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Descent and Climb

The document discusses the dynamics of airplane descent and climb, detailing the relationships between lift, drag, glide angle, and rate of descent. It explains how minimum glide angle occurs at minimum drag and provides equations for calculating the rate of descent and climb. Additionally, it introduces concepts like specific excess thrust and the equilibrium of forces during steady climb flight.

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jasonrusselljasonrussell
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26 views1 page

Descent and Climb

The document discusses the dynamics of airplane descent and climb, detailing the relationships between lift, drag, glide angle, and rate of descent. It explains how minimum glide angle occurs at minimum drag and provides equations for calculating the rate of descent and climb. Additionally, it introduces concepts like specific excess thrust and the equilibrium of forces during steady climb flight.

Uploaded by

jasonrusselljasonrussell
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Descent and climb

 For an airplane in descent, the lift is equal to W x cos and the drag is equal to W x sin
D
 Hence, tanθ=
L
 Therefore the glider angle is θ=tan
−1
( DL )= DL as  is assumed to be small ( in radians)
 The minimum glide angle occurs at minimum drag
 Let CD = a + bCL2 where a = CD0 and b = K/A
 At minimum drag, a = bCL2
 Therefore, the minimum glide angle = θmin =2 √ ab (radians)

 The rate of descent is given by the equations:


−dh D
=−ḣ=v sin θ=V as  is small
dt W
 This rate is at a minimum when VD is minimum which means the power condition is
minimum
 This means that the induced drag = 3 x profile drag
4
 Hence, θhmin = √ ab
√3
 For steady climb flight, the equilibrium of forces is given by
L+T sin γ=W cos θ
T cos γ −D=W sin θ , where  is the thrust angle and  is the climb angle
dh
 The rate of climb is given by =V sin θ
dt
dh
 Therefore, =V ¿ ¿
dt
(T −D)
 is known as the specific excess thrust and occurs when the thrust angle is zero
W
 Rate of climb is given by the equation V

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