Aircraft Performance

Module 6
Where are we?

1 : Introduction to aircraft performance, atmosphere

2 : Aerodynamics, air data measurements
3 : Weights / CG, engine performance, level flight
4 : Turning flight, flight envelope
5 : Climb and descent performance
6 : Cruise and endurance
7 : Payload-range, cost index
8 : Take-off performance
9 : Take-off performance
10 : Enroute and landing performance
11 : Wet and contaminated runways
12 : Impact of performance requirements on aircraft design

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise
 Introduction
 Definition of specific air range (SAR)
 Calculation of SAR
 Typical SAR chart
 Cruise range calculation
 Types of cruise
 Temperature effects
 Altitude effects
 Wind effects

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise - Introduction

 Range is defined as the distance that an aircraft can travel with a

given fuel quantity and a given payload

• For example, the Bombardier Global Express has a (non-stop)

range capability of 6,500 nm at a cruise speed of Mach 0.80 and
with a payload of 8 passengers (1,600 lb)

 Range is the sum of climb, cruise and descent distances

 Efficient cruise performance is required in order to maximize

range and minimize operating costs

 The concepts associated with cruise performance will be

discussed in the next slides

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Definition of Specific Air Range (SAR)
 SAR is defined as the air distance traveled per unit of mass of
fuel during steady state and level flight cruise conditions

 SAR units

• Nautical air miles (nam) per lb of fuel (nam/lb)

 SAR = true airspeed / fuel flow = V / Wf

 SAR is independent of wind speed (if wind is constant)

 Cruise air distance is proportional to SAR for a given fuel

quantity

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Definition of SAR (Cont’d)

 Specific Range (SR) is defined similarly but in terms of ground

distance and speed

• SR = ground speed / fuel flow = Vg / Wf

• Vg = V + Vwind

• SR = SAR * (V + Vwind ) / V

• For mission performance analysis, headwinds are

negative (negative impact on performance) and tailwinds
are positive (positive impact on performance)

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Calculation of SAR

 SAR can be calculated with an exact numerical method or with a

theoretical method

 Exact method :
• Specific cruise conditions are assumed : weight,
altitude, Mach number, deviation from ISA , engine bleed
extraction and number of engines operating (neng)

• V = ao θ 0.5

• q is calculated (q = 1481.3 δ M2 , q in lb/ft2)

• CL= W/(qS)

• From the high speed drag model of the airplane, CD is

determined knowing CL and M
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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Calculation of SAR (Cont’d)

• Total thrust required = Treq = D = CDqS

• T required per engine = Treq / neng

• Data supplied by the engine manufacturer is used to

determine Wf per engine knowing altitude, Mach number,
deviation from ISA, engine bleed extraction and Trequired
per engine

• Wf = Wf per engine * neng

• SAR = V / Wf

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Calculation of SAR (Cont’d)
 Theoretical method is useful to understand the parameters that
affect SAR
• SAR = V / Wf
• SAR = V / (Treq SFC)
• Knowing that Treq = W / (L/D) :
• SAR = (V/SFC) (L/D) (1/W)
• Knowing that V = ao θ 0.5 M,
• SAR = (ao θ 0.5 / SFC) (M L/D) (1/W)

 Theoretical method shows that for a given weight and altitude

combination, SAR is maximum when M L/D is maximized
• assumes that SFC is independent of the thrust level
• Maximum M L/D is equivalent to maximum CL0.5/CD

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Calculation of SAR (Cont’d)
 Tangent lines on CL – CD graph defines maximum M L/D
 CL for maximum M L/D reduces as M increases
 Maximum M L/D occurs when compressibility effects are
becoming important

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Typical SAR chart

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation
 Cruise range is defined as the cruise air distance traveled while burning a
given quantity of fuel (given fuel burn)

 Cruise range can be obtained by using SAR data or from a theoretical

equation

 For flight at constant altitude, cruise range can easily be determined from
SAR data :

• R = SARavg * (W1-W2)

Where R = Cruise range (nam) (still air distance)

W1 = weight at beginning of cruise segment (lb)
W2 = weight at end of cruise segment (lb)
W1-W2 = fuel burn during cruise segment (lb)
SARavg = average SAR during cruise segment (nam/lb)

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation (Cont’d)
• Note : if SAR does not vary linearly with weight, it is
necessary to analyze smaller cruise segments and to add
them up in order to obtain the cruise range

 Cruise range can also be estimated with theoretical methods if

certain assumptions are made:
• SFC is constant
• CL is constant

 Cruise range is obtained by integrating the SAR equation over a

weight range

 Two cases are analyzed in the next slides

• Flight at constant altitude
• Flight at constant speed

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation (Cont’d)
Case 1 : flight at constant altitude
 SAR equation : SAR = (1/ SFC) (V L/D) (1/W)
 Knowing that V = (2 W / (ρ S CL))0.5 , we can rewrite SAR as
 SAR = (1/SFC) (2 / (ρ S))0.5 (CL0.5/CD) (1/W0.5)

 Integration of the SAR equation with respect to weight and conversion to

nam gives:

R = [ 1.676 / (SFC (ρ S)0.5) ] (CL0.5/CD) (W10.5- W20.5) (nam)

Where R = Cruise range (nam) (still air distance)

W1 = weight at beginning of cruise segment (lb)
W2 = weight at end of cruise segment (lb)

 Range is maximized by minimizing ρ (i.e. high altitude) and by maximizing

CL0.5/CD (i.e. CL = (CD0 / (3K) )0.5) if compressibility effects are neglected)

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation (Cont’d)
Case 2 : flight at constant speed
 SAR equation : SAR = (1/ SFC) (V L/D) (1/W)
 Integration of the SAR equation with respect to weight and conversion to
nam gives:

R = (V/ SFC) (CL/CD) (ln (W1/W2) (nam)

or
R = ( (661.5 θ0.5) / SFC) (ML/D) (ln (W1/W2) (nam)

Where R = Cruise range (nam) (still air distance)

V = TAS (knots)
W1 = weight at beginning of cruise segment (lb)
W2 = weight at end of cruise segment (lb)

 Range is maximized by maximizing ML/D

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation (Cont’d)

 Constant speed and constant CL imply that the aircraft must climb
as its weight reduces :

• CL = W / (1481.3 δ M2 S)
• W / δ must be constant
• As weight reduces due to fuel burn, the aircraft must climb
• Resulting climb angle is small (order of 0.02o) and the basic
assumption that T = D is still essentially valid

 If SFC, M or L/D are not constant, the integration can be done

numerically

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation (Cont’d)
 Range for the two cases can be compared with the following
example:
- S = 450 ft2
- W1 = 45,000 lb and W2 = 42,000 lb
- FL370 / ISA / Mach 0.8
- L / D = 15
- SFC = 0.6 (lb/hr) / lb fuel

 Flight at constant altitude :

• R = [ 1.676 / (SFC (ρ S)0.5) ] (CL0.5/CD) (W10.5- W20.5)
∀ ρ = 0.0006759 slugs / ft3
• q = 1481.3 δ M2 = 202.7 lb/ft2
• CL = W/ (qS) = 0.493
• CD = CL / (L/D) = 0.0329
• R = 778 nam

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Cruise range calculation (Cont’d)

 Flight at constant speed :

• R = ( (661.5 θ 0.5) / SFC) (ML/D) (ln (W1/W2)
∀ θ = 0.7519
• R = 791 nam

 Flight at constant speed and constant CL provides better range

 Verify climb angle for flight at constant speed

• W/ δ = 45000 / 0.2138 = 210,477 lb = constant
∀ δ at end of cruise = W / (W/ δ) = 42,000 / 210,477 = 0.1996
• Altitude at end of cruise = 38,437 ft
• Climb angle = atan ( 1437 / (791*6077)) = 0.017o

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Types of cruise

 Cruise at constant speed and constant CL implies increasing altitude

• Not possible operationally
• Is approximated operationally by cruise segments at
constant altitude followed by step climbs

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Cruise and endurance
 Cruise – Types of cruise (Cont’d)
 During flight at constant altitude, range can be maximized (or fuel burn
minimized for a given range) by flying at the Mach number for maximum
SAR – referred to as Maximum Range Cruise (MRC) Mach number
• MRC is not used very much operationally as it normally results in
unacceptably low cruise speeds (long flight time)
• Flight at MRC implies that M and thrust are reduced as weight
reduces
• MRC speed schedule can be derived from SAR chart

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Types of cruise (Cont’d)
 Flight at Long Range Cruise (LRC) cruise speed or Mach number provides
a good compromise between fuel efficiency and flight time
 LRC speed is the speed that provides 99 % of max. SAR
• Implies that Mach and thrust are reduced as weight reduces
• LRC can be derived from SAR chart

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Types of cruise (Cont’d)
 Flight at constant Mach number
• Commonly used operationally, specially on short range
missions where flight at varying speed schedule (e.g. LRC)
would only result in a small benefit in operating costs

 Flight at maximum cruise speed

• Speed limited by maximum level flight speed capability (i.e.
D = MCR or maximum cruise thrust) or Vmo/Mmo
• MCR limit varies as a function of temperature (MCR is lower
at higher deviations from ISA)
• Results in low SAR
• Used when flight time is more important than fuel cost

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Types of cruise (Cont’d)
 Effect of different types of cruise conditions on cruise range

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Cruise and endurance
 Cruise – Temperature effects
 Unless maximum cruise speed is used, temperature has a negligible effect
on SAR and range
• SAR = V / Wf
• In order to maintain a constant thrust level at a higher temperature,
fuel flow increases
• The fuel flow increase is essentially compensated by the higher
true airspeed V at the higher temperature
• Effect on SAR is typically less than 0.1 % for every degree of
deviation from ISA conditions
 Significant impact when max. cruise speed is limited by MCR

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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Altitude effects

• Cruise altitude can have a significant impact on fuel required

Example : CRJ200, 500 nm mission, 30 passengers

Climb: 250 kts/M 0.70 - Cruise: M 0.74

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14
12
10
8 % increase in
block fuel for
6 cruise below
4 FL390
2
0
FL FL FL FL FL FL
390 370 350 330 310 290
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Cruise and endurance
Cruise – Wind effects
 When winds are present, it is desired to maximize nm/lb of fuel

 SR (nm/lb) = SAR (V + Vwind)/V (tailwind positive)

 With a tailwind :
• SR is greater than SAR
• Mach number for MRC and LRC are lower than in zero wind
conditions

 With a headwind :
• SR is lower than SAR
• Mach number for MRC and LRC are higher than in zero wind
conditions
 Range (still air distance) is corrected similarly in order to obtain
ground distance
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Cruise and endurance
Endurance
 Introduction
 Conditions for best endurance

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Cruise and endurance
Endurance - Introduction
 Endurance is defined as the length of time that an aircraft can
remain airborne

 Some aircraft are used for missions where it is required to maximize

the time that the airplane remains airborne
• Ex. : surveillance mission

 In addition, air traffic controllers may require that an aircraft stays in

holding mode before proceeding with the planned mission

 For such cases, it is desirable to fly at a condition where fuel flow is

minimized
• Maximum endurance is obtained when the aircraft is
operated at a flight condition where fuel flow is minimized

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Cruise and endurance
Endurance – Conditions for best endurance
 For practical considerations, level flight is assumed
 Basic SFC definition leads to :
dW = - SFC T dt
dt/dW = -1 / (SFC T)
 Knowing that T = D = W D/L in level flight :
dt = - (1/SFC) L/D 1/W dW
 Integrating between beginning and end of flight segment :
E = (1/SFC) L/D ln (W1/W2)
Where E = Endurance (hours)
W1 = weight at beginning of flight segment (lb)
W2 = weight at end of flight segment (lb)
 For the case where SFC is constant with varying thrust levels,
maximum endurance is obtained during flight at maximum L/D or
VMD

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Cruise and endurance
Endurance – Conditions for best endurance (Cont’d)
 Typical data shows that minimum fuel flow occurs at a specific
pressure altitude

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Cruise and endurance
Endurance – Conditions for best endurance (Cont’d)
 In practice, the speed for best endurance or holding is normally
defined by VMD

 Other constraints may force a further increase of the holding speed

• Maneuvering margin prior to stall warning

• Maneuvering margin prior to buffet

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