Aircraft Performance Theory and Practice for Pilots, 2nd Edition

Series Preface xxiii

Preface xxv

Acknowledgements xxvii

List of Abbreviations xxix

Weight and Mass xxxiii

Introduction 1

PART 1 AERODYNAMIC THEORY 5

1 Preliminaries 7

1.1 Air Density 7

1.1.1 The Effect of Air Density 7

1.2 Speeds 9

1.3 Engine Performance 10

Self-Assessment Exercise 1 17

2 Level Flight Aerodynamics 19

2.1 Stability 19

2.2 Angle of Attack and Pitch Angle 19

2.3 The Four Forces 21

2.4 Mass 21

2.5 Lift 22

2.6 Drag 24

2.7 Analysis of the Total Drag Curve 27

2.8 The Effect of the Variables on Drag 30

2.9 The CL v CD Polar Diagram 32

2.10 Analysis of the Lift/Drag Ratio 33

2.11 Thrust 34

2.12 Analysis of the Thrust Curves 34

2.13 The Effect of the Variables on Thrust 36

2.14 Power 40

2.15 Analysis of the Power Curves 40

2.16 The Effect of the Variables on Power 42

2.17 Summary 45

Self-Assessment Exercise 2 47

3 Take-off and Climb Aerodynamics 53

3.1 Take-off 53

3.2 The Effect of the Variables on Take-off 54

3.3 Climbing Flight 55

3.4 The Effect of the Variables on the Climb 56

3.5 Climb Gradient 56

3.6 Rate of Climb 63

3.7 Aircraft Ceiling 64

3.8 Climb Regimes 70

Self-Assessment Exercise 3 75

4 Cruise Control 83

4.1 Specific Air Range (SAR) 83

4.2 Buffet 84

4.3 The Buffet Onset Boundary Chart 85

4.4 Cost Index 87

4.5 Turns 87

4.6 Types of Cruise 88

4.7 Range and Endurance: General 89

4.8 Cruise Techniques for Piston-engined Aeroplanes 91

4.9 Cruise Techniques for Turbo-prop Aeroplanes 92

4.10 Cruise Techniques for Jet Aeroplanes 94

4.11 Summary 99

Self-Assessment Exercise 4 101

5 Descent Aerodynamics 109

5.1 The Forces in a Descent 109

5.2 Gliding for Maximum Range 110

5.3 Gliding for Maximum Endurance 113

5.4 Descent Regimes 114

Self-Assessment Exercise 5 115

PART 2 Scheduled Performance Theory 119

6 Performance Planning 121

6.1 Regulations and Requirements 121

6.2 The Performance Class System 122

6.3 Performance Legislation 123

6.4 Aeroplane Performance Levels 125

6.5 Performance Planning 125

6.6 Altimeter Corrections 129

6.7 Flight Manuals 130

6.8 Performance Calculations and Limitations 132

6.9 Noise Abatement Procedures 136

Self-Assessment Exercise 6 139

7 Aerodrome Geometry 143

7.1 Field Lengths Available 143

7.2 Take-off Run Available (TORA) 144

7.3 Obstacles 145

7.4 Stopway 146

7.5 Accelerate/Stop Distance Available (ASDA) 147

7.6 Clearway 148

7.7 Take-off Distance Available (TODA) 150

7.8 Balanced and Unbalanced Field Lengths 150

7.9 Field-Length-Limited Take-off Mass Calculations 152

7.10 Runway Alignment Reduction 152

7.11 Runway Slope Calculation 155

7.12 The Effect of Runway Slope on Obstacle Calculations 156

7.13 Landing Distance Available (LDA) 157

7.14 Runway End Safety Area (RESA) 158

Self-Assessment Exercise 7 159

8 Runway Surfaces 163

8.1 Aerodrome Pavement Strength 163

8.2 The Pavement Strength Reporting System 164

8.3 Aircraft Classification Number (ACN) 166

8.4 Contaminated Surfaces 166

8.5 Braking Coefficient of Friction 168

8.6 Surface Contaminants 170

8.7 The Effect of Runway Contamination 172

8.8 Hydroplaning 178

Self-Assessment Exercise 8 181

9 The Variables 185

9.1 Air Density 185

9.2 Wind Component 187

9.3 Aeroplane Flap Setting 190

9.4 Aeroplane Mass 191

9.5 Runway Slope and Surface 192

9.6 Miscellaneous Variables 193

9.7 The Maximum Take-off Mass 195

9.8 Calculations 196

Self-Assessment Exercise 9 199

10 Speeds 205

10.1 General 205

10.2 Summary 206

10.3 Stalling Speeds 207

10.4 Take-off Speeds 209

10.5 V Speeds and Take-off Field Lengths 220

10.6 Climb Speeds 221

10.7 Control Speeds 223

10.8 Landing Speeds 224

10.9 Other Significant Speeds 227

Self-Assessment Exercise 10 231

PART 3 Scheduled Performance Practice 239

11 Class ‘B’ Take-off 241

11.1 General Regulations 241

11.2 Take-off Speeds 242

11.3 Take-off Requirements 243

11.4 Take-off Distance Requirements 244

11.5 Class ‘B’ Take-off Calculations 245

Self-Assessment Exercise 11 253

12 Class ‘B’ Take-off Climb 257

12.1 General Requirements 257

12.2 Climb Minimum-Gradient Requirements 258

12.3 Obstacle Clearance Requirements 259

12.4 Take-off Climb Calculations 263

12.5 Climb Calculations – SEP1 & MEP1 265

Self-Assessment Exercise 12 273

13 Class ‘B’ En-route and Landing 277

13.1 En-route 277

13.2 Landing 280

Self-Assessment Exercise 13 293

14 Class ‘A’: Take-off Theory 297

14.1 General Regulations 297

14.2 Field-Length Requirements 299

14.3 Class ‘A’ FLL TOM Analysis 305

14.4 Field-Length Requirements Analysis 306

14.5 Rapid Calculation Methods 316

Self-Assessment Exercise 14 323

15 Take-off Calculations 327

15.1 Field-Length-Limited Take-off Mass 327

15.2 The Aeroplane Flight Manual (AFM) 327

15.3 CAP 698 Section 4 328

15.4 Take-off Mass and Distance Calculations 328

15.5 Take-off Abnormalities 336

15.6 The Maximum Take-off Mass 344

Self-Assessment Exercise 15 345

16 Class ‘A’ Take-off Climb 349

16.1 The Take-off Climb Requirements 349

16.2 The Relationship of NFP to GFP 353

16.3 Climb-Limited TOM 357

16.4 MRJT Climb-Limited TOM Calculations 362

16.5 Obstacle Clearance 363

16.6 MRJT Obstacle-Limited TOM Calculations 365

16.7 Planned Turns 367

16.8 The Performance-Limited Take-off Mass 371

Self-Assessment Exercise 16 373

17 Class ‘A’ En-Route 381

17.1 En-route Required Navigation Performance 381

17.2 Descent Gradient Diminishment Requirements 382

17.3 Terminal Aerodromes 382

17.4 En-Route Requirements for all Class ‘A’ Aircraft 383

17.5 En-Route Requirements for Three and Four-engined Aircraft 384

17.6 En-Route Requirements for Twin-engined Aircraft 385

Passenger Seats 385

17.7 Maximum Distance from an Adequate Aerodrome (Non-ETOPS Aeroplanes) 386

17.8 ETOPS Aeroplanes 387

17.9 Obstacle Clearance Requirements: All Class ‘A’ Aeroplanes 389

17.10 Ceilings 390

17.11 Drift-Down Technique 391

17.12 Stabilizing Altitudes 392

17.13 Route Profile Comparisons 393

17.14 En-route Alternate Aerodromes 395

17.15 Fuel Jettisoning 395

17.16 En-route Calculations 397

Self-Assessment Exercise 17 405

18 Class ‘A’ Landing 409

18.1 The Landing Regulations 409

18.2 The Landing Field-Length Requirements 410

18.3 Approaches 415

18.4 Short-field Landings 415

18.5 The Climb-Limited Landing Mass 416

18.6 Climb-Limited Landing Mass Calculations 417

18.7 Normal Field-Length Limited Landing Mass Calculations 419

18.8 Scheduled Landing Mass Calculations 421

18.9 The Quick Turnaround Limit 425

Self-Assessment Exercise 18 427

PART 4 CONCLUSION 431

19 Definitions 433

19.1 Speeds 433

19.2 Distances 439

19.3 Altitude, Elevation and Height 441

19.4 Weight and Mass 442

19.5 ETOPS 444

19.6 Obstacles 444

19.7 Performance 445

19.8 Power Unit(s) 445

19.9 Surfaces and Areas 446

19.10 Temperature 446

19.11 Formulae used in Performance 447

19.11.1 Aerodynamic Theory 447

20 Answers to Self-Assessment Exercises 449

Self-Assessment Exercise 1 449

Self-Assessment Exercise 2 449

Self-Assessment Exercise 3 450

Self-Assessment Exercise 4 452

Self-Assessment Exercise 5 452

Self-Assessment Exercise 6 452

Self-Assessment Exercise 7 454

Self-Assessment Exercise 8 454

Self-Assessment Exercise 9 455

Self-Assessment Exercise 10 455

Self-Assessment Exercise 11 459

Self-Assessment Exercise 12 462

Self-Assessment Exercise 13 464

Self-Assessment Exercise 14 466

Self-Assessment Exercise 15 470

Self-Assessment Exercise 16 478

Self-Assessment Exercise 17 482

Self-Assessment Exercise 18 485

Bibliography 487

Index 489