Aircraft Performance

Module 1
Where are we?

Module 1 : Introduction to aircraft performance, atmosphere

Module 2 : Aerodynamics, air data measurements
Module 3 : Weights / CG, engine performance, level flight
Module 4 : Turning flight, flight envelope
Module 5 : Climb and descent performance
Module 6 : Cruise and endurance
Module 7 : Payload-range, cost index
Module 8 : Take-off performance (1 of 2)
Module 9 : Take-off performance (2 of 2)
Module 10 : Enroute and landing performance
Module11 : Wet and contaminated runways
Module 12 : Impact of performance requirements on aircraft design

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Introduction and atmosphere
Overview of aircraft performance
 General
 Certified versus non-certified data
 Certification versus operational regulations
 Role and responsibilities of the performance engineer –
working for an aircraft manufacturer

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Introduction and atmosphere
 General
 Performance is a branch of flight mechanics

• F = ma applied to the aircraft

• Consider the aircraft as a mass point

 Performance defines the operational capability of the aircraft

 Performance requirements ensure that the aircraft can be operated

safely, in particular in the event of an engine failure

 Performance can be measured and predicted

 Performance is a key factor for aircraft selection

• Very competitive market requires aircraft with good performance

• Speed, range, payload capability, airfield performance, …

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Introduction and atmosphere
General (Cont’d)
 Performance has a direct impact on operating costs

• Fuel burn

• Flight time

 Performance generates profits - a priority for operators

• Payload and range capability translate into revenues

 The price of an aircraft is directly related to its performance as can be

seen in the next slide

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Introduction and atmosphere
 6
Introduction and atmosphere
General (Cont’d)
 Performance is a function of the following parameters

• Aircraft weight
• Aircraft geometry (defines aerodynamic characteristics)
• Engine thrust
• Atmospheric properties
• Flight conditions

 Performance is a very important consideration during the aircraft

design process

• Aircraft design has to meet specific Marketing Requirements

and Objectives (MR&O)
• Operational field performance
• Operational en route performance

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Introduction and atmosphere
 General (Cont’d)
Op. Field
Pressurization Performance
Situational Flight Envelope &
Awareness Placard Speeds

System Op. En route

Redundancy Performance

Weights & Stall &

Balance Speed Margins

Strength Low-speed &

Margins High-speed
Fatigue Flutter
Buffeting

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Introduction and atmosphere
Certified versus non-certified performance data
 Performance data can be classified in two main categories :
certified and non-certified data

 Certified data :

• Approved by Transport Canada (TC) and other certification

agencies
• Contained in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM)
• Based on FAR/JAR 25 requirements
• Mostly based on operation with one engine inoperative
• Sometimes referred to as operational field performance
• Defines performance levels that must be adhered to in order to
ensure safety
• Examples : stall speeds, take-off speeds and distances, climb
gradients, landing speeds, landing distances, …

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Introduction and atmosphere
Certified versus non-certified performance data (Cont’d)

 Non-certified data :

• Data contained in Flight Planning and Cruise Control Manual

(FPCCM)
• Not approved by certification agencies
• Based on operation with all engines operating
• Sometimes referred to as operational en route or mission
performance
• Used mainly for flight planning purposes, i.e. definition of the
mission flight profile (time, speed and altitude) and mission
fuel requirements
• Examples : range, rate of climb, maximum cruise speed, fuel
burn during all phases of flight (climb, cruise, descent,
holding), …

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Introduction and atmosphere
Certification versus operational regulations

 Certification regulations (e.g. FAR Part 25 for large transport

category airplanes) define how certified AFM performance data
must be calculated

• Example : The landing speed as specified in the AFM must not

be less than 1.23 times the stall speed

 Operational regulations (e.g. FAR Part 121 for scheduled airline

service with large transport category airplanes) define how AFM
performance data must be used in order to define operational
limitations

• Example : For landing, the runway length available must not

be less than 1.67 times the landing distance specified in the
AFM.

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Introduction and atmosphere
Certification versus operational regulations (Cont’d)
FAR
Operational
FAR Regulations
Certification
Regulations

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Introduction and atmosphere
Role and Responsibilities of the Performance
Engineer working for an Aircraft Manufacturer

 Extensive involvement in all phases of aircraft life

• Development / Definition phase

• Certification - Entry Into Service (EIS)
• Operation

 Support of conceptual design studies

 Support of wind tunnel test programs
 Definition of preliminary performance models
 Support of flight tests
 Calculation of certified and non-certified performance data
 In-service support

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Introduction and atmosphere
The atmosphere

 Introduction
 Standard atmosphere
 Non-standard day conditions
 Examples
 Altimeters
 Geometric altitude versus
pressure altitude
 Certified altitude-temperature
envelope
 Icing conditions

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Introduction and atmosphere
Introduction

 The atmosphere is one of the most important item affecting

the performance of an aircraft

• Influences lift, drag, airplane stability, thrust, fuel consumption

 It is important to have a good understanding of the

atmosphere

• Need mathematical models in order to calculate air pressure,

temperature and density

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Introduction and atmosphere
Introduction (Cont’d)
 Large jet transport aircraft fly from Sea Level (SL) up to as
much as 51,000 ft (15.5 km)

 Air is a mixture of a number of gases

• Normal composition of clean, dry air (SL to 90 km) :78.10 % N2,
20.95 % O2, 0.93 % Ar, 0.02 % other gases
• Air can be considered as a uniform gas for aerodynamic
calculations
• Equation of state applies : p = ρgRT
p = pressure
ρ = density
g = gravitational acceleration = 32.174 ft/s2
R = gas constant = 96 ft / oK = 29.26 m/ oK
T = ABSOLUTE temperature (oK)

 Water vapor is present, but in varying amounts, usually

less than 1% at the earth’s surface
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Introduction and atmosphere
 Introduction (Cont’d)
 The sun is responsible for heating the atmosphere
• Only little energy is transferred directly from the sun to the air
• Sun heats the earth’s surface, which in turn heats the air
• Warm air near the surface rises, expands due to decreasing
pressure and is cooled
• An equilibrium is reached where no more reduction in
temperature occurs : the tropopause

 The region below the tropopause is the troposphere

 The region above the tropopause is the stratosphere

• Temperature is constant in the stratosphere

 Seasonal changes have an important effect on the

temperature, pressure and density of the air

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Introduction and atmosphere
Introduction (Cont’d)

Variation of temperature with altitude - mean and

1 % extremes

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Standard atmosphere
 To provide a basis for estimating and comparing airplane and
engine performance, a standard atmosphere must be defined

 The International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) has been defined

by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

 ISA represents the average atmospheric conditions in North

America and Europe and it is based on the following
assumptions :
• Air is a perfect gas
• Air is dry
• Gravitational acceleration does not vary with altitude
• Hydrostatic equilibrium exists : dp = - ρg dh

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Introduction and atmosphere
Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)
 ISA is based on standard values of SL density, pressure and
temperature
• Standard pressure at SL = po = 2116.22 lb/ft2
= 101.325 kPa (kN/m2 )
= 29.92 in Hg

• Standard temperature at SL = To = 15oC (288.15oK)

= 59oF (518.67oR)

• Standard density at SL = ρ o = 0.002377 slugs/ft3

= 1.225 kg/m3

• Slugs ???

1 lbf = 1 lbm x 32.174 ft/sec2

1 lbf = 1 slug x 1 ft/sec2
1 slug = 32.174 lbm
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Introduction and atmosphere
 Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)

p ρ T
 Equation of state leads to =
po ρ o To

 Can be written as δ = σ θ
• useful equation

 Pressure, density and temperature ratios

∀ δ = p/ po = air pressure / air pressure at SL standard day

∀ σ = ρ/ ρ o = air density / air density at SL standard day
∀ θ = T/ To = air temper. / air temper. at SL standard day

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Introduction and atmosphere
Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)

 Variation of temperature in ISA is defined as follows

 ISA assumes a linear drop in temperature of approximately

2 oC per 1000 ft from SL to an altitude of 36,089 ft (11 km),
the tropopause

• T = To - λ h
λ = lapse rate = 0.0019812 oC/ft (0.003566 oR/ft or 6.5 oC/km)
h = altitude in ft

 ISA assumes a constant temperature at altitudes from

36,089 ft (11 km) to 65,617 ft (20 km), the stratosphere

• T = -56.50 oC or 216.65 oK

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Introduction and atmosphere
Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)

Variation of temperature with altitude in the standard atmosphere

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)
 Variation of pressure and density in the
standard atmosphere
• The variation of pressure is determined
from the equation of state (p = ρgRT) and
from the integration of the hydrostatic
equation (dp = - ρg dh ) using appropriate
boundary conditions

• Unlike temperature, pressure continues to

decrease at altitudes above the tropopause

• Variation of pressure with altitude below

the tropopause is not the same as above
the tropopause due to the influence of
temperature
- different equations are used
Hydrostatic pressure
• Knowing pressure and temperature ratios,
the density ratio is derived from σ = δ / θ
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Introduction and atmosphere
Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)
 Below the tropopause (SL - 36,089 ft):
• dp = - ρg dh (hydrostatic equation)
• p = ρgRT (equation of state)
• Dividing the two equations: dp/p = -dh / RT
• From T = To - λ h we can obtain dT = - λ dh or dh = -dT/ λ
• dp/p = dT/ λRT
• can be integrated between SL (subscript o) and an
altitude h :
• p/po = (T/To)1/ λR = (1- (λ/To)h) 1/ λR

θ = 1 - 6.87535 x 10-6 h (note : h in ft)

δ = (1 - 6.87535 x 10-6 h)5.2559
δ = θ 5.2559
σ = θ 4.2559 Introduction and atmosphere
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Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)
 Above the tropopause (36,089 ft - 65,617 ft):
• Since T is constant, dp/p = -dh / RT can be integrated directly
between the tropopause (subscript tr) and an altitude h:

• ln (p/ptr) = -(h-htr)/RTtr

• p/ptr = e -((h- htr)/RTtr)

• From equations on previous page, ptr = 0.22336 po

θ = 0.7519
δ = 0.22336 e -((h-36089)/20806)
σ = 0.29707 e -((h-36089)/20806)

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Introduction and atmosphere
Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)

 The equations developed on the last two pages are valid for
standard atmosphere only

 A table can be made to summarize parameters of the

standard atmosphere as a function of altitude

 Airplane and engine manufacturers have adopted the

international standard and are using it for all engineering
and performance analyses

 A simplified ISA table is presented on the next page

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Introduction and atmosphere
Standard atmosphere (Cont’d)

Pressure altitude Temperature Temperature Pressure ratio Density ratio

(ft) (o C) ratio δ σ
θ
0 15 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000
5000 5.1 0.9656 0.8321 0.8616
10000 -4.8 0.9313 0.6875 0.7383
15000 -14.7 0.8969 0.5641 0.6293
20000 -24.6 0.8626 0.4595 0.5326
25000 -34.5 0.8282 0.3711 0.4480
30000 -44.4 0.7939 0.2969 0.3741
35000 -54.3 0.7595 0.2353 0.3098
36089 -56.5 0.7519 0.2233 0.2971
40000 -56.5 0.7519 0.1851 0.2462

Atmospheric properties – ISA conditions

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Non-standard day conditions
 Major reason for defining ISA is to permit performance and
operation to be stated in forms which may be compared

• Performance data may be presented for ISA temperature

conditions or for deviations from ISA temperature conditions

• At any geometric or tapeline altitude, measured pressure may

be different than the standard value

• Pressure altitude (hp) is the altitude corresponding to a given

pressure in the standard atmosphere – hp is used as THE
reference when defining temperature deviations from ISA
conditions

• Knowing pressure altitude (i.e. pressure) and temperature

deviation from ISA (i.e.temperature), density can be calculated
and, therefore, atmospheric properties are fully defined

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Non-standard day conditions (Cont’d)

 Pressure altitude can be derived from ambient pressure or

δ using equations defining the standard atmosphere

• Below 36,089 ft : hp = (1 - δ 1/5.2559)/6.87535 x 10-6 (ft)

• Above 36,089 ft : hp = 36089 - 20806 ln(4.477 δ) (ft)

 Temperature ratio can differ from ISA at any pressure

altitude but is always calculated as
∀ θ = T/ To

 Density can also differ from standard conditions but can be

derived from
∀ σ=δ/θ

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Non-standard day conditions (Cont’d)
 Example 1: Calculate δ, hp, deviation from ISA, θ, σ and ρ for
ambient conditions of 35 oC and 84.31 kPa

∀ δ = p/ po = 84.31 / 101.325 = 0.8321

• From standard atmosphere table, δ = 0.8321 at an altitude of

5,000 ft. Therefore, pressure altitude hp is equal to 5,000 ft.

• From standard atmosphere table, standard temperature at

5,000 ft is equal to 5.1 oC . Deviation from ISA is 35 – 5.1 = 29.9
o
C or ISA + 29.9
- Note : unless stated otherwise, deviations from ISA are in
o
C
∀ θ = T/ To = (273.15oK + 35 oK) / 288.15oK = 1.0694

∀ σ = δ / θ = 0.8321 / 1.0694 = 0.7781

∀ ρ = σ ρ o = 0.7781 x 0.002377 = 0.001850 slugs / ft3

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Non-standard day conditions (Cont’d)
 Example 2: Using basic equations, define atmospheric
properties at a pressure altitude of 35,000 ft under ISA + 20
conditions
• Equations for altitude < 36,089 ft apply

∀ δ = (1 - 6.87535 x 10-6 x 35,000)5.2559 = 0.2353

• p = δ po = 0.2353 x 2116.22 = 498.0 lb / ft2

• Tstd = To - λ h = 15 - 0.0019812x35000 = -54.35 oC or 218.8 oK

• T at ISA+20 = -54.35 + 20 = -34.35 oC or 238.8 oK

∀ θ = 238.8 / 288.15 = 0.8287

∀ σ = δ / θ = 0.2353 / 0.8287 = 0.2839

∀ ρ = σ ρ o = 0.2839 x 0.002377 = 0.000675 slugs/ft3

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Altimeters
 An altimeter is a device that measures ambient pressure
and converts it into an altitude

 In transport category airplanes, altitude is measured and

calculated as follows
• Pressure is measured with a pressure transducer
• The Air Data Computer (ADC) converts pressure into an
altitude using basic altitude-pressure relationships
• The resulting altitude is displayed to the flight crew

 In smaller airplanes, altitude is obtained from mechanical

altimeters
• Pressure acting on an aneroid assembly moves levers and
gears so as to indicate the corresponding altitude to the crew

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Introduction and atmosphere
Altimeters (Cont’d)
 Altimeters can be adjusted with a trim knob to set reference
pressure
• The barometric correction (QNH or altimeter setting) is a bias that
allows to correct altimeter indications for non-standard pressure
conditions
• When the proper barometric correction is set by the pilot, the
altimeter displays an altitude indication which is close to geometric
or true altitude
• The altimeter reads pressure altitude when properly calibrated and
set to 29.92 inches of mercury (I.e. po , standard conditions)

 Calculation of altitude is based on hp plus a term reflecting the

barometric correction QNH
h = hp + (QNH – po)(∂h/ ∂p)
h = hp + (QNH – 29.92)[924.9(1–6.87535 x 10-6 hp) -4.2561]
hp = h + 145442 [1- (QNH/ po)0.19026]

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Altimeters (Cont’d)
 Regulations require that altimeters be manually set with a
barometric correction during flight below 18,000 ft
• Barometric correction allows a reasonable correlation between
pressure altitude and geometric altitude during take-off, flight
below 18,000 ft and landing
• Barometric correction must be readjusted as the flight
progresses
 Altimeters are set to 29.92 in Hg during flight above 18,000
ft
• Altitude is calculated based on ISA definitions, I.e. pressure
altitude is displayed
• Allows aircraft to cruise at flight levels calculated on the same
basis
• Essential to maintain a safe vertical separation between
aircraft flying at different altitudes
• Pressure altitudes are defined as Flight Levels
• For example, FL 210 and FL 350 correspond to pressure
altitudes of 21,000 ft and 35,000 ft respectively

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Geometric Altitude Versus Pressure Altitude
 Relationship between change in geometric altitude and
change in pressure altitude follows from :
• dh / dp = - RT/p
• For temperature > ISA, geometric altitude is greater than hp
• For temperature < ISA, geometric altitude is lower than hp

∆
Pressure altitude ∆
Geometric altitude ∆
Geometric altitude ∆
Geometric altitude
(ft) ISA ISA + 20 ISA – 20
(ft) (ft) (ft)
0 0 0 0
500 500 535 465
1000 1000 1070 930
1500 1500 1605 1395
2000 2000 2140 1860

Use of pressure altitude for vertical navigation may result in

collision with obstacles on a cold day !

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Introduction and atmosphere
 Certified altitude- temperature envelope
 Airplanes are certified to operate in a defined pressure
altitude - temperature envelope
 The airplane, including all systems, must be designed to
operate normally within the certified envelope
 Take-off and landing limits
• Pressure altitude limits range typically from -1000 ft to 10,000 ft
• This limit can be increased to 13,000 - 14,000 ft in order to allow
operation at very high airfields such as Lhasa (11,700 ft), La Paz
(13,200 ft) or Bangda (14,200 ft)
• Temperature limits range typically from -40 oC to ISA + 35 (50 oC
at SL)
• Cold-weather testing is also required in order to demonstrate
proper airplane operation in extremely cold conditions
 Maximum certified altitude
• Performance (ceiling) and systems (pressurization)
considerations

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Introduction and atmosphere
Certified altitude- temperature envelope

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Introduction and atmosphere
Icing conditions
 Icing conditions may be present when
• The air contains moisture such as clouds, fog, rain, snow
• AND temperature is close to or below the freezing point
 Operation in icing conditions is an important part of the
airplane certification process
• Icing certification is optional for the airplane manufacturer but
it is essential for most large airplanes
• Flight in icing conditions is prohibited if airplane is not
certified for operation in icing conditions
 Icing has a major impact on airplane operation and
performance
• Ice protection systems must be operated
• Engine thrust may be significantly reduced
• Ice may accumulate on non-protected surfaces (drag and
weight increase)
• Several accidents have been attributed to icing conditions

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Introduction and atmosphere