AWEPC

From Eq.(4.95) it is observed that the first term on the right hand side is a constant. The
second term is small when V is low. Further, from Eq.(4.93), (popt)R/C depends on ‘q’ and in
turn on ‘V’. Thus, a low wing loading appears beneficial from (R/C)max consideration.

****************END of UNIT-II***********************************
Important Questions:
1. Explain the importance of data collection. List down the parameters to
be collected for the preliminary design of an aircraft.
2. Draw three view diagram of an aircraft with the given specifications.
3. Explain the weight estimation procedure for the calculation of gross
weight of a complete aircraft.
4. Explain wing loading and thrust loading/ power loading - optimization
procedure based on performance parameters.