AERO 200

Aircraft Operations and

Flight Mechanics

Lecture 5: Fundamental concepts and definitions

Dr. Mohamed Kamra

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 Lecture Learning Outcomes
❑Ability to:
❑Understand the principle body axes of an airplane
❑Understand the various types of motions that an airplane
can perform.
❑Know basic and fundamental concepts relating to the
aerodynamic forces
❑Understand the fundamental parameters for describing an
aircraft.

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 Aircraft Axes
❑ Translation in the longitudinal axis (x) : Z, vertical
Forward and backward motion
❑ Rotation about the longitudinal axis (x) :
Roll motion
❑ Translation in the lateral axis (y) :
side motion
❑ Rotation about the lateral axis (y) :
Pitch motion
❑ Translation in the vertical axis (z) : X, front-to-back
climb/descent motion
Y, side-to-side
❑ Rotation about the vertical axis (z) :
Yaw motion

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 Aircraft Axes
The Ailerons control Roll
The two ailerons on the outer rear edge of each wing Z, vertical
move up and down in opposite directions, increasing
lift on one and decreasing lift on the other. The result
of this is that the airplane rolls to the left or right.

X, front-to-back
Y, side-to-side

Taken from website: Roll, Pitch, and Yaw | How Things Fly (si.edu)

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 Aircraft Axes
The Rudder controls Yaw
One of the most crucial tools for a flight is the rudder, Z, vertical
which the pilot employs in conjunction with the
ailerons to turn the aircraft..

X, front-to-back
Y, side-to-side

Taken from website: Roll, Pitch, and Yaw | How Things Fly (si.edu)

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 Aircraft Axes
The Elevator controls Pitch
The elevator tilts up or down on the horizontal tail Z, vertical
surface, reducing or increasing lift on the tail. The
aircraft's nose is tipped up and down as a result.

X, front-to-back
Y, side-to-side
Taken from website: Roll, Pitch, and Yaw | How Things Fly (si.edu)

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 Aircraft Axes
Z, vertical
❑The roll and yaw are almost always
coupled in airplanes which means
that you cannot have yaw without
roll or roll without yaw.
❑In order to perform a steady turn,
both the rudder and aileron must
X, front-to-back
be engaged simultaneously.
Y, side-to-side

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 Relative Wind
❑ The free-stream velocity V∞ is the
velocity of the air beyond the airfoil.
The relative wind defines the direction
of V∞.

❑ Aerodynamic force, R, is resolved into two

components one in the direction normal to
relative wind, Lift, and the other in the direction
of relative wind, Drag.

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 Relative Wind
❑ An alternative to this system is to
resolve R into components
perpendicular and parallel to the chord
line.
❑ These components are called the
normal force and axial force and are
denoted by N and A, respectively Lift
and drag are easily expressed in terms
of N and A from the geometry shown:
𝐿 = 𝑁 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼 − 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼
𝐷 = 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼 + 𝑁 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛼)

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 Aerodynamics Forces
❑ Four physical forces are acting on
the airplane in forward flight:
❑Lift L, which is perpendicular to the
flight path direction.
❑Drag D, which is parallel to the flight
path direction.
❑Weight W, which acts vertically
toward the center of the earth (and
hence is inclined at angle θ with
respect to the lift direction).
❑Thrust T, which in general is inclined
at the angle αT with respect to the
flight path direction.

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 Angle of Attack and Flight Path Angle

❑ Angle of Attack (α) and Flight Path Angle (θ) are

often confused with one another.
❑ The angle between the relative wind and the
chord line is the angle of attack (α) of the airfoil.
❑ The flight path (direction of motion of the
airplane) is inclined at an angle θ with respect to
the horizontal. In terms of the definitions, the
flight path direction and the relative wind are
along the same line.
❑ The mean chord line is at a geometric angle of
αT is often taken very small cos(αT )≈ 1
attack α with respect to the flight path direction.
and sin(αT )≈ 0
❑ In level flight, θ = 0

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 Coefficient of Forces
❑ The following relations are readily obtained from dimensional analysis.
❑ Aerodynamics forces are non-dimensionalized relative to:
1
𝑞∞ 𝑆𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 𝜌∞ 𝑉∞2 𝑆𝑟𝑒𝑓
2
❑ Using dimensionless coefficients allows for studying the behavior of
scaled models as representation of full-scale prototype.
❑ So, for example the coefficient of lift for the wing is defined
𝐿𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐶𝐿𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 = =1 2𝑆
𝑞∞ 𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝜌∞ 𝑉∞ 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔
2
❑ A similar equation can be written for Drag, D

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 Coefficient of Moments
❑ Note that L and D have dimensions of a force, whereas M has
dimensions of a force–length product.
❑ So, Aerodynamics moments are non-dimensionalized relative to:
1
𝑞∞ 𝑆𝑟𝑒𝑓 𝐿𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 𝜌∞ 𝑉∞2 𝑆𝑟𝑒𝑓 𝐿𝑟𝑒𝑓
2
❑ So, for example the coefficient of pitching for the wing is defined
𝑀𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐶𝐿𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 = =1 2𝑆
𝑞∞ 𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝜌∞ 𝑉∞ 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔
2

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How to describe an Aircraft?

Empennage

Powerplant Aircraft anatomy

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 How to describe an Aircraft?
Aircraft consists of: Other Parameters
• Wing • Relative of positioning of
• Fuselage components
• Horizontal Stabilizer (H Tail • Location of center of gravity
Unit)
• Vertical Stabilizer ( V Tail
Unit)
• Powerplant (i.e Engine)

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 Wing Description
❑ Dimensional Parameters:
❑Span, b
❑Chord Spanwise Distribution, c(y)
❑Airfoil Spanwise Distribution
❑Sweep back Angle
❑Wing Area, S
❑ Non-dimensional Parameters:
❑Wing Aspect Ratio, AR
❑Wing Taper Ratio, λ

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 Wing Description
❑ The wing area S is calculated using
a suitable function according to wing
shape.

❑ The Aspect Ratio, AR

𝑏2
𝐴𝑅 =
𝑆
𝑐 𝑦=𝑦𝑡𝑖𝑝 𝑐𝑡
The Taper Ratio, 𝜆 = =
𝑐 𝑦=𝑦𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑟

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 Wing Description
❑ If the wing is described as rectangular
thus
𝑐(𝑦) = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = 𝑐
❑ Then wing area, S is calculated as c
𝑆= 𝑏𝑐
b
❑ Then Aspect Ratio, AR
𝑏2 𝑏
𝐴𝑅 = =
𝑆 𝑐
❑ Taper Ratio, λ
𝜆=1

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 Wing Description
❑ If the wing is described as having a
constant chord length then it can be a
rectangular wing or it could have a
sweep back angle.
❑ Then wing area, S is calculated as the c
area summation of two triangles and c
Aspect Ratio, AR is computed by b b
𝑏2
𝐴𝑅 =
𝑆
❑ If the sweep back angle is not known,
then it is assumed to be zero and the
wing is treated as rectangular
Sweep back Sweep back
angle = 0 angle ≠ 0
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 Example
❑ Consider a finite wing having a rectangular planform with a semi-
span of 5 m and chord length of 20cm. Calculate the wing area,
and wing aspect ratio.

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 Example
❑ Consider a finite wing having a rectangular planform with a semi-
span of 5 m and chord length of 20cm. Calculate the wing area,
and wing aspect ratio.
❑ Solution
If the semi-span is 5𝑚 then the span 𝑏 = 10𝑚.
The wing area for rectangular wing
𝑆 = 𝑏 𝑐 = 10 × 0.2 = 2.0 𝑚2
Then the aspect ratio is
𝑏 10
𝐴𝑅 = = = 50
𝑐 0.2

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 Example
❑ Consider a finite wing having a rectangular planform with a semi-
span of 5 m and chord length of 20cm. Calculate the wing area,
and wing aspect ratio.
❑ If the wing is modified such that wing chord length at the root is
increased by 25% to improve the fixture with the fuselage. Assume
that wing chord length vary linearly from wing root to wing tip.
What would be the resulting wing area, aspect ratio, and taper ratio.

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 Example
❑ If the wing is modified such that wing chord length at the root is
increased by 25% to improve the fixture with the fuselage. Assume that
wing chord length vary linearly from wing root to wing tip.
What would be the resulting wing area, aspect ratio, and taper ratio.
❑ Solution
If the chord length at the wing root is increased by 25% and allowed to vary linearly
until the wing tip then 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡 = 1.25 × 0.2 = 0.25𝑚, 𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑝 = 0.20𝑚
The wing area for trapezoidal wing
𝑐𝑟 + 𝑐𝑡 0.2 + 0.25
𝑆 = 𝑏 = 10 × = 2.25 𝑚2
2 2

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 Example
❑ If the wing is modified such that wing chord length at the root is increase
by 25% to improve the fixture with the fuselage. Assume that wing chord
length vary linearly from wing root to wing tip.
What would be the resulting wing area, aspect ratio, and taper ratio.
❑ Solution
Then the aspect ratio is
𝑏2 100
𝐴𝑅 = = = 44.44444
𝑆 2.25
Then the taper ratio is
𝑐𝑡 0.25
𝜆= = = 1.25
𝑐𝑟 0.20

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 Example
❑ Consider a finite wing having a tapered(trapezoid) planform with a
taper ratio of 0.5 and a semi-span of 5 m and aspect ratio of 10.
Calculate the wing area, tip chord and root chord.

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 Example
❑ Consider a finite wing having a tapered(trapezoid) planform with a
taper ratio of 0.5 and a semi-span of 5 m and aspect ratio of 10.
Calculate the wing area, tip chord length and root chord length.
❑ Solution
If the semi span is 5m then the span b = 10m
From the aspect ratio and span, the area is computed by
𝑏 2 100
𝑆= = = 10𝑚2
𝐴𝑅 10

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 Example
❑ Consider a finite wing having a tapered(trapezoid) planform with a taper
ratio of 0.5 and a semi-span of 5 m and aspect ratio of 10.
Calculate the wing area, tip chord length and root chord length.
❑ Solution
If the wing area 𝑆 is computed by
𝑏 𝑏
𝑆 = 𝑐𝑟 + 𝑐𝑡 = 𝑐𝑟 1 + 𝜆 = 5𝑐𝑟 1.5 = 7.5𝑐𝑟 = 10𝑚2
2 2
10 4
𝑐𝑟 = = 𝑚
7.5 3
2
𝑐𝑡 = 𝜆 𝑐𝑟 = 𝑚
3

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 Horizontal and Vertical Stabilizer
❑ Horizontal Stabilizer is basically a Empennage
wing that is offsetted horizontally
and vertically with respect to the
wing and fuselage.
❑ A vertical stabilizer is half wing
Powerplant Aircraft
❑ Thus, they are described in the anatomy

same manner as a normal wing.

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 Powerplant
❑ A power plant is described by:
❑Type: jet or propeller
❑For jet: thrust is prescribed
❑For propeller: power is prescribed
❑Location:
❑On the fuselage: front or back
❑Wing mount
❑Tail mount
❑Angular offset, αT

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