PRINCIPLE OF FLIGHT

UNIT - 4
BY RAJNI VERMA
(WING DESIGN AND CONFIGURATION)

NO. OF WINGS :

Nowadays, modern aircraft almost all have monoplane. Currently, there are a few aircraft that
employ biplane, but no modern aircraft is found to have three wings. In the past, the majorreason to
select more than one wing was the manufacturing technology limitations. A single wing usually has a
longer wing span compared with two wings (with the same total area). Old manufacturing technology
was not able to structurally support a long wing to stay level and rigid. With the advance in the
manufacturing technology and also new aerospace strong materials; such as advanced light aluminum,
and composite materials; this reason is not valid anymore. Another reason was the limitations on the
aircraft wing span. Hence a way to reduce the wing span is to increase the number of wings. Thus, a
single wing (that includes both left and right sections) is almost the only practical option in
conventional modern aircraft. However, a few other design considerations may still force the modern
wing designer to lean toward more than one wing. The most significant one is the aircraft
controllability requirements. An aircraft with a shorter wing span delivers higher roll control, since it
has a smaller mass moment of inertia about x axis. Therefore if you are looking to roll faster; one
option is to have more than one wing that leads to a shorter wing span. Several maneuverable aircraft
in 1940s and 1950s had biplane and even three wings. On the other hand, the disadvantages of an
option other than monoplane include higher weight, lower lift, and pilot visibility limits. The
recommendation is to begin with a monoplane, and if the design requirements were not satisfied,
resort to higher number of wings.

Wing Vertical Location:

OTHER CONTROL SURFACES :
High Wing The high wing configuration has several advantages and disadvantages that make it
suitable for some flight operations, but unsuitable for other flight missions. In the following section,
these advantages and disadvantages are presented.
Low Wing In this section, advantages and disadvantages of a low wing configuration will be
presented. Since the reasons for several items are similar with the reasons for a high wing
configuration, the reasons are not repeated here. In majority of cases, the specifications of low wing
are compared with a high wing configuration.
Mid Wing In general, the features of a mid wing configuration stands somewhat between the high
wing and the low wing configuration. The major difference lies in the necessity to cut the wing spar in
two half in order to save the space inside the fuselage. Other than those features that can be easily
derived from two previous sections, some new features of a mid wing configuration are as follows:
HIGH LIFT DEVICES FOR AIRCRAFT :
DEVICES TO DELAY STALL

DRAG REDUCTION DEVICES (DRD)

Airplanes use high lift devices to allow them to fly at lower speeds without getting close to a stall. This
is essential for safe takeoffs and landing.

Airplanes use high lift devices to allow them to fly at lower speeds without getting close to a
stall. This is essential for safe takeoffs and landings where the aircraft needs to be slowed down
significantly. Each aircraft has a wing that is designed for a purpose. A light general aircraft has
straight wings, which are excellent at generating lift at low speeds. However, larger faster going
aircraft are designed with swept wings. These wings outperform straight wings at high speeds but
falter at low speeds. Due to this reason, these wings require more help when compared to straight
wings at low speeds and low altitudes.
So, the complexity of the high lift devices depends very much on the design of the wings.
Why are high lift devices required?
The wing of an aircraft generates lift by accelerating air over it. This acceleration can be increased by
tilting the wing up which is normally achieved by pitching the nose of the aircraft up which increases
the angle of attack (the angle between the airfoil chord and relative airflow) on the wing. A basic wing
platform can only generate lift to a certain angle of attack. Beyond this angle of attack, called the
critical angle of attack, the wing enters a stall as the airflow separates from the upper surface of the
wing.

The high lift devices can be used to delay this stall and let the wing reach a high angle of attack. When
these devices are extended, they increase the curvature of the wing, increasing its camber which in
turn increases the coefficient of lift called, Clmax. The Clmax is a dimensionless unit that is fixed for
each airfoil or wing. When high lift devices are put down they modify the wing structure by increasing
the Clmax. This increase in Clmax allows the wing to generate lift at low speeds. This can be shown
mathematically using the lift formula:
L= ½ x ρ x Clmax x V^2 x SA
L= Lift, ρ = Density, Clmax = Coefficient of lift, V= Airspeed, SA= Surface Area of the airfoil
From the equation, it can be deduced that an increase in both the speed and the Clmax can increase
the lift. So, if speed is reduced, the lost lift can be simply increased by increasing the Clmax.

Trailing edge high lift devices

The flaps are a type of high lift device which are extended from the trailing edge of the wing. Like any
other high lift device, the flaps increase the Clmax of the wing and generate more lift for a given angle
of attack. The simplest type of flap is known as the Plain flap. The plain flaps come down and increase
the lift. But they are not very efficient at doing so. They only give a small increase in lift compared to
the large amounts of drag it generates.

Plain flaps deployed on an Akaflieg München Mü30 Schlacro aircraft

In larger and much more complex aircraft, the flaps are slotted. When these flaps are lowered, a slot
is introduced. This is quite beneficial because the slot takes in high-pressure air from below the wings
and introduces it to the upper surface. This high-pressure air contains a lot of energy which re-
energizes the boundary layer, delaying its separation. This effectively increases the margin to a
possible stall.
A further improvement in flaps is the Fowler flaps. The Fowler flaps when extended initially comes out
longitudinally before going down. This increases both the surface area and the camber of the wing,
which in turn increases lift. These days airplanes are mostly designed with Fowler flaps and some
manufacturers design them with multiple slots. For example, the Boeing 747 has triple-slotted Fowler
flaps.

when the flaps are lowered, there is a significant increase in lift, and to maintain the same altitude
and lift (same as the basic airfoil), the pilot must push the nose of the aircraft down. In simple terms,
it could be said that with the flaps extended, the pilot has more room to play with the lift.
Leading edge high lift devices
There are several designs of leading-edge high lift devices. They are mainly found in fast-flying jet
aircraft with swept wings which require more help to fly at lower speeds. The leading-edge devices
are like trailing edge flaps as they also help to increase the camber and thus the coefficient of lift.
The earliest type of leading-edge flaps is called Kruger flaps. These flaps can be found in earlier
generation jetliners such as the Boeing 727. The only modern platform that uses this type of flap is
the Boeing 747. When extended, Kruger flaps do not come out that much. They just rotate out from
below the wings. An improvement on Kruger flaps is the Variable Camber Leading Edge flap. This type
moves out and extends a lot more than Kruger flaps, and they can be moved out in stages until they
are fully deployed. As they extend a lot more, they modify the wing camber a lot more, which in turn
makes it generate more lift. In the Boeing 747, the Kruger flaps are placed near the wing roots, while
outer sections of the wing are designed with variable camber. This allows wing roots to stall faster,
giving the aircraft favorable stall characteristics.
Slats are like variable camber flaps with a twist. Unlike the former, the slats, when deployed, form a
gap or a slot in between the slat itself and the wing leading edge. The slot takes in air from below and
introduces it over the wing. This high energy flow is then mixed up with the boundary layer and allows
the boundary layer to fight against the adverse pressure gradient delaying the stall. Because of the
rejuvenation of the boundary layer, the stall angle of attack is significantly increased with slats
extended. The slats can increase the stall angle of attack by almost 10 degrees which is quite
significant.
The slat itself is a small airfoil and thus generates its local lift. This has the effect of flattening the lift
distribution over the wing. In a basic airfoil, the increase in the angle of attack moves the lift point or
CP (the lowest pressure) further ahead of the airfoil, which increases the strength of the adverse
pressure gradient. With the lift distribution evened out, the adverse pressure gradient is reduced, and
this allows the boundary layer to remain attached to the wing for longer periods delaying the stall.

How pilots use high lift devices

The pilots use high lift devices during takeoffs and landings. During takeoff, flaps and slats are used to
generate more lift which reduces the ground roll on the runway. Remember that flaps and slats also
generate drag, and hence full flaps and slats are never used for a takeoff. When at full, they tend to
generate more drag than lift. Once airborne, the flaps and slats are retracted to increase the climb
performance of the aircraft. This is only done at a certain altitude and with a certain speed attained.
This speed is called flap retraction initiation speed. If flaps are retracted below this speed, the aircraft
may enter a high nose-up situation putting it ever close to a stall. As per regulations, for a transport
category aircraft, the flap must never be retracted below 400 ft AGL (AIRFIELD GROUND LIGHTING)
and below the retraction speed.

When coming in for a landing, the flaps are lowered to fly the aircraft at the low speeds required
during the approach to landing. They are extended in such a way that the flight is conducted as
economically as possible. Extending flaps too early generates drag which increases fuel burn. So,
generally, the first stage of flaps is lowered 15-20 miles away from the runway. One stage is usually
enough to reduce the aircraft speed to a manageable level in most medium to heavy aircraft. The rest
of the flaps are deployed 5-6 miles from the runway. The idea is to decelerate the aircraft such that it
is fully configured and on approach speed by 1000 ft. Of course, certain conditions such as weather
and ATC (AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL) requirements may demand an earlier configuration.

APPLICATIONS OF HIGH LIDT DEVICES :

High lift devices are crucial components in the design of aircraft, especially those intended for takeoff
and landing. These devices help optimize lift under low-speed conditions, allowing aircraft to operate
safely at airports with shorter runways or in challenging environments. Here are some key
applications of high lift devices:

1. Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) Aircraft: High lift devices enable aircraft to take off and land on
runways that are shorter than those required for conventional aircraft. This is especially useful in
remote areas, where airports may have limited infrastructure, or in military operations where the
ability to operate from makeshift airstrips is essential.

2. Regional and Commuter Aircraft: Many regional and commuter aircraft employ high lift devices to
operate efficiently from smaller airports. By maximizing lift at low speeds, these devices allow aircraft
to access routes that may not be feasible for larger jets, bringing air travel to more communities.

3. Enhanced Safety: High lift devices improve the safety margins during takeoff and landing,
particularly in adverse weather conditions such as strong crosswinds or reduced visibility. By
increasing lift, these devices help aircraft maintain control and stability during critical phases of flight.

4. Improved Performance at High Altitude Airports: Airports located at high altitudes have lower air
density, which can reduce lift generation during takeoff and landing. High lift devices help
compensate for this by increasing the lift coefficient, allowing aircraft to operate more effectively at
high altitude airports.

5. Cargo Aircraft: High lift devices are beneficial for cargo aircraft, which often operate from airports
with limited infrastructure. By enabling shorter takeoff and landing distances, these devices allow
cargo carriers to access a wider range of airports, including those in remote or undeveloped areas.

6. Military Aircraft: Military aircraft utilize high lift devices for various purposes, including short-field
operations, aerial refueling, and carrier-based operations. These devices enhance the versatility and
operational capabilities of military aircraft across different mission profiles.

7. Reduced Environmental Impact: High lift devices can contribute to reducing the environmental
impact of aviation by enabling aircraft to operate more efficiently. By optimizing lift, these devices can
help reduce fuel consumption and emissions during takeoff and landing, contributing to overall
sustainability efforts in the aviation industry.

8. Improved Passenger Experience: High lift devices can contribute to a smoother and more
comfortable passenger experience during takeoff and landing. By ensuring optimal lift and stability,
these devices help minimize the effects of turbulence and other factors that can lead to discomfort
for passengers.

9. Search and Rescue Aircraft: Aircraft used for search and rescue missions rely on high lift devices to
operate efficiently in challenging environments, including mountainous terrain, dense forests, and
coastal regions.

10. Experimental and Research Aircraft: Experimental and research aircraft utilize high lift devices to
investigate aerodynamic performance, validate computational models, and test innovative design
concepts aimed at improving aircraft efficiency and performance.