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File D 52.15 / 140 McCOOK F I E LD R E PORT SERIAL No. 1458

AIR SERVICE INFORMATION CIRCULAR

(AVIATION}
-
PUBLISHED BY THE CHIEF OF AIR SERVICE, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III May 1, 1921 No. 210

NOTES' ON AIRPLANE FLIGHT

ENDURANCE (I)
'
(AIRPLANE SECTION, S. & A. BRANCH REPORT)

Prepared by Engineering Division, Air Service

McCook Field, December 2, 1920

Ralph Brown Draughon

LIBRARY

MAR 28 2013
Non•Depoirnrv
Auburn University

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1921
.,.
 NOTES ON AIRPLANE FLIGHT ENDURANCE {I).

PURPOSE. "fineness" 100 as abscissae, we go next vertical] y to the

"fineness" marked on the straight lines, thence hori-
It fa the purpose of this report to describe a chart which zontally to the right, we will find there the !!/H. P.m cor-
will serve as a ready means of determining for any airplane rected due to the particular " fineness." Since H. P .
the minimum horsepower required or the maximum required varies' inversely with (fineness) 3 (by definition),
horsepower available at any altitude which it is possible #/H. P .m varies directly with this factor and the straight
for the airplane to reach. The construction of the present linl)S of Chart I effect this multiplication .
chart is based on the method of McCook Field Serial No. At altitude, horsepower required, and hence its mini-
1380 (Air -Service Information Circular, Vol. II , No. 183), .mum value increases as the square root of the reciprocal
"Airplane Performance and Design Charts," and con- of the relative density. Expressed in terms of loading
sists in combining several of the fundamental relations per horsepower we have
which are plotted in figttres 2 and 5 o·f that report, to
which reference should be made. #/H. P .m at altitude= (<r)! #/H. P .m at ground,
The chart should be useful in calc ulations of airplane- where a is the density at altitude relative to the density
flight endurance for determining (a) the maximum time at the ground. Values are taken from Table I, which
in the air with a given fuel suppl y at the altitude of mini- defines the standard atmosphere adopted by the engineer-
mum horsepower required; (h) the corresponding speed; inir division. The altitude curves of Chart II, figure 1,
(c) the fuel supply necessar y for a given duration at any effect this multiplication, so that if a horizontal from the
altitude, either at full power or with throttled engines. #/IL P.m scale of Chart I were drawn to a particular alti-
In addition the curves of horsepower at altitude as pre- tude line, a vertical dropped from the intersection would
sented may be used to indicate absolute ceiling, and in indicate the #/H . P ·m at that altitude. However, an addi-
the case of supercharged engines will provide a means tional curve has been introduced in Chart IL which per-
for determining rate and time of climb in function of alti- forms a transformation from #/H. P.m to H . P.m per 1,000
tude, as well as service and absolute ceilings. pounds weight of the airplane, so that if frqm the point on
In duration flight problems it is necessary to know the the altitude line a vertical line is drawn to the new curve,
unit fuel consumption as well as the horsepower. This a horizontal drawn from this intersection will indicate on
report deals only with the latter and lays a foundation the right-hand 8cale H. P.m per J ,000 pounds weight at the
for flight tests conducted with the object in view of deter- particular altitude.
mining the variation of unit fuel consumption with throttle Now in Chart III, figure 1, altitude is marked off as
. ,- opening and altitude . abscissae, so that we can plot the variation of H. P · rn per ,
1,000 pounds weight in function of altitude, as we com_e
-I · I. MINIMUM HORSEPOWER REQUIRED. from Chart II, having used various altitudes. Suppose
that it is proposed to set up a record of endurance, con-
If the horsepower available from an airplane's engine sidering maximum time in the air without landing.
were reduced until a condition was reached , such that the The weight empty of the airplane to be used is known,
airplape could no longer climb from the ground, i. e., so as well as the area and horsepower of the engine at the
that its absolute ceiling was at the ground, then that horse- ground. "Fin eness," if not known, is selected by com-
power would be equal to the minimum horsepower re- parison with the airplanes listed in Table II. Several
quired to sustain the airplane. The corresponding value weights fully loaded may be assumed and performances
of #/H . P. would be at its maximum within the range of determined in each case by the method of Serial No.
flying ability t We can easily determine for any airplane 1380, Air Service Information Circular, Vol. II, No. 183.
this value o[ l!/.H. P.m (minimum required ), study its In general the total weight will be limited by considera·
variation with altitude and then convert it into the cor- ' tions of getting off; that is to say, rate of climb at ground,
responding actual horsepower. The solution is entirely or by a minimum service or absolute ceiling defined by
graphical. the topographical conditions of the vicinity in which the
In fig. 5, Air Service Information Circular, Vol. II, flight is to be made. The maximum total weight havi.ng
No. 183, is plotted absolute ceiling and corresponding th'u s bee~ decided on, the weight of fuel it is possible to
speed in function of lbs./sq. ft . and #/H. P. corrected for carry is known, due allowance having been made for
"fineness." To find #/H. P.m, it is only necessary to find possible additional tanks . Now to fly for the maximum
on the absolute ceiling chart the intersection of the par- time n ecessitates flying at minimum horsepower required
ticular #/sq. ft. line with the zero absolute ceiling line, at the particular minimum altitude, and the present
draw a horizontal to the particular "fin eness," and drop a chart, figure J, will indicate th~s horsepower quantita-
vertical to the #/H. P . at the ground scale. In Chart I of tively. Now, if at that altitude an\f power the unit fuel
figure 1 this report is plotted the variation of #/H. P.m with consumption were known it would be possible to make an
#/sq. ft. for "fineness" 100, taken from the " Airplane estimate of the possible endurance. Furthermore, reduc-
Performance and Design Chart" as indicated above. tions in total weight due to consumption of fuel can be
Superposed on Chart I are various lines of "fineness," so taken into account, new H. P.n, may be found as time in
that if we start with #/sq. ft., go horizontally to the #/sq.ft.- the air elapses, and by summation very close result'! may
#/H. P.m curve, and if instead of reading #/H . P.m for be obtained.
41463-21 (3)

4
it might be an aid to th e piiot to know at what spee~ to
fly throughout t he flight, in which case it can be found
from Chart VI, the development of which is described in
the following. Referring again to the absolute ceiling
· chart of figure l, Air Servi ce Information Circular, Vol. fl,
No. 183, we have in the zero ceiling line a curve of speed
at zero absolute ceiling, hen ce speed at groun d level at the
altitiide of minimum power required , with values of
#fscr ft. marked on the curve. This can be replotted
with #/sq. ft. as ordinate and speed as abscissae with
altitude as parameter according to the fundamental rela-
tion:
Vat altitude=(l /o-)i Vat ground (constant in ciden ce)
In Chart VI, figure 1, the relation has been expressed
in such a manner that if a vertical is drawn from the
lf/sq. ft. scale to the conversion curve x , and a horizontal
constructed through the intersection, th en a vertical
dropped from the altitude scale of Chart III , will intersect
the horizontal, and indicate the speed at minimum power
at the particular altitude . It is pointed out that although
the above relations between speed and lbs. /sq. ft., as well
as between lbs. /sq. ft. and #/H. P. in th e foregoing, are
taken from the Liberty engine chart, the same relations
obtain for any engine, since at zero altitude.no considera-
tion of power drop-off with altitude, peculiar to any
engine, enters into the discussion.
II. MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER AVAILABLE.
A variation of th e method for determining engine
1
horsepower with altitude has been given in Air Service
Information Circular Vol. II, No. 183, with results plott~d
as shown 1n Curves VI, figure 2, of that circular. The
characteristic drop-offs found by the empirical-theoretical
method, have been replotted in Chart IV of figure 1, with
a cur ve of the Liberty " 12 " engine with G. E . Co. ·super-
charger added. Charts I V and V are so arranged that if
we .start at .any altitude ·as abscissae on Chart I V, draw a
vertical to the particular engine curve, then a horizontal
to the lbs. /H. P. at the ground, a vertical from there
,vould cut the top scale of Chart V, giving ;i/H. P. maxi-
mum available at the particular altitude. The lbs. /H. P.
curves, Chart V, simply multiply the lbs. /H . P. at the
ground by the reciprocal of the ratio of the engine pro'-
peller factor at altitude to the one at the ground, since,
if H. P . decreases, then ;i/H. P. increases with altitude.
Now if we ·proceed from the first points on the lbs. /H. P
lines of Chart V, vertically up to the conversion curve ot
Chart II, thence horizontally, we will find on the right-
hand scale, H. P . m per 1,000 pounds weight, which can in
turn b e plotted against altitude. in Chart III. H ere is a
means, then, of determining the actual horsepower of the
engine for flight at full throttle at any altitude, and if the
unit fuel consumption were known in function of altitude
and horsepower or r . p . m ., it would be possible to deter-
mine just how much fuel had to be carried for a certain
flight endurance at high speed at any altitude . Such an . such data can not be disregarded, and once it is obtained
endurance figure is generally specified for Army airplanes,
and one of the purposes of this report is to provide a basis
for a series of flight tests with the object in view of deter- flight endurance. In the case of supercharged engines,
mining unit consumptions.
ill. CRUISING FLIGHT.
Instead of flying·at high speed or full throttle and corre-
sponding high unit consumption, it may b e desired to fly
with reduced throttle and at lower speed, but with a unit
.•
consumption so much iower that iess fuei wouid be con-
,,,.....
sumed in flying a certain distance. The latter condition
of flight is more economical , though slower, and is called ~.
flight at cruising speed . Suppose we have set up the
fundamental curves of Chart III for an airplane which is
our example. At 10,000 feet, the maximum horsepower
available is 66.5 per 1,000 pounds weight. Now suppose
the engine is throttled to 50 H.P. /1,000 lbs., what will be
the speed in horizontal flight? Draw a horizontal from
50 on the right-hand scale of Chart II, from intersection
with conversion scale drop a vertical through CJ:iart V.
Now draw a vertical from 10,000 feet, Chart IV, to the
engine curve, thence a horizontal through Chart V, and
the intersection with the previous vertical will indicat e
the corresponding j:i/H. P . at the ground. Using this
value on the Performance Chart of Air Service Information
,Circular Vol. II , No. 183, figure 5, we can find the hori-
zontal speed at 10,000 feet. Repeating this procedure fo.r
various throttle openings and altitudes, it will be possible
to determine the best altitude and speed at which to fly,
most economically for a given distance.
IV. SUPERCHARGING. 1
In Air Service Information Circular Vol. II , m;-. 195 is
described a method for finding the rate and time of climb,
service ceiling and absolute ceiling of an airplane equipped
with a supercharger. Rate of climb was first expressed in
function of the ratio ;i/H . P. m / lf/H. P. a for -the airplane
without supercharger, and then determined from this law
for the airplane with supercharger and new values of the
ratio. The solution was wholly analytical, wh ereas it can
be made mostly graphical. In figure 1 we have set up
the curves of H. P. a and H. P. m with altitude. The ratio
H.P. 0 /H. P . m can be used for expressing rate of climb,
-
since it is equal to the ratio #/H . P . m/#/H. P. ,. Rate of
climb depends on excess horsepower, so that the greater
the horsepower available and the smaller the horsepower
required, the greater the excess, the ratio, and the rate.
The intersection of the curves in Chart III, in any case,
indicates absolute ceiling, since horsepower available
just equals minimum horsepower required. When the
rate of climb curve has been established for a supercharged
job as outlined above, and in Air S~rvice Information Cir-
cular Vol. II , No. 195, then service ceiling can be found
when rate of climb equals JOO ft. /min. Time of climb is
obtained by integrating the rate curve.
V. CONCLUSION.
The present chart provides a method upon which may
be based a flight test program for definitely determining
the unit fuel consumptions of engines in function of alti-
tude and throttle opening or r. p. m. The importance of
by the method h erein outlined, it can he used in conjunc-
tion with figure 1 to solve practically any problem of
figure 1 provides a basis for determining rate of climb,
service, and absolute ceilings. Some interesting results
may be found with regard to endurance at altitude of
airplanes equipped with superchargers.
1 An analysis of the Eff~ct of Supercharging .
•
 · .. , :. .,

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1
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.· ·1· ~ ··- i' ~{ -~
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'e.5(JatJ·._.. ,;-litJtUL
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FIG. !.-Horsepower altitude chart.

 TABLE !.-Standard atmosphere.1 T AB L E II.
as .
Standard T empera- Percentage Percentage
ture -J-;- -Jf ..; ~'d
~8 P-~8
~,d
p.; i """
~g ,I, ••

'
altitude. Ol'•
• centigrade. pressure. density. Airplane.
gj -a~
Ji:: .'ii
~8
I>: bl)
0
.., ..,"'
...
III""
Pi O'
~ ~
i£;~
Ol

0 15. 00 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1.000

-- -- --- - -- -- - -
Caproni Triplane .. . . 12,900 1,420 1 450 11,~ 12. 3 9.1 ioo 90
1,000 12.84 . 965 .972 .986 1.015 G.A.X ...... . ..... . 9,748 I,004 1;188 11. ~ 9. 7 105 90
2. 000 10. 75 . 930 . 944 . 972 1.030 L ePere Triplane . . .. 8,577 872 1,700 834 10.3" 9. 8 112 92. 5
3,000 8. 71 . 897 . 917 .958 1 043 Martin Bomber ..... 10,225 1,070 1,665 832 12. 3 9.6 105 93
4,000 6. 73 . 864 .890 943 1.060 Martin Bomber • .... 9, 185 1,070 1,700 834 11.0 8.6 106 93. 5
5,000 4.81 .832 . 863 .930 1.075 Martin Transport . .. 10, 225 1,070 1,665 832 12.'3 9.6 106 94
Martin Torpedo . . ..• 12,098 1,080 1,675 833 14.6 11. 3 105 94. -
6,000 2.95 . 802 .837 . 915 1. 093 JN- 4-D-2 .... . ..... ·. 2,016 353 1,450 90 22. 6 5. 7 ·. 73 96.•
7,000 •1.14 . 772 .811 .901 1.110 2,639 214 1,900 343 7. 7 12. 3 143.5 99
8,000
\!,000
- .61
-2. 30
. 744
. 715
. 786
. 761
. 887
. 873
1.128
1. 145
M::.1:~.::::::::::::
DH--4 . ....... . ...... 3,920
4,065 490
440
1,580
1,630
388
400
10.5
9.8
8.3 'i.13. 5 99
8. 9 ·120 100
10,000 - 3.94 .689 . 737 . 859 1.164 Fokker D-VII .. .... 2,100 236 1,560 184 11. 4 8. 5 117 104
Sp.ad 16-A ... . . . . -.. . 2, 844 328 1,670 240 12. r 8. f 116.5 104
- 5.52
11,000
12,000
13,000
-7. 05
-8.53
. 662
.637
.613
. 713
.690
. 667
. 845
. 831
.817
1. 184
1. 205
·1.226
LePere Biplane.. .. . 3, 774
VE-7 . . .... ... .. . • _: _ 2, 095
SE- 5 .. .............. 2,060
391
285
245
1,725
1,730
1,725
420
183
180
9.0
U-.6.
11.4
9.6
7.4 {fti 107
108
8. 4 ,121.6 108
14,000 -9.97 7.1 . 9.3 147 108

mr
.589 . 645 .804 1,244 Ordnance"D"-----· 2,432 261 1,885 341
15,000 - 11.35 .567 .624 . 790 1.267 Junker L--6 .......... 3,605 417 1,445 243 14. 8 8.6
U. S.XB-lA . ....... 2,994 406 1,730 316 9.5 7. 4
16,000 - 12.68 . 545 .603 . 776 1. 289 Thomas-MorseMB-3 2,094 252 1,835 338 6.2 8. 2 -:152 113
17,000 -13. 97 . 524 . 582 . 763 1. 310 VCP- 1. ...... .. ..... 2,669 269 1,925 347 , 7..7 10. ( 154 114
18,000 -15. 21 . 503 .562 . 749 1. 335 Thomas-Morse S-6 .. 1,477 206 1,260 85 17.4 5.( i 97 117
19,000 -16.40 .483 .543 . 736 1. 360 I
20,000 -17. 56 .465 . 524 . 723 1. 383
1 Low compression Liberty " 12s."
21,000 - 18. 67 .446 .505 . 711 1.408 • Without bombs .
22,000 -19. 74 . 429 .487 .698 1.433
23,000 - 20. 77 . 412 .470 .686 1.458
24,000 -21. 76 .395 . 453 . 675 1. 482
25,000 -22. 72 .380 .437 .660 1. 516
26,000 -23.64 .365 .421 .649 1.541
27,000 -24. 52 .350 .406 .637 1. 572
28,000 -25.37 .336 .391 · .625 1.600
29,000 -26.19 .323 .376 .613 1.632
30,000 -26.97 .310 . 362 .602 1.663

1 Engineering Division.
Gronnd: 15° centigrade.
29. 92 in. Hg.
0.07608 # per ft.•

-.
I '