Lecture 07 Gliding Flight
Lecture 07 Gliding Flight
Gliding Flight
Introduction (1/7)
Whenever an airplane is flying such that the power required is
larger than the power available, it will descend rather than climb.
In the ultimate situation, there is no power at all, the airplane will
be in gliding. This will occur for a conventional airplane when the
engine quits during flight (ex., engine failure). Also, this is the
case for gliders and sailplanes.
Introduction (2/7)
Introduction (3/7)
Introduction (4/7)
Introduction (5/7)
Glide range: how far it travels along the ground during the glide
descent
h1 −h 2 𝐿
𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜃 = ⇒ 𝑅= ( h1 − h 2 )
𝑅 𝐷
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 ≈ 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜃 ≈ 𝜃 ≈
√
2𝑊 𝐶𝐷
Introduction (6/7)
𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑘=𝑉𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃=−
Rate of sink: 𝜌 𝑆 𝐶 3𝐿/ 2
Negative sign means sink rate. The sink rate is directly related
to the quantity (CD/CL3/2). Therefore, the minimum sink rate
occurs at the minimum power required conditions.
−∆ h
Time to descend: Time of flight = TOF
𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑘
The sink rate depends on the altitude. So, to get an exact
solution for time to descend we would need to include density
variations in the sink rate calculations.
An approximation approach for time to descend: assume that
we fly at constant angle of attack, and the density is constant
with an altitude halfway between the initial and final altitudes.
Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 7
Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight
Introduction (7/7)
Example
Consider a jet airplane that has a weight of 10000 Ib, a wing
area of 200 ft2, and a drag polar CD = 0.02 + 0.05CL2. We would
like to calculate the glide range and endurance from 20000 ft.
We would like to compare the range and endurance for max
range flight condition with that for a max endurance flight
condition?
Answer
…
√
3
2𝑊 𝐶𝐷
√
2
𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑘=𝑉𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃=− 𝑆 𝐶
𝜌 𝑆 𝐶 3𝐿/ 2 𝑑𝑡=−
𝐿
2𝑊 𝐶 𝐷
√ 𝜌(h) 𝑑h
( )
4.2565
− 0.0065
1+h
( )
4.2565
𝑇 (h) 288.15
𝜌 ( h ) = 𝜌𝑜 = 𝜌𝑜
𝑇𝑜 𝑇𝑜