2000 FM 15

2000 FM 15
DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Indian Institute of Science

Fluid Mechanics Report

AIRPLANE PERFORMANCE : CLIMB AND TURN

by
M. R. Ananthasayanam

Report 2000 FM 15
Ananthasayanam M.R.

December 2000
Bangalore 560 012, INDIA

1
 CLIMB AND TURN PERFORMANCE

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 4
INTRODUCTION 5
GOVERNING EQUATIONS OF MOTION FOR CLIMBING FLIGHT 5
BEST CLIMB PERFORMANCE OF PROPELLER DRIVEN AIRPLANE 8
STEEP CLIMBS 10
ABSOLUTE AND SERVICE CEILING 11

KINETIC ENERGY CORRECTION 13

Constant Dynamic Pressure Climb 14
Constant Mach Number Climb 14
Accelerating Factors in the Troposphere and Stratosphere 15

ENERGY HEIGHT TECHNIQUE 15

GRAPHICAL PROCEDURE FOR OPTIMUM CLIMBS 17
TURN CHARACTERISTICS 20
EQUATIONS FOR TURN PERFORMANCE 20
DRAG AND POWER VARIATION WITH SPEED IN A TURN 21
TURN PERFORMANCE WITH AN AVAILABLE THRUST OR POWER 22

OPTIMUM TURN PERFORMANCE FOR JET AIRPLANES 23

Steepest Turn (Maximum Load Factor Turn) 23
Tightest Turn (Turn for Minimum Radius) 23
Fastest Turn (Minimum Time Turn) 24

OPTIMUM TURN PERFORMANCE OF PISTONPROP AIRPLANES 25

Steepest Turn (Maximum Load Factor Turn) 25
Tightest Turn (Minimum Radius Turn) 25
Fastest Turn (Minimum Time to Turn) 26

LIMITING TURN BEHAVIOUR FOR LARGE THRUST OR POWER 26

VARIATION OF TURN PERFORMANCE WITH ALTITUDE 30
SUSTAINED TURN RATE AND ATTAINED TURN RATE 31
REFERENCES 33

2
 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1. Forces acting on an Airplane in a Climbing Flight.

Figure 2. Variation of Drag and Thrust with Forward Speed and Altitude.
Figure 3. Variation of Power Require and Power Available with Forward
Speed and Altitude.
Figure 4. Variation of Maximum Climb Angle and Rate of Climb with Altitude.
Figure 5. Variation of the Excess Power or Thrust with Altitude.
Figure 6. Variation of Minimum Level, Stall, Minimum Power, Minimum Drag
and Maximum Level Flight Speeds with Altitude.
Figure 7. Time to Climb to Various Altitudes.
Figure 8. Constant Energy lines in the h-V and h-V2 Plane.
Figure 9. Constant SEP Contours and Minimum Time Energy-Climb Path.
Figure 10a. Limiting Turn Characteristics for a Jet Airplane.
Figure 10b. Limiting Turn Characteristics for a Piston Prop Airplane.
Figure 11. Comparison of the Turn Rate with Speed for STR
and the Aerodynamic and Structural Limitations.

Table A. Limiting Values of the Various Speeds for Large Values of

Thrust or Power.
Table 1. Some Useful Relations for the Climb Performance of airplanes
Table 2. Some Useful Relations for the Turn Performance of Airplanes

3
 AIRPLANE PERFORMANCE : CLIMB AND TURN

ABSTRACT

In this treatment we consider the flight of an airplane in between the maximum

and minimum possible level flight speeds where an excess thrust or power is
available. This excess thrust or power can be utilised to accelerate, climb, turn or
carry out any other maneuver of the airplane. As before we assume that the
controls are properly actuated such that moment balance is maintained at all times
during the flight. The governing equations of motion in a vertical plane along and
perpendicular to the flight path direction is used for the analysis of the climb
performance. The variation of the drag with forward speed shifts to the right with
increasing altitude and a similar behaviour exists for the variation of the power
required with speed. The available thrust or power decreases with altitude. At the
ceiling altitude the minimum drag is just balanced by the available thrust for a jet
and similarly for a piston prop the minimum required power is just overcome by
the available power. The assumption of the parabolic drag polar and constant
thrust or the power as the case may be for jet and piston prop airplanes
respectively help to obtain closed form solutions in most cases for their optimum
speeds for the steepest or the fastest climbs. These speeds lie within the flight
envelope and merge at the ceiling altitude with just one possible level flight
speed. It turns out to be necessary to account for the inertia force also due to rapid
speed variations during the climb of in particular high performance military
aircraft. This leads to the acceleration factor to correct for the steady climb rate to
obtain the unsteady climb rates. Two typical constant dynamic pressure and
constant Mach number programs are considered both in the troposphere and in the
stratosphere. Further the involved problem of the optimum altitude-velocity
trajectory of high performance aircraft has been shown to be capable of treatment
with the framework of point performance by the introduction of ‘energy height’
which is the sum of the potential and the kinetic energy of the airplane. A
graphical procedure to obtain such a trajectory is also provided. The other
maneuver which is possible with excess thrust or power is the turn. The
governing equations of motion for this are the force balance along, perpendicular
to the flight path, and in the horizontal direction. Since only a component of lift is
available due to banking in order to balance the weight of the airplane the lift
coefficient has to increase. This changes the drag and power variation with speed.
One can also address the problem of the turn performance that is possible with a
given thrust or power. There are various turn performance characteristics such as
load factor, radius of turn, and the time to turn. The optimum speeds for the above
differ depending on whether it is a jet or a piston prop airplane. The limiting
behaviour for large thrust or power is also discussed. The turn rate is accepted as
the best characterisation of the turn performance. Finally the sustained turn and
the attained turn rate performances are considered. The former is carried out at a
given altitude without speed changes with the thrust balancing the drag. The latter
involves altitude and speed variations as well but treated within the framework of
quasi steady approach. This is another example of how more involved problems
are treated with a slightly different approach in airplane performance.

4
INTRODUCTION

For a given power or thrust that is available from the engines an airplane can fly
under level flight conditions at various altitudes between the minimum and
maximum possible speeds. In order to fly level at any intermediate speeds the
throttle has to be reduced to decrease the engine power or thrust. The excess
power or thrust that is available at any speed can be used in various ways. This
could be either to accelerate the airplane at constant altitude, climb or dive to a
different altitude with or without any change in speed, namely to change the
kinetic or the potential energy of the airplane or even carry out a maneuver such
as a turn. However among the above possibilities the actual flight path of an
airplane depends on the actuation of the thrust and the control surfaces by the
pilot. We stress that in most performance calculations the airplane is treated as a
point mass and it is assumed that the pilot operates the controls suitably to achieve
the required flight path. Though the airplane is treated as a point mass with all the
forces acting at the center of gravity, the angle of attack (which is implicit for a
point mass) can be calculated by utilising the lift and drag equations. The
equations of motion along and perpendicular to the climb path helps to calculate
the climb angle and the rate of climb. We also consider steep climbs and rapid
climbs involving large change of forward speed, necessitating the inertia forces to
be taken into account. This introduces the so called `acceleration factor' leading to
a modified rate of climb. Such an involved path performance problem of rapid
climbs, is shown to be amenable for a simpler treatment by using the concept of
`energy height' which is the sum of the potential and the kinetic energies and
helps to obtain reasonably good solutions.

GOVERNING EQUATIONS OF MOTION FOR CLIMBING FLIGHT

The governing equations of motion for the climb performance, along and
perpendicular to the flight path as shown in Figure 1 are

L V
T
γ = Climb
angle

W
Figure 1. Forces acting on an Airplane in a Climbing Flight.

T - D - W sinγ = 0
L - W cosγ = 0

5
which for shallow climb γ ≤ 15° (when cos γ ≈ 1, sinγ ≈ γ) becomes

L = W and T - D - Wγ = 0

Since L = W this can be called as quasi-level climb flight! The climb gradient

(T − D)
γ=
W

The excess thrust is (T - D) and its value per unit weight (T- D)/W is known as
specific excess thrust (SET). This SET can be used for acceleration, climb or turn
maneuver and also helps to compare the maneuver capabilities of airplanes.

The rate of climb

dh (T − D)V
= Vγ =
dt W

The variation of the drag and the thrust versus speed for a typical jet, and the
power required and power available versus speed for a typical piston prop
airplane are shown in Figure 2 and 3 respectively. The drag and the power
required curves shift to the right with increasing altitude. The constant thrust or
power with forward speed keep decreasing with increasing altitude.
DRAG

SPEED

Figure 2. Variation of Drag and Thrust with Forward Speed and Altitude.

For piston-prop airplanes the above equations for climb performance are more
conveniently written in terms of power available PA and power required P as

γ = (PA – P) / (WV)
dh
and = (PA − P) / W
dt
6
The quantity (PA – P)/W is known as specific excess power (SEP). Next, utilising
the parabolic drag polar the steepest and fastest climb performances can be
worked out for piston-prop and jet engined airplanes. These are of interest for
obstacle clearance around airport and the time to reach the cruise altitude.

POWER

SPEED

Figure 3. Variation of Power Required and Power Available

with Forward Speed and Altitude.

BEST CLIMB PERFORMANCE OF JET AIRPLANE

The speed for steepest climb VSC is given by

dγ d ì (T − AV 2 − B/V 2 ) ü
=0= í ý = -2AV +2B/V
3
dV dV î W þ
and thus
1/ 4
æ Bö
1/4
æ 2W ö
1/2
æ K ö
VSC = ç ÷ =ç ÷ ç ÷ = VMD (!)
èAø è Sø ç CD ÷
è 0 ø
Similarly the speed for fastest climb VFC is given by

d dh d ì (TV − AV 3 − B/V) ü
( )=0= í ý
dV dt dV î W þ

leads to the quadratic

3AV4 - TV2 - 2B = 0

7
 20 20

18 18

16 16

14 14

12 12
ALTITUDE

ALTITUDE
10 10

8 8

6 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
0 10 20 30 0 2000 4000
MAX. CLIMB ANGLE MAX. R/C

Figure 4. Variation of Maximum Climb Angle

and Rate of Climb with Altitude.

from which, V 2
FC =
{T ± (T 2
+ 12AB) )
1/2
}
6A
which can be simplified to

1 ìï T ö üï
2 1/2
æ VFC ö æ T2
çç ÷÷ = í ±ç + 3 ÷÷ ý
è VMD ø 3 ï D Min çè D 2 Min ø ïþ
î

1 æ C ö éæ T ö ïìæ T ö ù
1/2
2
üï
= çç L ÷÷ êç ÷ + íç ÷ + 6KCD0 ý ú
3 è C D ø Max êè W ø ïîè W ø ïþ ú
ë û

BEST CLIMB PERFORMANCE OF PROPELLER DRIVEN AIRPLANE

Similar to a jet, for which the thrust was assumed to be constant with speed, for
piston propeller airplane the power is assumed to be constant with forward speed.
The speed for the fastest climb VFC is provided by

d æ dh ö d ì 3 Bü 2 B
ç ÷= íP − AV − ý = −3AV + 2 = 0
dV è dt ø dV î Vþ V
Thus,
1/4
æ B ö
VFC =ç ÷ = VMP (! )
è 3A ø

8
This result is to be expected since the rate of climb being proportional to the
excess power, its peak value should be at the speed for minimum power.

Then the climb angle is given by

(T − D) (TV − DV) (P − DV)

γ= = =
W WV WV

The steepest climb angle is given by

dγ d ìP B ü −P 2B
=0= í − AV − 2 ý = 2 − 2AV + 3
2

dV dV î V V þ V V

leading to 2AV2 + PV - 2B = 0 = f(V)

for which in general a closed form solution is not available. Since the steepest
climb speed VSC should be below the maximum excess power condition, we can
assume a zeroth approximation as,

1/4
æ B ö
VSC (0)
= VFC =ç ÷ = VMP (! )
è 3A ø

and subsequently solve f(V) = 0 by using a Newton-Raphson iteration scheme

f(V n )
V n +1 = V n −
f ′(V n )

where the dash ( ' ) denotes differentiation with respect to V and the superscript
the order of the approximation. Table 1 provides the complete set of formulae for
optimum climb performance.

One can show the following inequality relation for both jet and piston props

Vmin ≤ VSC ≤ VFC ≤ Vmax

Around the speed VSC when the excess thrust for a jet is a maximum, the rate of
climb which is a product of the climb angle and the speed, the VFC would be
higher than the VSC. Similarly one can argue that for a piston prop around the
speed VFC when the excess power is a maximum, would lead to lower speed VSC
when the forward speed is smaller than VFC.

The next section considers the case of steep climbs and derives the expression for
the exact climb angle and the associated rate of climb. Once again it is possible to
work with either the lift and drag coefficients or the forward speed.

9
STEEP CLIMBS

We commence from the equations of motion with a finite climb angle γ of flight
as
D = T - W Sinγ and L = W Cosγ

Squaring and dividing the first of the above by the second we get,

2
æ CD ö T 2 − 2TWSinγ + W 2Sin 2γ
2
æDö
ç
ç ÷ =ç ÷
÷ =
èLø è CL ø (1 − Sin 2γ )

Next, forming a quadratic for sinγ we have,

ìï æ C ö 2 üï æ T ö ìïæ T ö 2 æ C ö 2 üï
Sin γ í1 + çç
2 D
÷÷ ý − 2ç ÷Sinγ + íç ÷ − çç D ÷÷ ý = 0
ïî è C L ø ïþ è W ø ïîè W ø è C L ø ïþ
2
CL
whose solution with x = is
(C D + C L )
2 2

1/2
é T 2 ìïæ T ö 2 æ C ö 2 üï ù
æTö æ ö
Sinγ = ç ÷ x ± êç ÷ x − íç ÷ − çç D ÷÷ ýx ú
2

èWø êè W ø ïîè W ø è C L ø ïþ úû
ë

Now the procedure to obtain the exact climb angle γ and the rate of climb Vsinγ is
clear. At a certain forward speed V, the drag coefficient CD can be worked out
from the thrust and drag relation
1
T = D = ρV2SCD
2
From the drag polar connecting the drag and lift coefficients the value of CL can
be determined and so the value of 'x' . With the (T/W) ratio being known the
above equation determines γ. Then the rate of climb equals Vsinγ.

The above large climb angle performance can also be worked out in terms of the
speed V rather than in terms of CD and CL. For this the lift L, perpendicular to the
flight path, shows that the lift coefficient decreases by a factor cosγ for climbing
flight. This means that the drag

æ B ö
D = AV 2 + ç 2 ÷.Cos 2γ
èV ø

and substituting this value of drag in the force equation along the flight path, leads
to a quadratic in Sinγ as,
T − AV 2 − ç 2 ÷(1 − Sin 2γ ) − WSinγ = 0
æ B ö
èV ø
10
Whose solution is,
ìï 6
æ B ö æ B ö üï æ 2B ö
Sinγ = íW ± (W − 4ç 2 ÷ ç T − AV 2 − 2 ÷)1/2 ý/ ç 2 ÷
2

ïî èV ø è V ø ïþ è V ø
which can be simplified further if necessary and written in terms of VMD. The
small climb angle approximation can be derived from the above when the excess
thrust

(T - AV2 - B/V2) << W

and can be checked with the earlier shallow climb relations.

ABSOLUTE AND SERVICE CEILING

The variation of the available thrust with altitude, is assumed to vary as

n
æ T ö æ σ ö
çç ÷÷ = çç ÷÷ = σ n
è TSL ø è σ SL ø

where σ is the density ratio and 'n' is a suitable exponent. The drag versus forward
speed changes with altitude as seen earlier. At an altitude habs known as the
absolute ceiling, the minimum drag just balances the available thrust and the
airplane can just fly at only one speed as shown in Figure 6. There is no excess
thrust and the rate of climb is zero. The habs can be determined from

æC ö
T = D Min = çç D ÷÷ W = 2W(KC D )1/2 = TSL . σ n
è C L ø Min
0

18

16

14

12
ALTITUDE

10

0
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100
MAX. EXCESS POWER
Figure 5. Variation of the Excess Power with Altitude.

The time ‘t’ required to climb from one altitude h1 to another altitude h2 is given
by
11
 h2
dh
t= ò (dh/dt)
h1

Assuming a linear variation of the rate of climb from sea level to altitude h as

dh dh æ h ö
= ( ) SL çç1 − ÷
dt dt è h abs ÷ø

One can obtain the time to climb from sea level to an altitude h as,

t = (h / h sl ) Ln (1 − h/h abs )
ALTITUDE

Vmp Vmd
Vstall
Vmin Vmax

VELOCITY

Figure 6. Variation of Minimum Level, Stall, Minimum Power,

Minimum Drag and Maximum Level Flight Speeds with Altitude.
18 SERVICECEILING

16

14 OPERATIONAL CEILING

12
ALTITUDE

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
TIME TO CLIMB

Figure 7. Time to Climb to Various Altitudes

12
Since the excess thrust decreases with altitude, it is not possible to reach absolute
ceiling in finite time. Hence one limits the climb up to the `service ceiling' at
which the rate of climb is 100 feet/min for jets, (and more commonly for military
airplanes) and a `performance ceiling' at which the rate climb is 150 feet/min for
civil aircraft. Also there is an `operational ceiling' of 500 feet/min defined for
aircraft. For a jet VSC = VMD and for a piston-prop VFC = VMP and these are shown
in Figure 6. The slopes of the various curves have a discontinuity at the
tropopause level. This is due to the different relations for the variation of thrust
with altitude in the tropopause and the stratopause. It may be noted that the speed
for maximum rate of climb increases with increasing altitude. If the rate of change
of speed is small than the inertia forces can be neglected. However for high
performance fighter aircraft, the speed changes being very rapid one has to
account for the inertia force also which alters the rate of climb.

KINETIC ENERGY CORRECTION

Many high performance airplanes and in particular fighter airplanes not only
climb to higher altitude but also accelerate so fast as mentioned above that it is
necessary to take into account the inertial acceleration and consequently account
for the changing kinetic energy of the airplane. For example a fighter airplane
flying at M = 2 at an altitude of 40,000 ft. the potential and the kinetic energies
are comparable and both change equally rapidly during the climb. To obtain the
unsteady rate of climb, we commence from the basic equation by considering the
force balance along the still shallow (!) flight path

m (dV/dt) + WSin γ = T−D

Substituting for
dV dV dh dV
= . = V.
dt dh dt dh

one obtains the rate of climb as,

dh (T − D)V (T − D)V (T − D)V

= = = AF.
dt é dV ù é d(mV /2) ù
2
W
W ê1 + V ú W ê1 + ú
ë dh û ë d(mgh) û

where the inverse of the term inside the bracket in the denominator is known as
the acceleration factor (AF). For an airplane which is climbing as well as
accelerating as in the case of climb at constant dynamic pressure, a part of the
energy from the power plant is used to increase the kinetic energy as well. The
above shows that if the velocity increases as the airplane climbs, then the rate of
climb as given by the above unsteady approach is lower than that given by the
quasi-steady method. The

13
force equation states that the engine thrust has to overcome the airplane drag,
gravitational force along the flight direction as well as the inertial force. Further
by multiplying the force equation by V throughout one can interpret each term as
respectively, the power output from the engine, provides for the power to
overcome the drag, to increase the potential and the kinetic energy of the
airplane. In this case the rate of climb will be lower than that obtained by the
quasi steady approach. We next proceed to see how, a more involved optimum
path performance problem can be treated within the framework of point
performance approach, but which a slight conceptual modification. Also as an
example of the accelerating factors we consider the tropospheric and stratospheric
constant dynamic pressure and constant Mach number climbs.

Constant Dynamic Pressure Climb

Constant dynamic pressure climb means that

ρV2 = constant = C

We assume an exponential variation of the atmospheric density with altitude ‘h’

as

ρ = ρSL exp(-αh)

where ρSL is the sea level density, (1/α) is the density scale height and
differentiating the above with respect to altitude 'h' we have

d(V 2 /2) V2 − V2 M2a 2 M 2 a 02 T

= λ = logσ = λ = ⋅ λ
dh 2g 2gh 2g 2g T0

where σ = density ratio, M the Mach number, T0 is some reference temperature

and a0 is the corresponding speed of sound.

Constant Mach Number Climb

Here again using the expression for the Mach number as

M = (V/a) or V2 = M2 a2 = M2 γ RT

and carrying out the differentiation as before one can get

d(V 2 /2) M 2 a 02 T α V2 α
= ⋅ ⋅ = ⋅
dgh 2g T0 T 2g T

which is similar to the previous case.

14
Accelerating Factors in the Troposphere and the Stratosphere

One can immediately notice that the acceleration factor increases as the square of
the speed or the Mach number. For constant dynamic pressure climb since the
velocity has to increase, namely the kinetic energy also increases, the actual rate
of climb is lower than given by the quasi steady approach. For a constant dynamic
pressure climb at M = 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 the rate of climb is about 85, 60 and 25
percent respectively of the quasi steady value. The density scale heights in the
troposphere and stratosphere are respectively about 9 km and 6 km. Hence the
acceleration correction factor is somewhat less in the stratosphere. For the
constant Mach number climb, it is positive in the troposphere and zero in the
stratosphere since the temperature is constant with attitude.

ENERGY HEIGHT TECHNIQUE

Thus in a rapid climb there is the necessity to account for the kinetic energy
changes through the inertia forces. A more involved path performance problem
such as minimum time to climb to an altitude leads to the solution of a non linear
two point boundary value problem. However this can be treated within the
framework of point performance approach, to get a rapid ‘ball park’ solution
with a slight conceptual modification. In the quasi steady approach, fastest climb
from one altitude h1 to another then altitude h2 means climbing at a such a
forward speed at various altitudes which maximises the rate of change of potential
energy of the aircraft. The governing equations of motion along and perpendicular
to the flight path, together with the kinematic equation for the altitude and mass
rate of change of aircraft can be written as,

m (dV/dt) = T cos(α) - D - mg = sinγ

mVγ= Tsin(α) + L - mg cosγ
(dh/dt) = V sinγ; (dX/dt) = V cosγ; (dm/dt) = -C.

where the aircraft state is given by the speed V, altitude h, horizontal range X, the
flight path angle γ, and the mass m. The thrust T and (the angle between the
forward speed V, and the thrust T) the angle α are the control variables. As an
example to achieve the trajectories for say the minimum time to climb, minimum
fuel to climb to an altitude or the maximum the range for a given amount of fuel
the sequence of approximations which are possible are shown below.

1. Solve for V, h, m, γ With control variable α.

2. Solve for V, h, γ With control variable α and assuming the
change of aircraft mass to be small
3. Solve for V,h With flight path angle γ as the control variable.
This implicitly means that the normal force
equation is balanced as if L ≈ mg
4. Introduce the Solve for E with h as the control variable and
state variable with L ≈ mg the value of α can be determined
v2
E=h+ = (T − D)V/W
2g
15
The last approach is known as the ‘energy-state’ approximation. This implies that
the potential and the kinetic energies of an aircraft can be traded back and forth is
‘zero’ time. We will see later though this introduces unrealistic discontinuities the
solutions are close to ‘dive’ and ‘zoom’ trajectories obtained by involved
techniques for many practical situations.

In the quasi steady approach, the fastest climb from one altitude (h1) to another
altitude (h2) means climbing at a such a forward speed at various altitudes which
maximises the rate of change of potential energy of the aircraft.

dh (T − D)V
= = f(V, h)
dt W
and thus
h2
dh
t= ò f(V, h)
h1

The fastest quasi steady climb is given by

d ì (T − D)V ü
í ý =0
dV î W þh = constant

Extending the same argument to climb from (h1, V1) to another (h2, V2) means
that the total energy (which is the sum of the potential and kinetic energy) has to
change rapidly.

dE (T − D)V
= = f(E, V )
dt W

and
E2
dE
t= ò f(E, V)
E1

The fastest unsteady climb is given by

d ì (T − D)V ü
í ý =0
dV î W þ E = constant

The conventional aircraft climbs in such a way that (dh/dt) is maximised, whereas
a high performance aircraft moves such that (dE/dt) is maximized.

16
Further we can solve the problems of the type

Minimum time to climb: Max[V(T(E, V) - D(E, V))]

Minimum fuel to climb: Max[V(T(E, V) - D(E, V))/(dm/dt)]

Maximum range with glide: Min[D(E, V)]

and many more such as maximum range at a fixed throttle for a given amount of
fuel. The only conceptual difference for the energy height approach with quasi
steady approach is the use of the state variable E in place of h, thus including the
kinetic energy as well as to account for the inertia forces.

Hence obtain the minimum time in the above case one can proceed as follows.
Plot a energy height E verses 1/(dE/dt) diagram at various altitudes. Obviously the
trajectory should move along the minimum of the ordinate of the curves from one
E to an adjacent E+δE that is along the envelope of these curves. Then the area
bounded by the curve and the abscissa is the minimum time required can be taken
as difference in the areas between the two paths.

The reason one can expect the above approach to lead to a good approximation
to the optimum solution is the following. In classical mechanics energy is one
well known quantity that is conserved in nondissipative systems. So if the drag is
balanced mainly by the thrust the airplane behaves as a conservative system. It is
hoped that just the above function of h and V does the job! So the power supplied
by the power plant after overcoming the drag, goes to increase the potential +
kinetic energy ( = Energy height). It turns out that the small changes in drag due
to the angle attack of changes with the operation of controls and the interchange
of energy between the rotational and the translational degrees of freedom do not
very much affect the solution. Further among many quantities that are conserved
in a conservative system only the energy is common among all solutions and we
do not in general know the structure of other conserved quantities.

GRAPHICAL PROCEDURE FOR OPTIMUM CLIMBS

We now indicate a graphical procedure to obtain the trajectory in the altitude (h)
versus velocity (V) plane for the path performance problem of minimum time to
climb. Firstly in the above plane constant E lines are drawn, these would
obviously start at a certain value of h when V = 0, and slope downwards since h +
V2/2g has to be a constant. If the abscissa is chosen as V2/2g then constant E lines
would have a slope of -1. Secondly the contours of constant dE/dt loci are drawn
by using the relation

dE (T − D)V
=
dt W

17
 ALTITUDE

ALTITUDE
SPEED(=V) V*V/(2*g)

Figure 8. Constant Energy lines in the h-V and h-V2 Plane.

in the (h, V) plane. By utilising the data of the lift, drag and thrust of an airplane
at various altitude and speeds, one can draw contours of constant specific excess
power (SEP) namely (T-D)V/W in the above diagram. The contour for SEP = 0,
gives the flight envelope for the aircraft beyond which the airplane cannot operate
in the altitude-velocity plane. This flight envelope is obviously dependent on the

M=1.0
M=2.0
ALTITUDE

(dE/dt) =0

OPTIMUM
PATH

VELOCITY

Figure 9. Constant SEP Contours and Minimum Time Energy-Climb Path

18
maximum available thrust and the drag characteristics. On the optimum trajectory,
it is the loci of points providing maximum excess power at a fixed energy. Thus
the problem is one of moving from one energy level to another energy level along
the trajectory which maximises the rate of change at every E. These are shown in
Figure 9 for a typical supersonic fighter aircraft. The dE/dt lines may be
compared with that of a subsonic airplane. Note the kink around M = 1 and also
the extension of the diagram to higher velocities for the supersonic case. An
assumption that is made in the solution is that the curvature of the flight path,
which means the load factor does not affect the drag very much from its level
flight value.

Now to move from (h1, V1) to (h2, V2) the program consists of three stages.

(i) Transition from the initial (h1, V1) to some optimum (h, V)
(ii) Optimum climb path which is independent of initial and final conditions.
(iii) A further transition from the optimum path to the end conditions (h2, V2).

Thus a typical path consists of acceleration at sea level to a speed where dE/dt is a
maximum. Later the trajectory moves in such a way that it is at right angles to
constant E lines. The dive-zoom may be seen and lastly the trajectory moves at
the highest altitude by acceleration to the final speed as shown in Figure 9.

To obtain the minimum time in the above case one can proceed as follows. Plot a
energy height E versus 1/(dE/dt) diagram at various altitudes. Obviously the
trajectory should move along the minimum of the ordinate of the curves from one
E to another E that is along the envelope of these curves. Then the area bounded
by the curve and the abscissa is the minimum time, which is the desired quantity.

For solving similar path performance problem to move from E1 and E2 with
minimum fuel consumption, we have the governing relation as

E2

w f = ò dE(dw f /dt)/f(E, V)
E1

The energy state and optimum solutions are quite close. The aircraft can move
along constant E lines with zero fuel consumption in zero time! So instead of
constant dE/dt lines, one should plot constant dE/dwf lines. The optimum
trajectory moves from one E to another such that constant E and dE/dwf are
tangential to one another.

If there is a substantial weight variation then one can utilise an initial solution
with constant weight and iterating the dE/dt profiles, till the trajectory as well as
the weight variation with E is small. The above simple graphical procedure can
also be automated to obtain minimum time to climb or minimum fuel to climb as
the case may be and it is useful in the preliminary design sizing procedure in
particular for high performance military airplanes for whom the climb
performance could be quite important.
19
TURN CHARACTERISTICS

Every airplane should possess some amount of maneuverability involving change

of flight speed, direction or both. Civilian transport airplanes do not need high
maneuverability and in contrast military airplanes do require higher maneuvering
capability. They have to perform pull ups, loops, turn and a wide variety of others
as well. We consider here only the turn characteristics of an aircraft, and study
how they are affected by the engine, airframe aerodynamic, and flight conditions.

EQUATIONS OF MOTION FOR TURN PERFORMANCE

For a flight in the horizontal plane the governing equations along the flight path,
vertical , and horizontal directions are respectively

T-D=0
L Cosφ - W = 0
WV 2
L Sinφ - =0
gR

It is assumed that the airplane is executing a coordinated turn without side slip,
which means the pilot would control the throttle, and operate the aileron and
rudder so that the airplane does not side slip or loose altitude when rolled in a
turn. The three main quantities of interest in a turn performance are

(i) the load factor n(=L/W),

(ii) the radius of turn R and
(iii) the time for one complete revolution ‘t’.

These are related through the force and kinematic equations as,
V2
Tan φ =
gR

V2 V2
R= =
(gTanφ ) g(n 2 − 1)1/2
1
( ρV 2SC LCosφ )
W
= 2 =
1/2(SC L Cosφg Tanφ ) ( ρgSC LSinφ )

2π R 2π V 2π V
t= = =
V (gTanφ ) g(n 2 − 1)1/2

 2π R 1

Turn rate = φ = = g(n − 1) 2 /V.

2

20
The above relations show that the radius of turn R decreases with decreasing V at
constant φ, and the minimum R corresponds to CL Max. For a fixed CL Max, the
radius of turn Rmin decreases as the bank angle φ increases.

We next consider some of the kind of problems which arise in turn performance.
Firstly at the same forward speed V, a higher lift coefficient CL has to be
developed since only a component of lift namely Lcosφ has to balance the weight
of the airplane. This increases the induced drag component and hence the drag
experienced by the aircraft increases than at the same forward speed in level
flight. Secondly at any forward speed the excess thrust or power which is
necessary to carry out a given turn maneuver can be calculated. Thirdly we can
obtain the optimum turn performance of an aircraft for a given thrust or power
that is available from the power plant. These can be stated as

(i) The variation of drag or power with speed in a turn.

(ii) The turn performance with a given thrust or power.
(iii) The optimum speed for maximum load factor, minimum turn radius
and minimum time for one complete revolution and the
corresponding turn performance characteristics.

The following sections consider the above problems.

VARIATION OF DRAG AND POWER WITH SPEED IN A TURN

The drag coefficient is known in terms of the operating lift coefficient CL oper as
2
CD = CD0 + K CLoper
and in a turn with a bank angle φ, the lift coefficient increases by a factor of
(1/cosφ) as can be seen from the lift which balances the weight. Thus in a turn

KC2L
C D = D Do +
Cos 2φ

where CL is the operating lift coefficient in level flight at the same forward speed.
Hence we can derive the variation of drag with forward speed as,

B n 2B
D = AV 2 + = AV 2
+
(V 2Cos 2φ ) V2

from which one can construct the drag curves for various values of φ. One may
note that for larger velocities these seem to merge since at higher speeds the lift
coefficient is small. However towards the low speed we do know that there is a
limit to minimum speed imposed by the CL max, that can be developed by the
airframe. Since

W = L Cosφ
21
and with
L = (1/2)ρV2SCL

which is always true provides for CL = CL max

1 W
L= ρ V 2SC Lmax = = nW
2 cosφ

and the stalling speed in a turn becomes

1/2
æ 2W ö
VS = çç ÷÷
è ρSC Lmax Cosφ ø

indicating that the stall speed increases as the bank angle φ increases. Obviously
for the same forward speed, a higher angle of attack is necessary to balance the
weight of the airplane.

TURN PERFORMANCE WITH AVAILABLE THRUST OR POWER

In the earlier section it was implicitly assumed that for a given turn the necessary
thrust or power would be available which however may not be the case thus
limiting the turn characteristics at any forward speed. With a given T or P, that is
available one may proceed to obtain the turn characteristics as follows.

Since the thrust T balances the drag D for jets (P balances the DV for piston prop
airplanes) the drag coefficient can be obtained through either

1 1
T= ρ V 2SC D or P= ρ V 3SC D as is appropriate.
2 2

Next using the drag polar

CD = CD0 + K CL2 ,

the operating lift coefficient can be calculated and with

1
L = ρ V 2SC L ,
2
1 L
the load factor n= = is early derived.
Cosφ W

So, thus knowing φ, V, R and t can be obtained from the relation

R
t = 2π
V

22
OPTIMUM TURN PERFORMANCE FOR JET AIRPLANES

Steepest Turn (Maximum Load Factor Turn)

The thrust T and the load factor ‘n’ are related by

æ B ö
T = AV 2 + ç 2 ÷n 2
èV ø
and hence
(T − AV 2 )V 2
n2 =
B

from which the maximum of ‘n’ corresponding to dn2/dV = 0 leads to

Vn max = VST = (T/2A)1/2

and this can be written in the simplified form

1/2
VST æ T ö
=ç ÷
VMD çè D Min ÷ø
at which, it can also be shown that
1 æ T ö
n= = çç ÷÷
Cosφ è min ø
D
and
−1/2
V2 æ D2 ö
R = MD .çç1 − min ÷
g è T 2 ÷ø

−1/2
æ 2 π VMD öæ T D ö
t = çç ÷÷çç − min ÷÷
è g øè D min T ø

At the above condition the induced drag equals the parasite drag. Such a condition
occurs at a velocity greater than VMD since in a turn the lift coefficient increases,
there by increases the induced drag.

Tightest Turn (Turn for Minimum Radius)

The minimum turn radius can be obtained by considering the relation

V2
R=
(gTanφ )

Substituting for tanφ in terms of n (= 1/Cosφ) and seeking the optimum of R-2
(which would be equivalent to optimum of R), one can get
23
 1/2
æ 2B ö
VRmin = Vπ = ç ÷
è T ø
which can also be rewritten in the form
1/2
æ CD ö
1/2 1/2
VTT æ D min ö æWö
=ç ÷ =ç ÷ çç ÷÷
VMD è T ø èTø è C L ø Min

which shows that the optimum occurs at a speed lower than VMD. Further,

1/2
1 æ D2 ö
n= = çç 2 − Min ÷
Cosφ è T 2 ÷ø
and
−1/2
V2 æ T2 ö
R = MD çç 2 − 1÷÷
g è D Min ø

−1/2
æ 2 π VMD öæ T D ö
t = çç ÷÷çç − Min ÷÷
è g øè D Min T ø

Thus the time in this turn is the same as in the maximum load factor turn.

Fastest Turn (Minimum Time Turn)

Similarly one can also obtain the speed for minimum time to turn as,

1/4
æBö
Vtmin = VFT = ç ÷ = VMD (!)
èAø

at which
1/2
1 ìïæ 2T ö üï
n= = íçç − 1÷÷ý
Cosφ ïîè D Min ø ïþ

−1/2
æ V 2 ö ïì æ T öüï
R = çç MD ÷÷í2çç − 1÷÷ý
è g ø ïî è D Min øïþ

−1/2
æ 2π VMD ö ïì æ T öüï
t = çç ÷÷.í2çç − 1÷÷ý
è g ø ïî è D Min øïþ

24
OPTIMUM TURN PERFORMANCE OF PISTON PROP AIRPLANES

Steepest Turn (Maximum Load Factor Turn)

In this case, the constant power output P and the load factor ‘n’ are related by

æBö
P = AV3 + ç ÷ n 2
èVø
from which
(P − AV3 )V
n2 =
B
whose maximum is given by,
dn 2
= 0 = P − 4AV3
dV

whence Vn max = VST = (P/4A)1/3 and can be written in the simplified form,

1/3
VST æ P ö
=ç ÷ = p1/3
VMP çè Pmin ÷ø
and it can be shown that
2/3
1 æ P ö
n= = çç ÷÷ = p2/ 3
Cosφ è Pmin ø

−4/3 −1/2
æ VMP
2
öé æ P ö ù
R = çç ÷÷ ê1 − çç ÷÷ ú
è g ø êë è Pmin ø úû

−2 / 3 −1 / 2
æ 2π ö éæ P ö
2/3
æ P ö ù
and t = çç ÷÷VMP êçç ÷÷ − çç ÷÷ ú
è g ø êëè Pmin ø è Pmin ø úû

Further one can check that at the above speed for maximum load factor the ratio
of the power required to overcome the parasite drag to be induced drag is 1/3.

Tightest Turn (Minimum Radius Turn)

Next, the speed for minimum radius of turn can be obtained as,

æ 4B ö
VRmin = VTT = ç ÷
è 3P ø
and in non-dimensional form as

25
 æ VRmin ö æ Pmin ö
çç ÷÷ = ç ÷
è VMP ø è P ø

which shows that the above condition occurs at a speed below the speed for
minimum power. The turn characteristics at this speed are,

1/ 2
1 é 1 ìï æ P ö
-4
üïù
n= = ê í4 − çç ÷÷ ýú
Cosφ ê 3 ïî è Pmin ø ïþúû
ë

-1/2
ö é 1 ìïæ P üïù
4
æ VMP
2
ö
ç
R =ç ÷÷ ê íçç ÷÷ − 1ýú
è g ø êë 3 ïîè PMin ø ïþúû

−2 −1 / 2
æ2ö é1 æ P ö æ P
2
ö ù
t = çç ÷÷VMP .ê çç ÷÷ − çç ÷÷ ú
ègø êë 3 è PMin ø è PMin ø úû

Fastest Turn (Minimum Time to Turn)

Lastly, the speed for minimum time to complete one revolution is given by the
solution of the quartic,
2AV4 + PV - 2B = 0

for which only an approximate solution can be provided or else solved exactly by
numerical methods. Different approximations for the fastest turn speed can be
provided depending on the available power if it is just little more minimum power
or very much higher. For the former it is the VMP and for the latter it is
æ 2B ö
Vtmin = VFT ≈ ç ÷
è P ø
Subsequently all the other turn characteristics namely n, t and R can be derived.

LIMITING TURN BEHAVIOUR FOR LARGE THRUST OR POWER

The Table 2 lists and Figures 10a and 10b show the optimum turn performance
for piston props and jet engined airplanes and one can make the following
remarks.

The speed for steepest turn VST keeps on increasing indefinitely as T or P

becomes large just as the maximum level flight speed on the forward side of the
drag or the power curve. Here the T or P balances mainly the parasite drag or
power as is required. The radius of turn R at VST tends to a finite value since R
~V2/n the speed and load factor variation just balance the right way. However
26
 1
10
STEEPEST TURN velocity
load factor
radius
time

Non Dim. Velocity, n,R, and t

0
10

-1
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THRUST/MINIMUM DRAG

1
10
FASTEST TURN velocity
load factor
radius
time
Non Dim. Velocity, n,R, and t

0
10

-1
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THRUST/MINIMUM DRAG

1
10
TIGHTEST TURN velocity
load factor
radius
time
Non Dim. Velocity, n,R, and t

0
10

-1
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THRUST/MINIMUM DRAG

Figure 10a. Limiting Turn Characteristics for a Jet Airplane.

27
 1
10
STEEPEST TURN velocity
load factor
radius
time

Non Dim. Velocity, n,R, and t 10

0

-1
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
POWER AVAILABLE/MINIMUM POWER

1
10
STEEPEST TURN velocity
load factor
radius
time
Non Dim. Velocity, n,R, and t

0
10

-1
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
POWER AVAILABLE/MINIMUM POWER
1
10
TIGHTEST TURN velocity
load factor
radius
time
Non Dim. Velocity, n,R, and t

0
10

-1
10

-2
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
POWER AVAILABLE/MINIMUM POWER

Figure 10b. Limiting Turn Characteristics for a Piston Prop Airplane.

28
since the speed VST keeps on increasing the time for one complete turn tends to
zero. The minimum radius of turn speed VTT occurring on the backside of the drag
or power required curve (as the case may be) keeps tending to zero. In such a turn
the engine mainly balances the induced drag or power as is required. The VTT is
higher than the minimum level flight speed, obviously a turn needs additional
thrust or power than in a level flight. The limiting VTT which tends to zero, has a
finite load factor both for jets and piston props, but the radius of turn and time to
turn tend to zero. The fastest turn speed VFT is always equal to the VMD for a jet
and its load factor tends to infinity. In contrast for a piston prop airplane the VFT
tends to zero and the load factor tends to a finite value. However for both the jet
and the piston prop the radius of turn and the time to turn tend to zero in a fastest
turn VTT. However it must be noted that since both the VFT and VTT occur on the
backside of the drag or power required curve and even somewhat higher than the
minimum possible level flight speed, the aerodynamic limitation exists based on
the maximum possible lift coefficient CLMax that can be generated.

The Table A. below shows the various speeds for a jet and piston prop airplanes.
When minimum thrust or power is available all the level, climb, turn, speeds
coalesce at either the VMD or VMP respectively. For a jet as the available thrust
increases the fastest turn and the steepest climb speeds do not change. The fastest
climb, steepest turn, and maximum speed increase indefinitely. The tightest turn,
and the minimum speed decrease to zero. As the available power increases for a
piston prop the fastest climb speed does not change. The steepest turn, and the
maximum speed increase continuously. But the steepest climb, and the identically
equal fastest turn, tightest turn and the minimum speed decrease continuously.

Table A. Limiting Values of Various Speeds for Large Thrust or Power

For Jet Engined Airplanes

VMin VTT VMP VMD VFC VST VMax

VFT
VSC

1/2 1/2 1/4 1/4 1/2 1/2 1/2

æ Bö æ 2B ö æ Bö æBö æ T ö æ T ö æTö
ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷
èTø è T ø è 3A ø èAø è 3A ø è 2A ø èAø

For Piston Props

VMin VTT VSC VMP VMD VST VMax

VFT VFC

æ Bö æ 4B ö æ 2B ö æ Bö
1/4
æBö
1/4
æ P ö
1/3
æPö
1/3
ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷ ç ÷
èPø è 3P ø è P ø è 3A ø èAø è 4A ø èAø

29
VARIATION OF TURN PERFORMANCE WITH ALTITUDE

So far we have discussed the turn performance characteristics such as the load
factor, radius of turn, and the time for a turn all at a given altitude. Similar to the
climb performance quantities such as the climb angle, and the rate of climb which
decrease with altitude, the turn performance characteristics also fall off with
increasing altitude. The reasons for lowering of the turn performance being the
smaller excess thrust or power that is available as well as the decreased density of
the atmosphere with increasing altitude. Figure 11 below shows for a typical
aircraft the relative speeds for the various turn characteristics at various altitudes
and all of them merging at one speed at the ceiling altitude where no turn
performance is possible and only a steady and level flight at one speed that too if
the ceiling altitude can be reached in finite time! As the ceiling altitude is
approached the load factor tends to one, the radius of turn tends to infinity so also
the time for one complete turn. The following inequality can be seen among the
various turn speeds.

VMin ≤ VTT ≤ VFT ≤ VST ≤ VMax

20 20

15 15
Altitude,Km

Altitude,Km

Vst
10 Vtt 10

5 Vft 5

0 0
0 50 100 150 0 5 10
Speed,m/s Load Factor
20 20

15 15
Altitude,Km

Altitude,Km

10 10

5 5

0 0
-5 0 5 0 2 4
10 10 10 10 10 10
Radius of Turn,Km Time for a turn,s

Figure 11. Variation of the Different Turn Characteristics with Altitude.

30
SUSTAINED TURN RATE AND ATTAINED TURN RATE

As we have mentioned earlier the excess thrust or power that is available at any
speed can be utilised either to accelerate, climb or turn an aircraft. In an air
combat scenario all these capabilities are very important. Among the turn
parameters namely

(i) Load factor (ii) Turn rate and (iii) Turn Radius

it is felt that the turn rate is tactically the most significant measure. A given load
factor or turn radius have different turn rates depending on the forward speed. The
turn rate measures the rate of change of direction independent of the speed. The
further discussion is based on the turn rate performance of an aircraft. The rate of
change of heading ψ is the turn rate
2π g
φ = = (n 2 − 1) 1/2 in radians / sec
t V

180 g éæ L ö ù
2

= ê ç ÷ − 1ú in degrees / sec
π V êëè W ø úû

180 g éæ L T ö ù
2

= êç . ÷ − 1ú
π V êëè D W ø úû

since T = D in a sustained turn it shows that STR = f{(L/D), (T/W)}. In contrast

one can rewrite the above slightly as,

180 g éæ C L ö 2 ù
φ = êç ÷ − 1ú
π V êëçè (W/S) ÷ø úû

180 g éæ q C L ö ù
2

= êçç ÷÷ − 1ú
π V êëè (W/S) ø úû

The turn performance on the forward side of the drag or power curve in principle
can lead to large values of the load factor. However in reality at higher speeds the
permissible nmax limits and at low speeds the permissible Clmax limits the turn
performance. At a given value of nmax, the turn rate increases with speed.
Similarly for a given CLmax, at varying speeds the turn rate increases. The above
two lines intersected at a point known as the ‘corner point’ and these show in
Figure 12 the operating regions for an aircraft. The sustained turn performance at
any forward speed is carried out without change of forward speed with the thrust
balancing the drag.

31
 CORNER
SPEED

STRUCTURAL LIMIT
SUSTAINED TURN
TURNRATE

RATE ENVOLOPE

10
8 LOAD
STALL FACTOR
LIMIT
6
4
CLMAX
2
SPEED

Figure 12. Comparison of the Turn Rate with Speed for STR
and the Aerodynamic and Structural Limitations.

The next issue is of an aircraft has the operating sustained turn rate envelope
within the above envelope based on aerodynamic and structural limitations, then
how does one improve its performance? This is possible by thrust vectoring. It
can be shown that STR is increased by aligning the thrust along the flight path
direction, which means the excess thrust is increased at a given forward speed. In
order to increase the ATR, it can be shown that the thrust vector should be aligned
perpendicular to the flight direction. This causes the speed to decrease and
thereby the turn rate is increased.

It is useful to keep in mind the following features when STR and ATR are
discussed. Conceptually it is useful to go back to the climb performance. When an
airplane is flying at constant dynamic pressure as well as climbing the rate of
climb is modified due to the increase of the velocity or in other words gain of
kinetic energy. The above description commences by considering the force
equation at a given altitude and shifted the implication to the energy of the
system. Thus it has achieved the simplicity of not considering the way the
controls are operated but at the same time could describe as to what happens in a
steady state. Similarly the description of the combat scenario in terms of the turn
rate versus the speed by considering the force balance helps us to describe the
situation in a simple way. However in actual conditions the phenomena is
dynamic in nature and one has to consider the inertia forces, the way the controls
are operated, the change of altitude and so on. In short the ATR as treated
presently in performance is a static description through force balance at a point in
the altitude-velocity plane, the steady state behaviour without considering the
controls. In reality the ATR description has to be made by considering the
dynamic equations of motion with the operation of the controls, the transient
behaviour along a trajectory in the altitude-velocity plane leading to exchange
between the kinetic and the potential energy of the system.

32
REFERENCES

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2. Bryson A. E., Denham W. F., ``A Steepest-Ascent Method for Solving

Optimum Programming Problems'', Journal of Applied Mechanics, pp.247-
257, June (1962)

3. Bryson Jr. A.E., M. N. Desai, and W. C. Hoffman, ``Energy-State

Approximation in Performance Optimization of Supersonic Aircraft'', Journal
of Aircraft, Vo.6, No.6, pp.481-488, Nov.-Dec. (1969)

4. Herbst W. B., Krogull B., ``Design for Air Combat'', J.Aircraft, Vol.10, No.4,
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5. Kirkpatrick D.L.I. and Larcombe M.J., “Initial Design Optimization on Civil

and Military Aircraft”, AGARD-CP-147, Vol.1, pp.19-1 to 19-18 (1973)

6. Darry E. Metzger and Karl Hedrick J., ``Optimal Flight Paths for Soaring
Flight'', Journal of Aircraft, Vol.12, No.11, pp.867-871, November (1975)

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Vol.30, No.1, pp.127-129, Jan.-Feb. (1993).

33
 TABLE 1. SOME USEFUL RELATIONS FOR THE CLIMB PERFORMANCE OF AIRPLANES

Quantity Expressed as a Function of

A, B, T or P T, DMin or P, PMin, or T, W, P, ρ, K, CDo Remarks
VMP , ρ, K, CDo
æ CL ö
1/4
Speed for minimum æ Bö
1/4 1/2
æ 2W ö æ K ö
Drag VMD ç ÷ 31/4
VMP çç ÷÷ çç ÷÷ çç ÷÷
èAø è ρ S ø è C Do ø è CD ø Max
Speed for minimum æ B ö
1/4 VMD = 3-1/4 . VMP æ 2W ö
1/2
æ K ö
1/4
æ C 1/2 ö
power VMP ç ÷ çç ÷÷ çç ÷÷ çç L ÷÷
è 3A ø è ρS ø è 3C Do ø è CD ø Max

Minimum Drag 2(AB)1/4 ρ VMD

2
SC Do D Min 2W(KCDo)1/2 (CL/CD)Max
Minimum Power 4C Do æ C 3/2 ö
4 2 ρ VMP
3
SC Do PMin 1/2
.W. çç L ÷÷
(AB 3 ) 1/4 (3C Do /K) è CD ø Max
1/4
27 1/2 1/4
æ 2W ö æ K ö
çç ÷÷ çç ÷÷
è ρS ø è Do ø
3C
1/3 1/4
JET AIRPLANE æ Bö
1/4
æ VSc ö
2
æ 2W ö æ K ö
Steepest Climb ç ÷ çç ÷÷ = 1 çç ÷÷ çç ÷÷ æ CD ö
Speed VSC èAø è VMD ø è ρS ø è C Do ø çç ÷÷
2
VFC 1
1 è CL ø Min
Fastest Climb é T ± T 2 + 12AB ù = 2(KC D0 ) 2 .
1é T ü ù
1/ 2
V 2
ì T
2
V2
3
Speed VFC
2
VFC =ê ú MM
= ê + í 2 + 3ý ú MD
éT ù
2
êë 6A úû V 3 ê D Min î D Min þ úû
MD ë T2
ê ± + 6KC Do ú
ëê W W2 ûú
PISTON PROP æ B ö
1/ 4 (0)
VSC
Steepest Climb V (0)
SC = VMP =ç ÷ =1
Speed VSC è 3A ø VMP 1/2 1/4
æ C1/2 ö
æ 2W ö æ K ö çç ÷÷
Fastest Climb æ B ö
1/ 4
V 2
çç ÷÷ çç ÷÷
VFC = ç =1 è ρS ø è C D ø Max
FC
Speed VFC ÷ 2 è 3C Do ø
è 3A ø V MP

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 TABLE 2. SOME USEFUL RELATIONS FOR THE TURN PERFORMANCE OF AIRPLANES

PERFORMANCE SPEED (V) LOAD RADIUS OF TIME FOR

FACTOR (n) TURN (R) ONE TURN (t)
FOR JET V* = VMD; f = T/ DMin; R * = VMD
2
/ g. , t * = 2πVMD /g =2πR*/V*
AIRPLANES
(V/ V*)= Non dimensional n = (R/ R*)= (t/ t*)=
Steepest Turn Speed 1 1
VST = (T/2A)1/2 f1/2 f (1 − 2 ) −1/ 2 ( f − ) −1 / 2
f f
Limiting values for f→∞ ∞ ∞ 1 0
Fastest Turn Speed
VFT = (B/A)1/4 1 (2f - 1)1/2 (2(f - 1))-1/2 (2(f - 1))-1/2
Limiting values for f→∞ Always = 1 ∞ 0 0
Tightest Turn Speed 1 1
VTT = (2B/T)1/2 f-1/2 ( 2 − 2 )1/ 2 (f2 - 1)-1/2 ( f − ) −1 / 2
f f
Limiting values for f→∞ 0 2 0 0 due to n → ∞
FOR PISTON-PROP V* = VMP; p = P/ PMin; R * = VMP
2
/ g. , t * = 2πVMP /g =2πR*/V*
AIRPLANES
(V/ V*)= Non dimensional n = (R/ R*)= (t/ t*)=
Steepest Turn Speed
VST = (P/4A)1/3 p1/3 p2/3 (1-p-4/3)-1/2 (p2/3 - p-2/3)-1/2
Limiting values for p→∞ ∞ ∞ 1 0
3 −1 / 2
Fastest Turn Speed
(2 −
27 − 4 1 / 2
p ) æ 9 æ 16 p 2 − 27 p −2 öö
−1 / 2
Root of: 2p
16 æ 16 p 4 − 27 ö 9 1 ç ç ÷÷
2AV4 + PV - 2B = 0 çç ÷÷ ≈ . è 4è 81 øø
è 81 ø 4 p2
For large p VFT(0) ≈ (2B/P) ≈21/2 ≈
3
Limiting values for p→∞ 0 2p
0 0 due to velocity → ∞
2
−1 / 2 −1 / 2
Tightest Turn Speed æ1 −4 ö
1/ 2
æ1 4 ö æ1 ö
VTT = (4B/3P) p-1
ç (4 − p ) ÷ ç ( p − 1) ÷ ç ( p 2 − p −2 ) ÷
è3 ø è3 ø è3 ø
Limiting values for p→∞ 0
2/ 3 0 0

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