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Aircraft Performance
Aircraft performance refers to the ability of airplanes and helicopters to accomplish certain useful things.Federal Aviation Administration: "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge", Chapter 11/ref> It is an important consideration when designing and testing aircraft, to ensure the aircraft can be operated in an efficient and economic manner. There are typically trade-offs involved, for example an aircraft optimised for cruise performance will not necessarily be optimised for the climb. Adaptive compliant wings and variable-sweep wings are technologies aimed at improving performance during the different stages of flight. The subject of aircraft performance includes aircraft speed, ceiling, range and fuel efficiency, take-off distance required, and climb rate. It also includes aircraft controllability speeds. Aircraft manufacturers will publish performance data in an aircraft flight manual, concerning the behaviour of the aircraft under various circumstances, such as different ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airplane
An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, air transportation, transportation of goods and people, military aviation, military, and Experimental aircraft, research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometersMeasured in RTKs—an RTK is one tonne of revenue freight carried one kilometer. of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be unmanned aerial vehicle, remotely or computer-controlled such as drones. The Wright brothers invented and flew the Wright Flyer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of short take-off and landing (STOL) or short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft cannot perform without a runway. The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 was the first successful, practical, and fully controllable helicopter in 1936, while in 1942, the Sikorsky R-4 became the first helicopter to reach full-scale mass production, production. Starting in 1939 and through 1943, Igor Sikorsky worked on the development of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, VS-300, which over four iterations, became the basis for modern helicopters with a single main rotor and a single tail rotor. Although most earlier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adaptive Compliant Wing
An adaptive compliant wing is a wing which is flexible enough for aspects of its shape to be changed in flight. Flexible wings have a number of benefits. Conventional flight control mechanisms operate using hinges, resulting in disruptions to the airflow, vortices, and in some cases, separation of the airflow. These effects contribute to the drag of the aircraft, resulting in less efficiency and higher fuel costs. Flexible aerofoils can manipulate aerodynamic forces with less disruptions to the flow, resulting in less aerodynamic drag and improved fuel economy. Shape adaptation Changing the shape of an aerodynamic surface has a direct effect on its aerodynamic properties. According to the flow condition and to the initial shape of the part, each shape variation (curvature, incidence, twist...) can have a different impact on the resulting forces and moments. This characteristic is actively pursued in adaptive wings which – by nature of their distributed compliance – can att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variable-sweep Wing
A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be modified during flight, swept back and then returned to its previous straight position. Because it allows the aircraft's shape to be changed, it is a feature of a variable-geometry aircraft. A straight wing is most efficient for low-speed flight, but for an aircraft designed for transonic or supersonic flight it is essential that the wing be swept. Most aircraft that travel at those speeds usually have wings (either swept wing or delta wing) with a fixed sweep angle. These are simple and efficient wing designs for high speed flight, but there are performance tradeoffs. One is that the stalling speed is increased, necessitating long runways (unless complex high-lift wing devices are built in). Another is that the aircraft's fuel consumption during subsonic cruise is higher than that of an unswept wing. These tradeoffs are particularly acute for naval carrier-bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot And High
In aviation, hot and high is a condition of low air density due to high ambient temperature and high airport elevation. Air density decreases with increasing temperature and altitude. The lower air density reduces the power output from an aircraft's engine and also requires a higher true airspeed before the aircraft can become airborne. Aviators gauge air density by calculating the density altitude. An airport may be especially hot ''or'' high, without the other condition being present. Temperature and pressure altitude can change from one hour to the next. The fact that temperature generally decreases as altitude increases mitigates the "hot and high" effect to a small extent. Negative effects of reduced engine power due to hot and high conditions * Airplanes require a longer takeoff run, potentially exceeding the amount of available runway. * Reduced take-off power hampers an aircraft's ability to climb. In some cases, an aircraft may be unable to climb rapidly enough to cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Engine Performance
Aircraft engine performance refers to factors including thrust or shaft power for fuel consumed, weight, cost, outside dimensions and life. It includes meeting regulated environmental limits which apply to emissions of noise and chemical pollutants, and regulated safety aspects which require a design that can safely tolerate environmental hazards such as birds, rain, hail and icing conditions. It is the end product that an engine company sells.Gas Turbine Performance Second Edition, Walsh and Fletcher, Blachwell Science Ltd. 2004, , Preface Aircraft engines are part of the Propulsion, propulsion system of an airplane, helicopter, rocket or UAV which produce rotary power transferred to a Propeller (aeronautics), propeller or kinetic energy as a high-velocity gas Exhaust system, exhaust stream. Aircraft engine types include turboprop, turbojet, turbofan and turboshaft. Reciprocating engine, Piston engines are used in recreational personal aircraft and older aircraft. Electric motor, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Engine Performance
A jet engine converts fuel into thrust. One key metric of performance is the thermal efficiency; how much of the chemical energy (fuel) is turned into useful work (thrust propelling the aircraft at high speeds). Like a lot of heat engines, jet engines tend to not be particularly efficient (<50%); a lot of the fuel is "wasted". In the 1970s, economic pressure due to the rising cost of fuel resulted in increased emphasis on efficiency improvements for commercial airliners. Jet engine performance has been phrased as 'the end product that a jet engine company sells' and, as such, criteria include thrust, (specific) fuel consumption, time between overhauls, power-to-weight ratio. Some major factors affecting efficiency include the engine's overall pressure ratio, its bypass ratio and the turbine inlet temperature. Performance criteria reflect the level of technology used in the design of an engine, and the technology has been advancing continuously since the jet engine entered service i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloon (aircraft), balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft (VTOL aircraft such as the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, Harrier and the Bell Boeing V22 Osprey), no runway is needed. Horizontal Power settings For light aircraft, usually full power is used during takeoff. Large transport category (airliner) aircraft may use a flex temp, reduced power for takeoff, where less than full power is applied in order to prolong engine life, reduce maintenance costs and reduce noise emissions. In some emergency cases, the power used can then be increased to increase the aircraft's performance. Before takeoff, the engines, particularly piston engines, are routinely run up at high po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landing
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " splashdown" as well. A normal aircraft flight would include several parts of flight including taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing. Aircraft Aircraft usually land at an airport on a firm runway or helicopter landing pad, generally constructed of asphalt concrete, concrete, gravel or grass. Aircraft equipped with pontoons ( floatplane) or with a boat hull-shaped fuselage (a flying boat) are able to land on water. Aircraft also sometimes use skis to land on snow or ice. To land, the airspeed and the rate of descent are reduced such that the object descends at a low enough rate to allow for a gentle touch down. Landing is accomplished by slowing down and descending to the runway. This speed reduction is accomplished by r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landing Performance
The performance data for landing an aircraft can be obtained from the aircraft's flight manual or pilot's operating handbook. It will state the distance required to bring the aircraft to a stop under ideal conditions, assuming the aircraft crosses the runway threshold at a height of 50 ft, at the correct speed. The actual landing performance of an aircraft is affected by many variables which must be taken into account. Factors affecting landing performance Weight The weight of an aircraft is the primary factor that determines the landing distance required by an aircraft. An increase in weight increases the stall speed of the aircraft. Therefore, the landing approach speed increases as the aircraft's weight increases. The kinetic energy () that has to be dissipated to stop an aircraft is a function of the mass of the aircraft and the square of its speed at touchdown. The kinetic energy increases significantly as an aircraft's weight increases, and the brakes have to absorb thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceiling (aeronautics)
With respect to aircraft performance, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions, as determined by its flight envelope. Service ceiling Service ceiling is the density altitude at which the rate of climb drops below a prescribed value. The service ceiling is the maximum altitude of an aircraft during normal operations. Specifically, it is the density altitude at which flying in a clean configuration, at the best rate of climb airspeed for that altitude and with all engines operating and producing maximum continuous power, will produce a given rate of climb. A typical value might be climb, or on the order of climb for jet aircraft. The one-engine inoperative (OEI) service ceiling of a twin-engine, fixed-wing aircraft is the density altitude at which flying in a clean configuration, at the best rate of climb airspeed for that altitude with one engine producing maximum continuous power and the other engine shut down (and if it has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flight Envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The term is somewhat loosely applied, and can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability. For example, when a plane is pushed, for instance by diving it at high speeds, it is said to be flown "outside the envelope", something considered rather dangerous. During vehicle test programs, flight envelope simply means that part of the aircraft or spacecraft's design capabilities that have already been successfully tested, and have therefore moved from theoretical or designed capability into a demonstrated/certified capability. Flight envelope is one of a number of related terms that are used in a similar fashion. It is perhaps the most common term because it is the oldest, first being used in the early days of test flight. It is clos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
