Flight Mechanics – Range and Endurance

Gliding Flight

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 1

Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

Introduction (1/7)
 Whenever an airplane is flying such that the power required is
larger than the power available, it will descend rather than climb.
 In the ultimate situation, there is no power at all, the airplane will
be in gliding. This will occur for a conventional airplane when the
engine quits during flight (ex., engine failure). Also, this is the
case for gliders and sailplanes.

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 2

Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

Introduction (2/7)

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 3

Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

Introduction (3/7)

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 4

Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

Introduction (4/7)

 The glide angle depends only on L/D

 The flattest glide angle occurs at the maximum L/D
Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 5
Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

Introduction (5/7)
 Glide range: how far it travels along the ground during the glide
descent
h1 −h 2 𝐿
𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜃 = ⇒ 𝑅= ( h1 − h 2 )
𝑅 𝐷

 The maximum range occurs when L/D is maximum. Therefore,

the maximum range glide is flown at the minimum drag airspeed
(Vmd).

 Small glide angle assumption: in most cases, the glide angle

will be small for an equilibrium glide.

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 ≈ 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜃 ≈ 𝜃 ≈

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu

1
𝐿/ 𝐷
𝑉=
√
2𝑊
𝜌 𝑆𝐶 𝐿
6
Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

√
2𝑊 𝐶𝐷
Introduction (6/7)
𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑘=𝑉𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃=−
 Rate of sink: 𝜌 𝑆 𝐶 3𝐿/ 2
 Negative sign means sink rate. The sink rate is directly related
to the quantity (CD/CL3/2). Therefore, the minimum sink rate
occurs at the minimum power required conditions.
−∆ h
 Time to descend: Time of flight = TOF
𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑘
 The sink rate depends on the altitude. So, to get an exact
solution for time to descend we would need to include density
variations in the sink rate calculations.
 An approximation approach for time to descend: assume that
we fly at constant angle of attack, and the density is constant
with an altitude halfway between the initial and final altitudes.
Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 7
Flight Mechanics – Gliding Flight

Introduction (7/7)

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 8

Flight Mechanics – Range and Endurance

Example
Consider a jet airplane that has a weight of 10000 Ib, a wing
area of 200 ft2, and a drag polar CD = 0.02 + 0.05CL2. We would
like to calculate the glide range and endurance from 20000 ft.
We would like to compare the range and endurance for max
range flight condition with that for a max endurance flight
condition?
Answer
…

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 9

Flight Mechanics – Range and Endurance

An exact solution for glide endurance

We can get an exact solution for the glide time if we assume a
standard atmosphere.

√
3
2𝑊 𝐶𝐷
√
2
𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑘=𝑉𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃=− 𝑆 𝐶
𝜌 𝑆 𝐶 3𝐿/ 2 𝑑𝑡=−
𝐿
2𝑊 𝐶 𝐷
√ 𝜌(h) 𝑑h

In troposphere (h  11000 m):

( )
4.2565
− 0.0065
1+h
( )
4.2565
𝑇 (h) 288.15
𝜌 ( h ) = 𝜌𝑜 = 𝜌𝑜
𝑇𝑜 𝑇𝑜

Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Khanh Hieu 10