APPENDIX- B

PERFORMANCE ESTIMATION OF A TYPICAL

SUBSONIC JET TRANSPORT AIRPLANE
(Lectures 38 40)






E.G.TULAPURKARA
V.GANESH



REPORT NO: AE TR 2007-2










FEBRUARY 2007
(REVISED OCTOBER 2011)
1
Performance estimation of a typical subsonic
jet transport airplane
E.G.Tulapurkara*V.Ganesh
$
February 2007
(Revised November 2009)
Abstract

This report contains details of the performance estimation of a medium range jet
airplane similar to B737. The following aspects are considered.
- Drag polar estimation
- Engine characteristics
- Level flight performance - stalling speed, maximum and minimum speeds
- Steady climb performance maximum rate of climb, maximum angle of climb,
service ceiling and absolute ceiling
- Range and endurance
- Steady level co-ordinated turn - minimum radius of turn, maximum rate of turn
- Take-off and landing distances

The report is intended to serve as an example of performance calculation of a
typical jet airplane.







*
AICTE Emeritus Fellow, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras
$
Dual Degree Student, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras

2
Contents
1 Airplane details
1.1 Overall dimensions
1.2 Engine details
1.3 Weights
1.4 Wing geometry
1.5 Fuselage geometry
1.6 Nacelle geometry
1.7 Horizontal tail geometry
1.8 Vertical tail geometry
1.9 Other details
1.10 Flight condition
Three-view drawing of the airplane
2 Estimation of drag polar
2.1 Estimation of (C
Do
)
WB

2.2 Estimation of (C
Do
)
V
and (C
Do
)
H

2.3 Estmation of misc drag nacelle
2.4 C
Do
of the airplane
2.5 Induced drag
2.6 Final drag polar
3 Engine characteristics
4 Level flight performance
4.1 Stalling speed
4.2 Variations of V
min
and V
max
with altitude
5 Steady climb
6 Range and endurance
7 Turning performance
8 Take-off distance
9 Landing distance
10 Concluding remarks
Acknowledgements
References





3
Appendix B
Lecture 38

Performance analysis of a subsonic jet transport 1

Topics

1 Airplane details
1.1 Overall dimensions
1.2 Engine details
1.3 Weights
1.4 Wing geometry
1.5 Fuselage geometry
1.6 Nacelle geometry
1.7 Horizontal tail geometry
1.8 Vertical tail geometry
1.9 Other details
1.10 Flight condition
Three-view drawing of the airplane
2 Estimation of drag polar
2.1 Estimation of (C
Do
)
WB

2.2 Estimation of (C
Do
)
V
and (C
Do
)
H

2.3 Estmation of misc drag nacelle
2.4 C
Do
of the airplane
2.5 Induced drag
2.6 Final drag polar










4
1 Airplane Details
1.1 Overall Dimensions
Length : 34.32 m
Wing span : 32.22 m
Height above ground : 11.17 m
Wheel base : 13.2 m
Wheel track : 5.8 m
1.2 Engine details
Similar to CFM 56 - 2B
Seal level static thrust : 97.9 kN per engine
By pass ratio : 6.5 (For which the engine characteristics are given
in Ref.3*)
SFC : 0.6 hr
-1
at M = 0.8 and h = 10973 m (36000 ft)
1.3 Weights
Gross weight : 59175 kgf (580506.8 N)
Empty weight : 29706 kgf (291415.9 N)
Fuel weight : 12131 kgf (119005.1 N)
Payload : 17338 kgf (170085.8 N)
Maximum landing weight : 50296 kgf (493403.8 N)
1.4 Wing Geometry
Planform shape : Cranked wing
Span : 32.22 m
Area (S
ref
) : 111.63 m
2

Airfoil : NASA - SC(2) series, t/c = 14%,
C
lopt
= 0.5
Root chord : 5.59 m (Equivalent trapezoidal wing)
Tip chord : 1.34 m (Equivalent trapezoidal wing)
Root chord of cranked wing : 7.44 m
Portion of wing with straight
trailing edge : 11.28 m
* Reference numbers in this Appendix relate to those given on page 40.
5
Mean aerodynamic chord : 3.9 m
Quarter chord sweep : 27.69
o

Dihedral : 5
o

Twist : 3
o

Incidence : 1.4
o

Taper ratio : 0.24 (Equivalent trapezoidal wing)
Aspect ratio : 9.3
1.5 Fuselage geometry
Length : 33 m
Maximum diameter : 3.59 m
1.6 Nacelle geometry
No. of nacelles : 2
Nacelle diameter : 1.62 m
Cross sectional area : 2.06 m
2

Length of nacelle : 3.3 m (based on B737 Nacelle)
1.7 Horizontal tail geometry
Span : 11.98 m
Area : 28.71 m
2

Mean aerodynamic chord : 2.67 m
Quarter chord sweep : 32
o

Root chord : 3.80 m
Tip chord : 0.99 m
Taper ratio : 0.26
Aspect ratio : 5
1.8 Vertical tail geometry
Span : 6.58 m
Area : 25.43 m
2

Root chord : 5.90 m
Tip chord : 1.83 m
Mean aerodynamic chord : 4.22 m
Quarter chord sweep : 37
o

6
Taper ratio : 0.31
Aspect ratio : 1.70
1.9 Other details
C
Lmax
without flap : 1.4
C
Lmax
with landing flaps : 2.7
C
Lmax
with T.O flaps : 2.16
Maximum load factor (n
max
) : 3.5
1.10 Flight condition
Altitude : 10973 m (36000 ft)
Mach number : 0.8
Kinematic viscosity : 3.90536 x10
-5
m
2
/s
Density : 0.3639 kg/m
3

Speed of sound : 295.07 m/s
Flight speed : 236.056 m/s
Weight of the airplane : 59175 kgf (580506.8 N)
















7







Fig.1 Three-view drawing of the airplane






8
2 Estimation of drag polar
The drag polar is assumed to be of the form:

2
L
D Do
C
C =C +
Ae

The quantity C
DO
is assumed to be given by:

Do Do WB Do V Do H Do Misc
C = (C ) + (C ) + (C ) + (C ) (1)
where suffices WB, V, H, Misc denote wing-body combination, vertical tail,
horizontal tail, and miscellaneous contributions respectively.

2.1 Estimation of (C
Do
)
WB

Initially, the drag polar is obtained at a Mach number of 0.6 as suggested in
Ref.5, section 3.1.2. (C
Do
)
WB
is given as :

B
Do WB Do w Do B
ref
S
(C ) = (C ) + (C )
S

The suffix B denotes fuselage and S
B
is the maximum frontal area of fuselage.
(C
DO
)
W
is given as :

wet
Do W fW wing
ref
S t
(C ) =C 1+L( ) ( )
c S
(
(


where, C
fw
is the turbulent flat plate skin friction coefficient. The Reynolds number used
to determine it (C
fw
) is lower of the two Reynolds numbers viz. Reynolds number based
on the mean aerodynamic chord of the exposed wing (R
e
) and R
ecuttoff
based on surface
roughness. Further, (S
wet
)
e
is the wetted area of the exposed wing.
In the present case, c
r
= 5.59m, c
t
= 1.34m, b/2 = 16.11m and d
fus
= 3.59m. Hence,
Root chord of exposed wing = c
re
=
5.59 1.34 3.59
5.59
16.11 2

= 5.116 m

e
1.34
= =0.262
5.116

Hence, mean aerodynamic chord of exposed wing (
e
c ) is :
2
e
2 1+0.262+0.262
c = [5.116( )]
3 1+0.262
= 3.596 m
Span of exposed wing = (b/2)
e
= 16.11 1.795 = 14.315m
9
Further, M = 0.6, a = 295.07m/s. Hence, V = 177.12m/s.
Also = 3.90536 X 10
-5
m
2
/s.
Hence,
R
e

5
177.12 3.596
3.90536 10

= =

16.31 x 10
6

The height of roughness corresponding to the standard camouflage paint, average
application, is k = 1.015 x 10
-5
m (Ref.5, table 3.1). Hence, l/k in this case is:

5
5
l 3.596
3.543 10
k 1.015 10

= =

The R
ecutoff
corresponding to the above l/k is 30 x 10
6
. Consequently,
fw
C corresponding
to R
e
= 16.31 x 10
6
is obtained from Fig.3.1 of Ref.5, as :
fw
C = 0.00265.
(t/c)
avg
= 14% and (t/c)
max
occurs at x/c > 0.3 Hence, L = 1.2 and
S
exposedplanform
=
5.116 1.341
14.314( ) 2
2
+
= 92.41m
2

wet W
S = 2 x 92.41(1+1.2 x 0.14) = 215.8m
2

Hence,
(C
Df
)
w
= 0.00265 (1+1.2 x 0.14)
215.8
111.63
= 0.00598
(C
Do
)
B
is given as:
(C
Do
)
B
= (C
Df
)
B
+ (C
Dp
)
B
+ C
Db

(C
Do
)
B
=
b wet base
fB fus Db 3
b B ref
l S S 60
C [1+ +0.0025( )]( ) +C
(l /d) d S S

In the present case , l
f
= 33.0m , d
max
= 3.59m ,
R
eb
=
5
177.12 33
3.905 10

= 149.6 x 10
6

5
l 33
k 1.015 10

= 32.51x10
5


The R
ecutoff
corresponding to the above l/k is 2.6 x 10
8
. The C
fw
corresponds to
R
eb
= 149.6 x 10
6
measured from the graph in Ref.5, Fig.3.1 is:
C
fw
= 0.0019
10
(S
wet
)
fus
= 0.75 x t x 3.59 x 33 = 279m
2

S
B
=
4
t
x 3.59
2
= 10.12m
2

Hence,
(C
Df
)
B
= 0.0019 x
279
10.12
= 0.0524
Dp B 3
60 279
(C ) =0.0019[ +0.0025(33/3.59)]
(33/3.59) 10.12
=0.00524
Since, base area is almost zero, C
Db
is assumed to be zero. Hence,
(C
Do
)
B
= 0.0524 + 0.00524 + 0 = 0.0576
D canopy
(C ) is taken as 0.002. Hence, (C
Do
)
B
= 0.0596
Finally,
(C
Do
)
WB
= 0.00598 + 0.0596
10.12
111.63
= 0.01138
2.2 Estimation of (C
Do
)
V
and (C
Do
)
H

The estimation of (C
Do
)
H
and (C
Do
)
V
can be done in a manner similar to that for the wing.
However, the details regarding the exposed tail area etc. would be needed. In the absence
of the detailed data on the shape of fuselage at rear, a simplified approach given in Ref.5,
section 2.2 is adopted, wherein C
Df
= 0.0025 for both horizontal and vertical tails.
S
W
= 2(S
h
+ S
v
)
Hence,
(C
Do
)
HV
= 0.0025(28.71 + 25.43)
2
111.63
= 0.0024 (2)
2.3 Estmation of misc drag - nacelle
For calculating drag due to the nacelles the short cut method is used i.e.:
(C
Do
)
nacelle
= 0.006 x
wet
ref
S
S

where, S
wet
is the wetted area of nacelle. Here, S
wet
= 16.79m
2
. Since, there are two
nacelles, the total drag will be twice of this. Finally,
(C
Do
)
nacelle
= 0.006 x
16.79
111.63
x 2 = 0.0018

11
2.4 C
Do
of the airplane
Taking 2% for miscellaneous roughness and protuberances(Ref.5, section 3.4.6 ), the C
Do

of the airplane is:
C
Do
= 1.02 [0.01138 + 0.0024 + 0.0018] = 0.0159 (3)
2.5 Induced drag
The induced drag component has the Oswald's efficiency factor e which is estimated by
adding the effect of all the airplane components on induced drag (Ref.5, section 2.3).The
rough estimate of e can be obtained as follows :
Figure 2.4 of Ref.5 is useful only for estimating e
wing
of unswept wings of low speed
airplanes. For the present case of swept wing, the following expression given in Ref.2 ,
chapter 7 is used.
e
wing
= (e
wing
)
=0
cos( - 5)
where is the quarter chord sweep. Ref.1, chapter 1 is used to estimate (e
wing
)
=0.
In
the present case, with A = 9.3 and = 0.24, the value of (e
wing
)
=0
is 0.97.


Hence, e
wing
= 0.97 x cos (27.69 - 5) = 0.8948.
From Ref.5, section 2.3,
fus
f
1/e
(S /S)
= 0.8 for a round fuselage. Hence,

fus
1 10.122
= 0.8
e 111.63
= 0.0725
Further, from Ref.5, section 2.3,
other
1
= 0.05
e

Finally,
e =
-1
1
= 0.8064
0.8948 + 0.0725 + 0.05

Hence,
1 1
K = =
Ae 9.3 0.8064
= 0.04244

Remark:
Based on Ref.7, a detailed estimates of e
wing
and e
fuselage
are given in Ref.5, section 3.3.
For an untwisted wing the value of e
wing
is given as:
12
Lw
wing
Lw
1.1(C /A)
e =
C
R( )+(1-R)
A

where,

LW
2
1
2 2
2
2 2
2A
C =
tan
A
2+ 1+ +4

| | A
|
|
|
\ .

LW
C = slope of lift curve of wing per radian
A = aspect ratio of wing
R = a factor which depends on (a) Reynolds number based on leading edge radius, (b)
leading edge sweep (
LE
), (c) Mach number (M), (d) wing aspect ratio (A) and (e) taper
ratio ().
2
= 1-M

1/2
= sweep of semi-chord line
k = ratio of the slope of lift curve of the airfoil used on wing divided by 2 . It is
generally taken as unity.
In the present case,
M= 0.6, h= 10973 m (36000 ft), V= 177.12 m,
-5 2
=3.9053610 m /s v , S = 111.63 m
2
b = 32.22 m, c
re
= 5.59 m, c
t
= 1.34 m,
1/4
= 27.69 deg,
Hence, A = 9.3, =0.24, =0.8 ,
1/ 2
tan . = 0.4589,
LE
cos 0.8609 . = ,
Average chord = 3.615 m
The airfoil is NASA SC(2) with 14 % thickness. From Ref.8 the leading edge radius is
3 % of the chord.
From these data:

LW
C = 5.404
R
Ler
= Reynolds number based on leading edge radius = 4.974 x 10
4

R
Ler
x cot

LE
x

2 2
LE
1-M cos . = 7.198 x 10
5

LE
A
cosA
= 2.592
13
Corresponding to these data, R = 0.943 is obtained from Ref.5, Fig.3.14. Consequently,
( )
wing
1.1 5.404/ 9.3
e
5.404
0.943 1 0.943
9.3
t

=
| |
+
|
\ .
= 0.8793
This value of

e
wing
is close to the value of 0.8948 obtained by the simpler approach.
However, detailed approach is recommended for wings with sweep of above 35
o
.
Reference 7, section 4.5.3 contains guidelines for estimating drag of wing-body-tail
combination with allowance for trim drag.
2.6 Final drag polar
C
D
= 0.0159 + 0.04244
2
L
C (4)
The drag polar is presented in Fig.2.




Fig.2 Drag polar at sub-critical Mach numbers


Remarks:

i) The polar given by Eq.(4) is valid at subcritical Mach numbers. The increase in C
DO

and K at higher Mach numbers is discussed in section 4.2.
14
ii) The maximum lift to drag ratio ((L/D)
max
) is given by:

max
Do
1
(L/D) =
2 C K

Using C
DO
and K from Eq.(4), (L/D)max is 19.25, which is typical of modern jet
transport airplanes.
iii) It may be noted that the parabolic polar is an approximation and is not valid beyond
C
Lmax
. It is also not accurate close to C
L
= 0 and C
L
= C
Lmax.