Aircraft Design
Prepared by: J.R.S. Gayon
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
The final design is a compromise between conflicting
requirements so that optimum results are obtained from the point
of view of design criteria.
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
What is an Aircraft?
• Any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions
of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth's surface
Ref: PCAR Part 1
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Examples of an Aircraft
• Airplane (Aeroplane): power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight
chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given
conditions of flight (land, sea, amphibian)
• Rotorcraft: power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight by the
reactions of the air on one or more rotors
▫ Helicopter: heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight chiefly by the reactions
of the air on one or more power-driven rotors on substantially vertical axes
▫ Gyroplane: heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight by the reactions of the
air on one or more rotors which rotate freely on substantially vertical axes
• Ornithopther: heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight chiefly by the reactions of
the air on planes to which a flapping motion is imparted
• Glider: non-power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight chiefly
from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions
of flight
Ref: PCAR Part 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Examples of an Aircraft
• Unmanned free balloon: non-power-driven, unmanned, lighter-than-air aircraft in
free flight
• Balloon: non-power-driven lighter-than-air aircraft
• Airship: power-driven lighter-than-air aircraft (the internal pressure of the gas keeps
maintains the shape of the envelope without the need of any longitudinal members)
NOTE: Balloon is an unpowered aerostat and an Airship is a powered one
NOTE: A powered, steerable aerostat is called a dirigible
Ref: PCAR Part 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Heavier-than-Air / Lighter-than-Air
• Aerodynes, (Heavier-than-Air)
▫ any aircraft deriving its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic forces
▫ must produce dynamic upthrust – aerodynamic lift or powered lift
• Aerostats (Lighter-than-Air)
▫ any aircraft supported chiefly by its buoyancy in the air
▫ use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same way that ships float on
the water
▫ characterized by one or more large cells or canopies, filled with a
relatively low-density gas (He, H, or hot air) which is less dense than the
surrounding air
▫ Today: mostly utilized for recreational purposes
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Other Methods of Lift
• Heavier-than-Air
• Lighter-than-Air
• Lifting Body
• Powered Lift - VTOL, Tiltrotors
• Flettner Airplane: rotating cylinder (Magnus effect)
• Ornithopter: flapping its wings
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Classification of Aircraft
Ref: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2015/si/107/made/en/print
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Classification of Aircraft
Ref: http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/~sriram/as5030/classn.pdf
Aircraft Categories
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
FAR Part 23 – Airplane Categories
• The nor mal category is limited to airplanes that have a seating
configuration, excluding pilot seats, of nine or less, a maximum certificated
takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less, and intended for non-acrobatic
operation
• Non-acrobatic operation includes any maneuver incident to normal flying,
stalls (except whip stalls), and lazy eights, chandelles, and steep turns, in
which the angle of bank is not more than 60 degrees
• Occupant weighs 170 lbs
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
FAR Part 23 – Airplane Categories
• The utility category is limited to airplanes that have a seating configuration,
excluding pilot seats, of nine or less, a maximum certificated takeoff weight
of 12,500 pounds or less, and intended for limited acrobatic operation
• Limited acrobatic operation includes spins (if approved for the particular
type of airplane); and lazy eights, chandelles, and steep turns, or similar
maneuvers, in which the angle of bank is more than 60 degrees but not
more than 90 degrees
• Occupant weighs 190 lbs
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
FAR Part 23 – Airplane Categories
• The acrobatic category is limited to airplanes that have a seating
configuration, excluding pilot seats, of nine or less, a maximum certificated
takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less, and intended for use without
restrictions, other than those shown to be necessary as a result of required
flight tests
• Occupant weighs 190 lbs
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
FAR Part 23 – Airplane Categories
• The commuter category is limited to multi-engine airplanes that have a
seating configuration, excluding pilot seats, of 19 or less, and a maximum
certificated takeoff weight of 19,000 pounds or less
• The commuter category operation is limited to any maneuver incident to
normal flying, stalls (except whip stalls), and steep turns, in which the angle
of bank is not more than 60 degrees
• Occupant weighs 170 lbs
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
FAR Part 23 – Airplane Categories
• Except for commuter category, airplanes may be type certificated in more
than one category if the requirements of each requested category are met
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Aircraft Design Process
• Design Constraints
▫ Purpose
▫ Aircraft Regulations
▫ Financial Factors and Market
▫ Environmental Factors
▫ Safety
• Design Optimization
• Design Aspects
▫ Aerodynamics / Propulsion / Controls / Mass / Structure
• Design Process and Simulation
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_design_process
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
The Three Stages of Aircraft Design
• Conceptual Design
• Preliminary Design
• Detail Design
Ref: https://monroeaerospace.com/blog/the-three-stages-of-aircraft-design/
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
The Three Stages of Aircraft Design
• Conceptual Design
▫ very beginning of the design process in which rough sketches are created with
respect to the aircraft’s configurations
▫ designers seek to achieve a design that meets all of the aircraft’s requirements,
including aerodynamics, propulsion, performance, structural systems, control
systems, etc. (design optimization)
▫ designers must also consider elements such as the shape of the aircraft’s fuselage,
wing location, engine size and more, etc.
▫ the final product is a conceptual layout of the aircraft configuration on paper or
computer screen, to be reviewed by engineers and other designers
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
The Three Stages of Aircraft Design
• Preliminary Design
▫ the conceptual design is optimized to fit into the necessary parameters
▫ engineers may use the existing designs to conduct wind tunnel testing and fluid
dynamic calculations
▫ structural and control analyses are performed during this stage
▫ engineers will also look for structural defects and flaws, correcting them before
proceeding to the third and final stage of the design process
▫ wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamic calculations of the flow field
around the aircraft are done
▫ major structural and control analysis is also carried out
▫ aerodynamic flaws and structural instabilities, if any, are corrected and the final
design is drawn and finalized
▫ at this point, several designs, though perfectly capable of flight and
performance, might have been opted out of production due to their being
economically nonviable
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
The Three Stages of Aircraft Design
• Detail Design
▫ Engineers must use the existing designs to fabricate the actual aircraft
▫ specifically determines the design, location and quantity of elements such as rubs,
spars, sections and more
▫ all aerodynamic, structural, control and performance aspects are achieved and
tested in full in the previous preliminary design stage; only manufacturing
remains
▫ used to turn these designs into a working aircraft
▫ may also include flight simulations to test the design and ensure it functions as
intended
▫ eals with the fabrication aspect of the aircraft to be manufactured
▫ determines the number, design and location of ribs, spars, sections and other
structural elements.
▫ flight simulators for aircraft are also developed at this stage
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Vocabulary of Design (Ref: D. Stinton)
• CAS - indicated speed of the aeroplane corrected for position and
instrument error; true airspeed in the standard atmosphere at sea level;
rectified air speed (RAS)
• EAS - CAS corrected for scale altitude effect (compressibility)
• KCAS / KIAS / MIAS - CAS in knots / IAS in knots / IAS in mph
• GS - speed of an aeroplane relative to the ground; equal to TAS +/- the
along-track wind component
• IAS - JAR: speed shown on the airspeed indicator; assume zero instrument
error; FAR: shown by instrument, uncorrected for instrument or system errors
• M - Mach number (after Ernst Mach, 1838-1916); ratio of the true
airspeed to the speed of sound for the ambient conditions
• TAS - speed of an airplane relative to the undisturbed air; related CAS
corrected for altitude, temperature and compressibility and the EAS by the
relative density
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Vocabulary of Design (Ref: D. Stinton)
• VA - Design maneuvering speed; maximum speed at which application of
full control will not overstress the aeroplane
• Vapp - Approach speed
• VB - Design speed for maximum gust intensity
• VC - Design cruising speed
• VD - Design diving speed
• VDF - Demonstrated flight diving speed which, through various unexpected
causes, may be less than VD
• VF - Flap limiting speed (when down)
• VFE - maximum speed for actually extending or raising flaps
• VLE - maximum speed with landing gear extended
• VLO - maximum speed for lowering or retracting the undercarriage
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Vocabulary of Design (Ref: D. Stinton)
• V MCA - minimum control speed in flight at which the aeroplane can be
controlled directionally i.a.w. Authority requirements
• VMCG - minimum control speed at which it is possible to maintain directional
control during take-off when the engine fails and the wheels are still on the
runway
• VMO - maximum operating speed
• VMU - minimum demonstrated unstick speed; at this speed, it is possible to
leave the ground with all engines operating and climb without undue
hazard
• VNE or MNE - never-exceed speed or Mach number; equal to 0.9VDF
• V NO - normal operating speed; maximum structural cruising speed that
should not be exceed except in smooth air, and then only with caution
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Vocabulary of Design (Ref: D. Stinton)
• VAT - target threshold speed (i.e. the ‘over the hedge speed,’ which is often
shown on a graph of airspeed against weight)
• VAT0 - target threshold, all engines working
• VAT1 - target threshold, one engine inoperative (and so on for VAT2)
• V S or V S1 - stalling speed; minimum steady flight speed at which the
aeroplane is controllable in the relevant configuration; flaps-up stall speed
(minimum steady-flight speed)
• VSO - stalling speed; minimum steady flight speed at which the aeroplane is
controllable in the landing configuration; flaps-down stall speed (minimum
steady-flight speed); VSO is less than or equal to 61 knots
• VSSE - intentional one engine inoperative speed; minimum speed selected by
the manufacturer for intentionally rendering one engine inoperative in flight
for pilot training
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Vocabulary of Design (Ref: D. Stinton)
• VX - best angle-of-climb speed; airspeed which delivers the greatest gain in
altitude in the shortest possible horizontal distance (also called the best
gradient-of-climb speed)
• VY - best rate-of-climb speed; airspeed which delivers the greatest gain in
altitude in the shortest possible time
• VYSE - best VY but with a failed engine on a twin
• V1 - decision speed on take-off; up to this speed, if an engine fails, it should
be possible to stop the aeroplane in the remaining runway length; beyond
V1, the take-off must be continued
• VR - rotation speed at which the aeroplane is rotated in pitch into the take-
off altitude, just before lift-off
• V2 - take-off safety speed established by the manufacturer to add a safety
margin to the minimum control speed
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Take-Off Speeds (V-Speeds)
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Stalling Speed
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A/C Design | J.R.S. Gayon
Stalling Speed
