AIRCRAFT DESIGN

Developments upto 1960’s

• Successful flight by Wright brothers took place on 17th December

1903.

• First successful flight in Europe was by Voisin on March 30, 1907.

• Louis Bleriot’s airplane, flown in 1907, appears to be the first
airplane to have ailerons.
• A. Verdon Roe’s airplane, flown in 1911, was a tractor airplane
with engine ahead of wing and with horizontal stabilizer at rear.
• Prior to the first World War, the airplanes were developed for
military use, namely reconnaissance and for guiding artillery fire
and later for throwing grenades and bombs.
• During the first World War(1914 – 1918), the airplanes were
developed as bombers and fighters. Passenger flights appeared
later and by 1925 a variety of airplanes were being designed and
used.
 1930 TO 1940
• Streamlining of the airplane shape by features like
retractable landing gear, engine cowling, fairing at
wing-fuselage joints.
• More powerful and reliable piston engines.
• New aluminum alloys with higher strength to weight
ratio and
• Better instrumentation for control of airplane.
• These developments, brought about bigger airplanes,
with improved performance namely higher speed,
longer range and higher ceiling as compared to the
earlier airplanes.
• The speed of the airplanes increased sharply with the
availability of jet engines in 1940’s.
 1950 TO 1970
• Supersonic flight was possible in 1950’s due to the
developments in aerodynamics. The problems
associated with changes in lift & drag in the transonic
range were tackled. Features like swept back wings,
delta wing, fuselage with pointed nose were
introduced.
• For example, for the fighter airplanes the maximum
speed increased from 150 kmph in 1914 to about 3500
kmph in 1970. The engine power increased from about
60 kW to a thrust of 30,000 kgf and the weight of the
airplane increased from about 600 kgf to about 50,000
kgf.
 SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS
• Supersonic passenger airplane – Anglo-French
Concorde in 1971. Another example in this
category is the Russian TU-144.
• Variable sweep military airplane - low sweep
at low speed & high sweep at high speed
• Passenger airplanes with up to 450 seats and
range of 12000 km were available in early
1970’s. Currently the seating capacity of 650
passengers is available on Airbus A380
 SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS
• Supercritical airfoils with higher critical Mach number were
available in 1970’s.
• Automatic Landing system was introduced in 1960’s.
• Fly - by -wire control was introduced in 1984. In this case,
the movements of the control stick or pedals by the pilot are
transmitted to a digital computer. The input to the computer
is processed along with the characteristics of the airplane
and the actuators of the controls are operated, so as to give
optimum performance.
 SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS
• Presently fibre optics is used for communication of signals
and the system is called Fly-by-light (FBL).
• Bypass engine whose developments started in 1950’s has
become high bypass ratio engine; a bypass ratio of 17 has
been achieved .
• Winglet at wing tips which were studied in 1970’s are now
found on most of the new jet airplanes and are also being
retrofitted on older airplanes.
 SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS
• The use of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics) has
increased and components like wings are also
being made of FRP (for example LCA –Tejas)
• Low Radar cross-section – stealth technology
was introduced in late 1980’s (B2 Stealth
bomber)
 Factors Affecting The Configuration
• The configuration of an airplane is finalized
after giving consideration to the following
factors.
– Aerodynamics
– Low structural weight
– Layout peculiarities
– Manufacturing procedures
– Cost and operational economics
– Interaction between various features
 Aerodynamic Considerations
• Drag The drag of the entire configuration must be as
small as possible. This requires
– thin wings,
– slender fuselage,
– smooth surface conditions,
– and proper values of aspect ratio (A) and sweep
• Lift The airplane must be able to develop sufficient lift
under various flight conditions including maneuvers. The
maximum lift coefficient also decides the landing speed.
These considerations require proper choice of
– aerofoil,
– means to prevent flow separation and
– high lift devices
 Interference Effects
In aerodynamics the flows past various components
like the wing, the fuselage and the tail are usually
studied individually. However, in an airplane these
components are in proximity of each other and the
flow past one component affects the flow past the
others(components). The changes in aerodynamic
forces and moments due to this proximity are called
interference effects. The lay-out of the airplane should
be such that increase in drag and decrease in lift due to
interference effects are minimized. These can be
achieved in subsonic airplanes by proper fillets at the
joints between
– wing and fuselage,
– tail and fuselage and
– wing and engine pods.
 Low Structural Weight
• The weight of the aircraft must be as low as
possible.
• This implies use of
– high strength to weight ratio material,
– aerofoil with high thickness ratio
– wing with low aspect ratio
– relieving loads (e.g. wing mounted engines) etc.

The airplane structure must be strong enough, to take

all permissible flight loads and stiff enough to avoid
instabilities like, divergence, aileron reversal and
flutter.
 Layout Peculiarities
The specific function of the airplane often
decides its shape e.g. the fuselage of a cargo
airplane generally has a rectangular cross
section and a large cargo door. The height of
fuselage floor should be appropriate for quick
loading and unloading .
 Manufacturing Processes
• During the detail design stage,
attention must be paid to the
manufacturing processes. The
cost of manufacture and quality
control also must be kept in
mind.
 Cost And Operational Economics
• The total operating cost of an airplane is the sum of
the direct operating cost (DOC) and the indirect
operating cost (IOC).
• The DOC relates to the cost of hourly operation of
the airplane viz. cost of fuel, lubricants,
maintenance, overhaul, replacement of parts for
airframe and engine. IOC relates to crew cost,
insurance cost, depreciation of airplane and ground
equipment, hangar rental, landing charges and
overheads.
• Thus, for a personal plane lower initial cost of the
airplane may be more important whereas, for a
long range passenger airplane lower cost of fuel
may be the primary consideration.
 Interaction Of Various Factors
• Some of the considerations mentioned above
may lead to conflicting requirements.

• For example, a wing with an airfoil of relatively

higher thickness ratio, has lower structural
weight but, at the same time has higher drag. In
such situations, optimization techniques are
employed to arrive at the best compromise.
 UAVs
• Drones have been around for years, and they
are used for different purposes and can be of
help in numerous occasions. However, these
devices have become more popular in recent
times and their application increases rapidly in
various fields.
• An unmanned aircraft that can navigate
autonomously, without human control or
beyond the line of sight”.
• Another definition of UAV is any unmanned
aircraft that is guided remotely
 DRONES
• A drone is made from different light composite
materials in order to increase maneuverability while
flying and reduce weight. It can be equipped with a
variety of additional equipment, including cameras,
GPS guided missiles, Global Positioning Systems (GPS),
navigation systems, sensors, and so on.
• Drones come in a broad range of shapes, sizes, and
with various functions. The vast majority of today’s
models can be launched by hand, and they can be
controlled by remotes or from special ground cockpits.
The commercial models come in small sizes and have
simplified construction, so these drones are suitable
even for kids because they are very easy to control.
 CONSTRUCTION
• There are different variations in the frame and
construction, but the essential components that
every drone must have is a waterproof motor
frame, flight and motor controllers, motors,
transmitter and receiver, propellers, and
batteries or any other source of energy.
• Yes, these small aerial acrobats are able to pack
a lot of accessories into their metal or plastic
frames. Most UAVs are ready-to-use, however,
some people like building these themselves
 Applications
• Search and rescue –very useful in searching and rescuing
operations. For example, they are used in firefighting to
determine the amount of the certain gasses in air (CO, CO2,
and the like) using the special measuring equipment.
• Security – Many authorities use them to protect people
during various emergencies. For instance, they are able to
help coordinate a variety of security operations and can
preserve evidence alike.
• Inspections – Many systems such as power lines, wind
turbines, and pipelines can be checked .
• Surveillance – UAV allows recording and monitoring from the
sky, and therefore, they are suitable to monitor public
events, protests, or any suspicious happening without being
heard and seen. A great tool for the police!
 Applications
• Science & research– They help scientists a lot in research works to
observe different occurrences in nature or a particular environment
from the sky. For example, drones are used to document the
archaeological excavations, in nuclear accidents (measuring
contamination), in glacier surveillance, to observe a volcanic
eruption, etc.
• Aerial photography & video – With a drone that is equipped with
an HD camera, you can take the fascinating photos and shot
footage of great quality from the sky.
• Surveying & GIS (mapping) – Using multi-spectral cameras and
laser scanners, drones are able to create high-quality 3-D maps.
Therefore, they found applications in various areas, including
remote sensing, surveying & mapping, photogrammetry, precision
agriculture, etc.
• Unmanned cargo system Also serve in delivering of lightweight
packages and bundles of all sorts. This way, you can have a safe,
environmentally friendly and fast transport of goods by air,.
 Applications
• In addition these main areas of application,
UAVs are also used in engineering,
construction and pre-construction work,
aviation, maritime, marketing, real estate
(both residential and commercial), insurance,
utilities, mining, meteorology, education, and
more. Today, many government agencies,
private companies, and other institutions have
their private UAVs.
 UAVs OF TODAY
• Phantom 4 – This is one of the best drones on the market. It was
launched in March 2017 and it comes with a system that avoids
obstacles. Most people claim that this is the first version of AI. In
addition, it has a 4K camera, so videos and photos have the best
quality possible. The price of this model is $1.746.
• GoPro Karma Drone – This model isn’t available on the market yet
and we don’t know when it will be. However, it is known that it has
a 4 K camera and the latest features. It is believed that this drone is
going to be one of the best drones.
• Phantom 3 4K – Phantom 3 4K is the updated version of very
popular Phantom 3 drone. As you may believe, the most attention
went to the camera. The latest model has a much better camera
and it has several, minor improvements. On the other side, the
point of interest and follow me, modes are still available. The best
part, this drone is available and it cost around $650.
 UAVs OF TODAY
• Parrot Disco It has just one electric motor, but it provides
45 minutes of flying and the top speed of 50 mph. On the
other side, it has a 14MP camera and 32 GB of internal
storage. This drone can be controlled via your smartphone.

• AirDog Auto-Follow Drone It is available as pre-order and

it cost $993. However, when it becomes available on the
market, the price will be $1599. This drone doesn’t have a
controller, but you get a tracking device that has to be
carried in order the drone to follow you. It has no system
that avoids obstacles, so you will have to press the pause
button if you notice that your drone will have an accident.
 The Future Of UAVs

• Now a days, drones are extremely popular and they

have countless applications. However, in the future,
they are going to be much better, so they will have
even more applications. Even today, drones are used
for transporting goods to remote locations, for
surveillance and etc. In the future, we can expect to
see drones that can do this much better.
• There are a lot of speculations on what drones will be
capable for in the future. The most likely thing they
will do is package transport. At this moment, Amazon
is testing their Amazon Prime Air service. This means
that when you order a package, it will be delivered to
you in less than 30 minutes, instead of a few days.
 Features of Special Airplanes
• Largest Airplane: Airbus A380-800F
– Wing span - 79.75 m
– 4 engines each 355 kN thrust.
– Maximum take-off Weight - 590 tons
 Features of Special Airplanes
• Airplane with advanced technologies:
• X-29A airplane has
– Digital flight control
– Negative longitudinal static stability (relaxed stability)
– Closely coupled canard.
– Forward swept wing
– Aero- elastically tailored composite wing.
– Thin supercritical wing with discrete variable camber.
 Modern Fighter
Lockheed YF-22 Advanced tactical fighter
Presently it is called F-22 Raptor.
• Span: 13.1 m; Length: 19.6 m; Height: 5.4 m; Wing
Area : 77.1 m2; Basic Empty weight : 15441 kgf.
 Reusable Vehicle
X-38 : Length: 8.7 m
• Wingspan: 4.4 m
• Empty weight: 7260 kgf.
• project was abandoned in 2002
 Self Study Topics
Features of four special airplanes are briefly mentioned
above.
From internet , study the feature of
(a) SR-71 black bird
(b) Human powered airplane (Gossamer Condor)
(c) Solar powered airplane (Solar impulse) and
(d) Tilt rotor aircraft (Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey)
• Historical developments in civil transport airplanes.
• Some problem areas in the development of airplanes, at
present are :
– Supersonic passenger airplanes are not as
economical as subsonic airplanes.
– A suitable engine is not available for sustained
hypersonic flight.