BASCME 601

AERODYNAMIC DESIGN OF
AIRCRAFT
UNIT I
Dr. S. NADARAJA PILLAI
Associate Professor
School of Mechanical Engineering
SASTRA University, Thanjavur, INDIA
Email: aeropillai@gmail.com
nadarajapillai@mech.sastra.edu

Unit I Introduction
Introduction
Various stages in airplane design.
Steps in Preliminary design.
Preliminary Weight Estimation
Thrust to Weight ratio and wing loading Initial Sizing
Engine sizing, Geometry sizing and Control Surface sizing.
Data collection and preliminary three-view drawing.
Revised weight estimation
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Customer

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Introduction
The process of design in general involves use of
knowledge in diverse fields to arrive at a product.
Airplane design involves synthesizing knowledge in
areas like aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, systems
and manufacturing techniques, to arrive at the
configuration of an airplane that will satisfy requirements
regarding functional aspects, operational safety and cost .
The design of an airplane is a complex engineering
task.
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Introduction
General Airplane design involves the following
Obtaining the specifications and determining the
geometric parameters.
Selection of power plant.
Structural design and working out details of
construction.
Fabrication of prototype.
Determination of airplane performance, stability, loads
and structural integrity from flight tests.
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Lockheed 1011

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Three view diagram of an airplane with

Turboprop engine (SARAS)

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Three view diagram of an military airplane

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Various stages in airplane design

The design process can be divided into the following
three stages
Project feasibility study
Preliminary Design
Design Project

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(1) Project Feasibility study

The aim of this study is to evolve a complete set of
specifications. It involves the following.
1)Comprehensive market survey to assess the number of
airplanes needed.
2)Study of the operating conditions for the proposed
airplane. These conditions include (a) landing field length,
(b) type of landing field, (c) weather conditions in flight
and near landing sites and (d) visibility.
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(1) Project Feasibility study

3) Study of relevant design requirements as laid down by
civil and military regulating agencies.
FAA (Federal Aviation Admiration) in USA;
EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) in Europe;
DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) in India.
4) Evaluation of existing designs of similar airplanes and
possibility of incorporating new concepts.
5) Collection of data on relevant power plants.
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(1) Project Feasibility study

6) Laying down preliminary specifications which may
consist of the following.
a) Performance: Maximum velocity, maximum rate of
climb, range, endurance, rate of turn, radius of turn, takeoff and landing distances.
b) payload .
c) operating conditions .
d) maneuverability.

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(2) Preliminary design

This stage of design process aims at producing a brochure
containing preliminary drawings and stating operational
capabilities of the airplane for approval by the
manufacturer or the customer. It includes the following
items.
1)Selection of geometrical parameters of main components
based on design criteria.
2)Arrangement of equipment, and control systems.
3)Selection of power plant.
4)Aerodynamic and stability calculations.
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(2) Preliminary design

5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

Preliminary structural design of main components.

Weight estimation and c.g. travel.
Preparation of 3-view drawing.
Performance estimation.
Preparation of brochure or aircraft type
specification.

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(3) Design Project

After the preliminary design has been approved by the
manufacture / customer , the detailed design studies are
carried out. These include the following.
1) Wind tunnel and structural testing on models based on
the preliminary design . These test serve as a check on the
correctness of the estimated characteristics and assessment
of new concepts proposed in the design.

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(3) Design Project

2) Mock-up: This is a full scale model of the airplane or its
important sections. This helps in
(a) efficient lay-out of structural components and
equipments .
(b) checking the clearances, firing angles of guns, visibility
etc.
Currently this stage can be avoided by the use of CAD
packages.
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(3) Design Project

3) Complete wind tunnel testing of the approved
configuration.
Currently CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) plays
an important role in reducing the number of test to be
carried out.
4) Preparation of detailed drawings.
5) Final selection of power plant, c.g. calculations,
performance & stability calculations.
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(3) Design Project

6) Fabrication of prototypes. Generally six prototypes are
constructed . Some of them are used for verifying structural
integrity and functioning of various systems. Others are
used for flight testing to evaluate performance and stability.
Demonstrator program is an agreed schedule of tests of
new hardware including complete airplane, before the
military customer, in advance of the decision on
procurement and often to establish what is possible .
Demonstrator is a new aircraft, engine or system
constructed to prove its novel features prior to embarking
on full development of the same product.
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(3) Design Project

7) Pre-production manufacture and flight testing to ensure
that the defects in the prototype (s) have been corrected .
8) Series production and flight testing to meet specified
operational and airworthiness requirements.
9) Obtaining type certificate : It is a legal document, issued
by regulating agency like Federal Aviation Agency (FAA)
in USA, allowing the manufacturer to offer the item (e.g.
aircraft ) for sale.
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Classification of Airplanes
Before discussing further about airplane design, it is helpful
to know about different types of airplanes.
These are classified according to
(a)Purpose
(b)Configuration.

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(a) Classification of airplane according

to purpose
There are two main types of airplanes
(i) Civil
(ii) Military.
The category of civil airplanes includes passenger,
cargo, agricultural, sports and ambulance.
The category of military airplanes includes fighter,
bomber, interceptor, reconnaissance, and aircraft for
logistic support like troop-carriers and rescue aircraft.
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(a) Classification of airplane according

to purpose
Military aircraft are often designed to cater to more than
one role e.g. fighter bomber or interceptor fighter.
The purpose of an airplane dictates its specifications.
For example a passenger airplane should have ,
(a) high level of safety,
(b) high payload carrying capacity,
(c) economy in operation,
(d) comforts,
(e) ability to fly in any weather and
(f) ability to use aerodromes of respective classes.
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(a) Classification of airplane according

to purpose
A bomber should have
(a) range corresponding to the mission,
(b) capacity to carry and deploy intended bomb load,
(c) high values of speed, endurance, and ceiling
(d) adequate protection against accidental fire.

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(a) Classification of airplane according

to purpose
An interceptor airplane should have:
(a)Adequate thrust to give high (i) rate of climb, (ii)
maximum flight speed and (iii) maneuverability
(b) ceiling 3 to 4 km above that of contemporary bombers
(c) ability to fly in adverse weather conditions and
(d) appropriate armament.
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(b) Classification according to configuration

This classification is carried out according to the following
features of the configuration.
a) Shape, number and position of wing.
b) Type of fuselage.
c) Location of horizontal tail .
d) Location and number of engines.
As an exercise the student is advised to study, at this stage,
various types of airplanes from Janes all the world
aircraft
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The airplanes can also be classified depending on the

requirements they must satisfy from the regulating agencies
According to the regulations specified in USA the airplanes
can be classified as follows.
A)Civil airplanes which are further classified as
(a) general aviation aircraft and
(b) transport.
B) Military airplanes.

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The general aviation (GA) aircraft are governed by the

Federal Aviation Regulation FAR 23 of Federal Aviation
Agency (FAA).
These (GA) aircraft are categorized as
(a)normal
(b) utility
(c) aerobatic and
(d) agriculture.

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The aerobatic aircraft are intended to perform

manoeuvers. These aircraft are also referred to as
acrobatic aircraft. These aircraft are designed to withstand
load factors more than those for the normal category
aircraft.
The agricultural aircraft are intended for agriculture
related operations like crop praying, seeding etc. They
mostly fly at very low levels above the ground.
The utility aircraft are intended for various missions of
transportation. They are also used for special purposes
like photography.
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Classification of airplanes based on

wing configuration

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Classification of airplanes based on

wing configuration

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Steps in Preliminary Design

1) Selection of geometrical parameters of main
components based on design criteria.
2) Arrangement of equipment, and control systems.
3) Selection of power plant.
4) Aerodynamic and stability calculations.
5) Preliminary structural design of main components.
6) Weight estimation and c.g. travel.
7) Preparation of 3-view drawing.
8) Performance estimation.
9) Preparation of brochure or aircraft type specification.
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Data Collection and

Preliminary 3 View Drawing

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The design of an airplane begins after the

specifications/design requirements are given or arrived at.
As a next step, two topics are discussed in this chapter viz.
(a)data collection and
(b)preparation of a preliminary three view drawing,

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Data Collection
Airplane design is an evolutionary process. The data on
existing airplanes, similar to the proposed design, provide
the necessary guidance for arriving at appropriate initial
design values. The sources of design data are:
1. Janes All The Worlds Aircraft
2. www.arnoldpublishers.com/aerodata
3. The Websites of airplane manufacturers such as
Boeing, Airbus Industries.

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It may be mentioned that this format includes information

about the following aspects.
(a) General features of the airplane.
(b) Geometrical parameters of the major components of the
airplane.
(c) Various types of weights of the airplane.
(d) Performance parameters.

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Estimation of empty weight fraction (We/Wo)

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Typical mission profile of transport

airplane

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Weight fractions for various segments of

mission
The fuel required in a particular phase of the mission
depends on
(a)the weight of the airplane at the start of that phase and
(b) the distance covered or the duration of time for the phase.
Keeping these in view, the approach to estimate fuel fraction
for chosen mission profile is, as follows.

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Fuel fraction for warm up, taxing and

take-off (W1 / W0)
Based on the data from references, the rough guidelines
are as follows.
For home built and single engined piston airplanes
W1/W0 is 0.99.
For twin engined turboprops, jet transports (both civil
and military), flying boats and supersonic airplanes W1/W0
is 0.98.
For military trainers and fighters W1/W0 is 0.97.
Breakup of fuel used in warm-up, taxing and take-off for
different types ofDr.PILLAI
airplanes
canDesign
alsoof Aircraft
be calculated.
- Aerodynamic
Unit

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Fuel fraction for climb (W2 / W1)

The low speed airplanes including the twin-engined
airplanes and flying boat cruise at moderate altitude (say 4 to
6 km) and hence W2/W1 is taken as 0.99.
The military and civil transport jets cruise around 11 km
altitude and W2/W1 is taken as 0.98.
The fighter airplanes have very powerful engines and attain
supersonic Mach number at the end of the climb.
In this case, W2/W1 is between 0.9 to 0.96.
Similarly, the supersonic transport airplanes which cruise at
high altitudes (15 to 18 km), W2/W1 is around 0.9.
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Thrust to Weight ratio (T/W)

T/W directly affects the performance of the aircraft.
An aircraft with a higher T/W will accelerate more quickly, climb
more rapidly, reach a higher maximum speed, and sustain higher turn
rates.
On the other hand, the larger engines will consume more fuel
throughout the mission, which will drive up the aircraft's takeoff
gross weight to perform the design mission.

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Thrust to Weight ratio (T/W)

T /W is not a constant.
The weight of the aircraft varies during flight as fuel is burned.
Also, the engine's thrust varies with altitude and velocity (as
does the horsepower and propeller efficiency).
When designers speak of an aircraft's thrust-to-weight ratio they
generally refer to the T/W during sea-level static (zero-velocity),
standard-day conditions at design takeoff weight and maximum
throttle setting.
Another commonly referred-to T/W concerns combat conditions.
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Power loading to Weight ratio (hp/W)

Horse Power to weight ratio for Propeller airplane is given by

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Statistical Estimation of T/W

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Thrust to Weight ratio (T/W)

Note that the current generation of dog fighters approaches a T/W
of 1.0, implying that the thrust is nearly equal to the weight.
At combat conditions when some fuel has been burned off, these
aircraft have T/W values exceeding 1, and are capable of accelerating
while going straight up.
The jet dog fighter T/W values are with afterburning engines,
whereas the other jets typically do not have afterburning.

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Thrust to Weight ratio (T/W)

Thrust-to-weight ratio is closely related to maximum speed.
Later in the design process, aerodynamic calculations of drag at
the design maximum speed will be used, with other criteria, to
establish the required T/W.

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