1

Introduction

The aircraft chosen, named Phoenix Jet, is a long range intercontinental

business jet. The Phoenix Jet's primary design characteristics are as follows,
Range (R)= 12,000 km.
Cruise Mach number= 0.87
Number of passengers= 9
Number of crew members= 3
Cruise Altitude= 12,200 m (40,000 ft)
In the previous report, the parasite drag coecient of Phoenix Jet was
estimated to be 0.00957 at the cruise condition.
In the current report, the ight performance of Phoenix Jet is quantitatively estimated. The thrust required at cruise, range and turn rate of the
aircraft is estimated and it is veried that the values fall with the design
capabilities of Phoenix Jet. The thrust required versus velocity curve is plotted. The take o and landing distances of Phoenix Jet are estimated. Finally
a V-n diagram is plotted for Phoenix Jet.

Flight Performance

2.1 Thrust Required at cruise

An aircraft experiences four major forces in ight- lift, drag, weight and
thrust.

During cruise the aircraft follows a level ight path where it is in

equilibrium.

The lift force acting on the aircraft equals the weight of the

aircraft during level ight.

W = L = 0.5V 2 SCL

(2.1)

Thrust required for an aircraft in level ight is equal the drag force acting
on the aircraft and is given by the following expression,

TR = D = 0.5V 2 S(CD0 +

CL2
)
eAR

(2.2)

where CL at cruise is given by the rearranging the expression shown in equation (2.1)

CL =

2W
V 2 S
1

(2.3)

Substituting equation (2.3) in equation (2.2) the following expression is obtained,

TR = 0.5V 2 SCD0 +

2W 2
V 2 S (eAR)

(2.4)

where the values of the variables (at cruise altitude of 12,200 m) used in the
above expression are listed below,

= 0.30229

kg/m
2

S= 119.88 m

(Density of air at cruise altitude)

(Wing Planform Area)

CD0 = 0.00957 (Parasite Drag Coecient)

AR=7.5 (Aspect Ratio of the wing)
e=0.5946 (Oswald's Eciency Factor)
W/g=29,944.075 Kg (Mean mass of Phoenix Jet during cruise)

Figure 2.1: Plot of Thrust vs Velocity

Tr is the thrust required versus velocity curve.

Ta is the thrust available versus velocity curve.
Point A corresponds to the design cruise velocity.
Point B corresponds to the velocity at minimum thrust required.

By substituting the above values in equation (2.4) the thrust required expression for Phoenix Jet at cruise is given by,

TR = 0.1734V 2 +

3.3923 108
V2

(2.5)

For a jet-powered aircraft like Phoenix Jet, the thrust available depends
on the altitude and is almost independent of the cruise velocity. The maximum thrust available for Phoenix Jet at cruise altitude is 33.75 kN. A graph
was plotted between thrust required and velocity and compared with the
thrust available at cruise and is shown in gure (2.1)
The design cruise velocity of Phoenix Jet is chosen to be 256.65 m/s
(M=0.87). The thrust required to y at this design velocity in cruise altitude
is 16.57 kN which is less than the maximum thrust available at cruise. This
shows that it is feasible for the Phoenix Jet to y at the chosen design velocity.

2.2 Minimum Thrust Required at Cruise

The minimum thrust required at cruise is calculated using the following
expression,

[2]

2
TR(min) = Vmin(T
SCD0
R)

(2.6)

The velocity of the aircraft at the minimum thrust required condition is given
[2]

by the following expression,

Vmin(TR )

v
s
u
u 2W
1
=t
S eARCD0

(2.7)

The value of Vmin(TR ) is 210.31 m/s. Substituting this value in equation (2.6),
the value of minimum thrust required is calculated to be 15.33 kN.
From the value calculated above and gure (2.1), it is observed that the
chosen design velocity is moderately higher than the velocity at minimum
thrust required in order to minimize the journey time, which is an important
parameter for business jet.

2.3 Minimum Power Required at Cruise

The minimum power required at cruise is calculated using the following
expression,

[2]

3
PR(min) = 2Vmin(P
SCD0
R)

(2.8)

The velocity of the aircraft at the minimum power required condition is given
[2]

by the following expression,

Vmin(PR )

v
s
u
u 2W
1
=t
S eAR 3CD0

(2.9)

The value of Vmin(PR ) is 121.42 m/s. Substituting this value in equation

(2.6), the value of minimum power required is calculated to be 30.67 kW

2.4 Maximum Range

[2]

The range of the aircraft is calculated using the following expression,

R=

Wi
V L
ln
C D Wf

(2.10)

where Wi and Wf are weights of the aircraft before and after cruise respectively.
Wi /Wf = 0.6134
Velocity, lift coecient and drag coecient for maximizing the range of
[2]

jet powered aircraft are calculated using the following expressions,

v
s
u
u 2W
3
V(max)range = t
S eARCD0
r
CD0
CL(max)range =
eAR
3
CD(max)range =

4CD0
3

(2.11)

(2.12)

(2.13)

The value of velocity, lift coecient and drag coecient calculated using
the above formulas are 276.77 m/s, 0.21143 and 0.01276 respectively. Substituting these values in the equation (2.10), maximum range is obtained as
16,138 km.

2.5 Sustained Turn Rate

[2]

The sustained turn rate (d/dt) is given by the following expression,

d
g
= ( n2 1)
dt
V

(2.14)

n=2.00 (Load Factor at sustained turn)

V=256.65 m/s
The sustained turn rate was calculated to be 3.7992 degree per second.

2.6 Take o Analysis

The total take o distance is equal to the sum of ground roll distance and
the extra distance (transition distance) required to clear an obstacle after
becoming airborne.

Figure 2.2: Illustration of take-o analysis

Figure 2.2 shows various segments of takeo. The ground roll includes two
parts - the level ground roll and the ground roll during rotation to the angle
of attack for lifto. Beyond this stage, the aircraft follows and approximately
circular arc till it reaches the climb angle. The horizontal distance traveled
in this stage is called as transition distance.

2.6.1

Ground Roll

During the ground roll the horizontal forces on the aircraft are the thrust,
drag and rolling friction on the wheels. The expression for calculating the
ground roll distance is given by the following expression,

SG =

[2]

KT + KA Vf2
1
ln(
)
2gKA
KT + KA Vi2

(2.15)

The value of Vi (initial velocity)=0 m/s and Vf (take o velocity)= 51.942

m/s for Phoenix Jet.
[2]

The expression for calculating KA is given by,

KA =

2
[CL(max) CD0 CD0 KCL(max)
]
W
2S
2

W/S=4460.34 N/m ,
K=0.07136,

=0.05

=1.225

[2]

kg/m

, CL(max) =1.8361,
-5

(2.16)

4CD0 takeof f = 0.0305

The value of KA is -2.593*10 sec /meter

The expression for calculating KT is given by the following expression,

KT =

[2]

(2.17)

T/W=0.38726 (at takeo )

The value of KT is calculated to be 0.33726
Using the above variables the value of SG is given as 457.391 m

[2]

The expression for calculating rotation ground roll distance is given by,

SRG = 3VT O

(2.18)

The value of SRG is calculated to be 155.826 m.

2.6.2

Transition and Climb

During the transition the aircraft accelerates from takeo speed(1.1 Vstall )
to climb speed(1.2Vstall ). Therefore the average velocity during transition is
about 1.15Vstall . The average lift coecient during transition is assumed to
be 0.9CL(max) which is ninety percent of the maximum lift coecient in the
absence of aps. The aircraft follows a circular transition arc. The radius of
[2]

the arc is given by the equation,

VT2R
R=
0.2g

(2.19)

Vstall =47.22 m/s (The stall velocity of Phoenix Jet)

VTR =1.15Vstall
The value of R is found to be 1504.49 m.
The climb angle is equal to the included angle of the transition arc and is
given by,

[2]

sin climb =

1
T
L
W
D

(2.20)

L/D=7.3423 for Phoenix Jet.

The value of

sin climb =0.25106

and the value of

climb =14.54040

The horizontal distance traveled during transition is given by,

ST = R sin climb

[2]

(2.21)

The transition distance(ST ) is calculated to be 377.722 m.

The transition height is given by the following expression,

hT R = R(1 cos climb )

[2]

(2.22)

The value of the transition height is 48.1692 m.

2.6.3

Climb

The horizontal distances traveled by the aircraft to cover the obstacle height
[2]

is given by,

Sc =

hobstacle hT R
tanclimb

(2.23)

For a commercial aircraft, hobstacle is given to be 10.668 m(35 ft). The Sc

turns out be negative. This means aircraft covers the obstacle height during
the transition phase. Hence the climb distance (Sc ) is equal to be zero.
Therefore the total take o distance is given by

Stakeof f = SG + ST + SRG
7

(2.24)

The total take-o distance is determined to be 990.939 m.

2.7 Landing Analysis

Figure 2.3: Illustration of Landing Analysis

Landing distance begin when he airplane clears a height of 50 ft while approaching the ground. Landing distance can be split into following sections.

2.7.1

Flare distance

The distance during which the aircraft decelerates from the approach speed
Va to the touch-down speed VT D is called the are distances. The approach
[2]

speed and the touch down speed are given by,

Va = 1.3Vstall

(2.25)

VT D = 1.15Vstall

(2.26)

The average velocity of the approach speed and touch-down speed is the
are speed and it is given by,

[2]

VF = 1.23Vstall
Vstall = 47.22 m/s
Therefore V F = 58.08 m/s

where

(2.27)

The height at which aircraft begins the ground roll is called are height.
It is given by,

[2]

hF = R(1 cosa )

(2.28)
[2]

where R is the radius of the are circular arc, given by,

R=

5VF2
g

(2.29)

Therefore R is calculated to be 1721.06m

0
[2]
Hence hF =2.358m and a = 3 . The are distance is given by,

SF = Rsina

(2.30)

The SF is determined to be 90.07m and hF =2.359 m.

2.7.2

Approach distance

The distance between the point at which the aircraft clears the 15.24 m(50ft)
obstacle and follows a straight approach path with an angle

to the point

where the aircraft begins the ground roll. For a typical commercial aircraft
the approach angle should not be steeper than 3 degrees. Without the loss of
generality,

is taken to be 3 degrees. Using geometry the approach distance

[2]

Sa is given by,

Sa =

15.24 hf
tana

(2.31)

where hf is the are height and is calculated to be 2.359 m from equation

(2.28).
The value of Sa is calculated to be 245 m.

2.7.3

Ground Roll

The distance from touchdown to the point where the velocity of the aircraft
becomes zero is called ground roll distance. The expression for calculating
[3]

the ground roll is given by,

SGR = N VT D +

1
JA 2
ln(1 +
V )
2gJA
JT T D

(2.32)

[3]

The expression for calculating JT is as follows,

JT =

Trev
+ r
W

(2.33)

where Trev is the magnitude of thrust acting in the the presence of thrust
reversers which is 45% of the maximum forward thrust(136.8 kN),

r =0.5

when brakes are applied and W=219.054 kN. The value of JT is 0.7810.
[3]

The expression for calculating JA is as follows,

JA =

2
[CD0 + KCL(max)
+ CD0 r CL(max) ]
2W
S
2

W/S=3422.5 N/m ,
K=0.07136,

=1.225

kg/m

(2.34)

r =0.5,

CL(max) =1.8361,
4
The value of JA is -1.10336 x 10

4CD0 = 0.05137

N is the time taken by the pilot after touchdown to apply the brakes and
is taken as 2 seconds. Using the above values the ground roll distance for
landing is calculated to be 357.786 m.
The total landing distance given by the following expression,

[2]

SL = 1.66(SGR + Sa + SF )

(2.35)

The total landing distance(SL ) is obtained to be 1150.14 m.

2.8 V-n diagram

V-n diagram is a plot representing the variation of load factor with airspeed.
The load factor represents the ratio between the lift acting on the aircraft
and the weight of the aircraft. The maximum load factor that an aircraft can
experience is limited by the structural consideration. For a typical business
jet, the maximum n value is 2.5 and the minimum n value is -1.

[2]

According to FAA (Section FAR-25.335), the minimum dierence between

the dive Mach number and the design cruise Mach number must be 0.07 for
typical business jets traveling in the transonic regime. Hence the dive Mach
number is taken to be 0.94 for Phoenix Jet. The dive velocity is 277.3 m/s
calculated at an altitude of 12,200 m.
The upper stall curve in the V-n diagram is plotted using the following
expression,

[3]

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n = 0.5V 2 CL(max)

S
W

(2.36)

where CL(max) =1.1321

=0.30229

kg/m (Density at an altitude 12,200 m)

2

S=119.88 m , W=293.45 kN (Average cruise weight force)

Figure 2.4: V-n diagram of Phoenix Jet

Substituting for all values in the above expression, a relation between V

and n is obtained as follows,

n = 6.879 105 V 2

(2.37)

The lower stall curve in the V-n diagram is plotted using the following
expression,

[3]

n = 0.5V 2 CL(min)

S
W

(2.38)

where CL(min) =-0.8749

=0.30229

kg/m (Density at an altitude 12,200 m)

S=119.88 m

W=293.45 kN (Average cruise weight force)

Substituting for all values in the above expression, a relation between V

and n is obtained as follows,

n = 5.4 105 V 2
11

(2.39)

The graph between V and n was plotted using equation (2.36) and equation (2.34) between n values of -1 and 2.5 to obtain the V-n diagram of
Phoenix Jet shown in gure (2.4)

Conclusion

The thrust required at cruise was found to be 16.57 kN which is less than the
maximum thrust available at the cruise altitude. The sustained turn rate was
calculated to be 3.7992 degree per second. The maximum range is obtained
as 16,138 km which is more than the required value of 12,000 km. The total
take-o distance is calculated to be 990.939 m and the total landing distance
is calculated to be 1150.14 m. The V-n diagram for Phoenix Jet was plotted.

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References
[1] Airworthiness standards-FAA FAR Part 25
[2] D.P Raymer(1995),Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach,Publisher
- AIAA Education Series.
[3] J.D.Anderson(1999),Aircraft Performance and Design,Publisher - Tata
McGraw Hill

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