Aircraft Performance Theory and Practice for Pilots

Squadron Leader Swatton joined the Royal Air Force in 1952. He qualified as an instructor in 1961 and taught, among other subjects, the then new subject of Scheduled Performance for Group "A" aeroplanes at the Argosy Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) as one of his duties. He was posted to the Andover OCU in 1964 as the senior navigation instructor and examiner, where he continued teaching and examining aircrew in scheduled performance until 1975.Subsequently he completed tours at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough and at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down. His last tour of duty, before retiring from the Royal Air Force in 1988 was at the Empire Test Pilots School where he taught scheduled performance to trainee test pilots. In 36 years of service he amassed 7500 flying hoursOn retirement from the RAF he joined the instructional staff at the Professional Pilot Study Centre where one of his duties was to teach scheduled performance to the trainee pilots. Subsequently he and two of his fellow instructors started their own ground school, Ground Training Services (GTS), for private, commercial and airline pilots where he currently teaches aeroplane performance to the JAA syllabus. He is the aeroplane performance consultant for the CAA and updated the CAP 698 at the request of the CAA.

• Series Preface xxiiiPreface xxvAcknowledgements xxviiList of Abbreviations xxixWeight and Mass xxxiiiIntroduction 1Part 1 Aerodynamic Theory 51 Preliminaries 71.1 Air Density 71.2 Speeds 91.3 Engine Performance 10Self-Assessment Exercise 1 172 Level Flight Aerodynamics 192.1 Stability 192.2 Angle of Attack and Pitch Angle 192.3 The Four Forces 212.4 Mass 212.5 Lift 222.6 Drag 242.7 Analysis of the Total Drag Curve 272.8 The Effect of the Variables on Drag 302.9 The CL v CD Polar Diagram 322.10 Analysis of the Lift/Drag Ratio 332.11 Thrust 342.12 Analysis of the Thrust Curves 342.13 The Effect of the Variables on Thrust 362.14 Power 402.15 Analysis of the Power Curves 402.16 The Effect of the Variables on Power 422.17 Summary 45Self-Assessment Exercise 2 473 Take-off and Climb Aerodynamics 533.1 Take-off 533.2 The Effect of the Variables on Take-off 543.3 Climbing Flight 553.4 The Effect of the Variables on the Climb 563.5 Climb Gradient 563.6 Rate of Climb 633.7 Aircraft Ceiling 643.8 Climb Regimes 70Self-Assessment Exercise 3 754 Cruise Control 834.1 Specific Air Range (SAR) 834.2 Buffet 844.3 The Buffet Onset Boundary Chart 854.4 Cost Index 874.5 Turns 874.6 Types of Cruise 884.7 Range and Endurance: General 894.8 Cruise Techniques for Piston-engined Aeroplanes 914.9 Cruise Techniques for Turbo-prop Aeroplanes 924.10 Cruise Techniques for Jet Aeroplanes 944.11 Summary 99Self-Assessment Exercise 4 1015 Descent Aerodynamics 1095.1 The Forces in a Descent 1095.2 Gliding for Maximum Range 1105.3 Gliding for Maximum Endurance 1135.4 Descent Regimes 114Self-Assessment Exercise 5 115Part 2 Scheduled Performance Theory 1196 Performance Planning 1216.1 Regulations and Requirements 1216.2 The Performance Class System 1226.3 Performance Legislation 1236.4 Aeroplane Performance Levels 1256.5 Performance Planning 1256.6 Altimeter Corrections 1296.7 Flight Manuals 1306.8 Performance Calculations and Limitations 1326.9 Noise Abatement Procedures 136Self-Assessment Exercise 6 1397 Aerodrome Geometry 1437.1 Field Lengths Available 1437.2 Take-off Run Available (TORA) 1447.3 Obstacles 1457.4 Stopway 1467.5 Accelerate/Stop Distance Available (ASDA) 1477.6 Clearway 1487.7 Take-off Distance Available (TODA) 1507.8 Balanced and Unbalanced Field Lengths 1507.9 Field-Length-Limited Take-off Mass Calculations 1527.10 Runway Alignment Reduction 1527.11 Runway Slope Calculation 1557.12 The Effect of Runway Slope on Obstacle Calculations 1567.13 Landing Distance Available (LDA) 1577.14 Runway End Safety Area (RESA) 158Self-Assessment Exercise 7 1598 Runway Surfaces 1638.1 Aerodrome Pavement Strength 1638.2 The Pavement Strength Reporting System 1648.3 Aircraft Classification Number (ACN) 1668.4 Contaminated Surfaces 1668.5 Braking Coefficient of Friction 1688.6 Surface Contaminants 1708.7 The Effect of Runway Contamination 1728.8 Hydroplaning 178Self-Assessment Exercise 8 1819 The Variables 1859.1 Air Density 1859.2 Wind Component 1879.3 Aeroplane Flap Setting 1909.4 Aeroplane Mass 1919.5 Runway Slope and Surface 1929.6 Miscellaneous Variables 1939.7 The Maximum Take-off Mass 1959.8 Calculations 196Self-Assessment Exercise 9 19910 Speeds 20510.1 General 20510.2 Summary 20610.3 Stalling Speeds 20710.4 Take-off Speeds 20910.5 V Speeds and Take-off Field Lengths 22010.6 Climb Speeds 22110.7 Control Speeds 22310.8 Landing Speeds 22410.9 Other Significant Speeds 227Self-Assessment Exercise 10 231Part 3 Scheduled Performance Practice 23911 Class ‘B’ Take-off 24111.1 General Regulations 24111.2 Take-off Speeds 24211.3 Take-off Requirements 24311.4 Take-off Distance Requirements 24411.5 Class ‘B’ Take-off Calculations 245Self-Assessment Exercise 11 25312 Class ‘B’ Take-off Climb 25712.1 General Requirements 25712.2 Climb Minimum-Gradient Requirements 25812.3 Obstacle Clearance Requirements 25912.4 Take-off Climb Calculations 26312.5 Climb Calculations – SEP1 & MEP1 265Self-Assessment Exercise 12 27313 Class ‘B’ En-route and Landing 27713.1 En-route 27713.2 Landing 280Self-Assessment Exercise 13 29314 Class ‘A’: Take-off Theory 29714.1 General Regulations 29714.2 Field-Length Requirements 29914.3 Class ‘A’ FLL TOM Analysis 30514.4 Field-Length Requirements Analysis 30614.5 Rapid Calculation Methods 316Self-Assessment Exercise 14 32315 Take-off Calculations 32715.1 Field-Length-Limited Take-off Mass 32715.2 The Aeroplane Flight Manual (AFM) 32715.3 CAP 698 Section 4 32815.4 Take-off Mass and Distance Calculations 32815.5 Take-off Abnormalities 33615.6 The Maximum Take-off Mass 344Self-Assessment Exercise 15 34516 Class ‘A’ Take-off Climb 34916.1 The Take-off Climb Requirements 34916.2 The Relationship of NFP to GFP 35316.3 Climb-Limited TOM 35716.4 MRJT Climb-Limited TOM Calculations 36216.5 Obstacle Clearance 36316.6 MRJT Obstacle-Limited TOM Calculations 36516.7 Planned Turns 36716.8 The Performance-Limited Take-off Mass 371Self-Assessment Exercise 16 37317 Class ‘A’ En-Route 38117.1 En-route Required Navigation Performance 38117.2 Descent Gradient Diminishment Requirements 38217.3 Terminal Aerodromes 38217.4 En-Route Requirements for all Class ‘A’ Aircraft 38317.5 En-Route Requirements for Three and Four-engined Aircraft 38417.5.1 Two-engines-inoperative En-route Requirements 38417.5.1.1 Operational Requirements 38417.5.1.2 Route Restriction 38417.5.1.3 Over-water Speed 38517.6 En-Route Requirements for Twin-engined Aircraft 38517.7 Maximum Distance from an Adequate Aerodrome (Non-ETOPS Aeroplanes) 38617.8 ETOPS Aeroplanes 38717.9 Obstacle Clearance Requirements: All Class ‘A’ Aeroplanes 38917.10 Ceilings 39017.11 Drift-Down Technique 39117.12 Stabilizing Altitudes 39217.13 Route Profile Comparisons 39317.14 En-route Alternate Aerodromes 39517.15 Fuel Jettisoning 39517.16 En-route Calculations 397Self-Assessment Exercise 17 40518 Class ‘A’ Landing 40918.1 The Landing Regulations 40918.2 The Landing Field-Length Requirements 41018.3 Approaches 41518.4 Short-field Landings 41518.5 The Climb-Limited Landing Mass 41618.6 Climb-Limited Landing Mass Calculations 41718.7 Normal Field-Length Limited Landing Mass Calculations 41918.8 Scheduled Landing Mass Calculations 42118.9 The Quick Turnaround Limit 425Self-Assessment Exercise 18 427Part 4 Conclusion 43119 Definitions 43319.1 Speeds 43319.2 Distances 43919.3 Altitude, Elevation and Height 44119.4 Weight and Mass 44219.5 ETOPS 44419.6 Obstacles 44419.7 Performance 44519.8 Power Unit(s) 44519.9 Surfaces and Areas 44619.10 Temperature 44619.11 Formulae used in Performance 44720 Answers to Self-Assessment Exercises 449Self-Assessment Exercise 1 449Self-Assessment Exercise 2 449Self-Assessment Exercise 3 450Self-Assessment Exercise 4 452Self-Assessment Exercise 5 452Self-Assessment Exercise 6 452Self-Assessment Exercise 7 454Self-Assessment Exercise 8 454Self-Assessment Exercise 9 455Self-Assessment Exercise 10 455Self-Assessment Exercise 11 459Self-Assessment Exercise 12 462Self-Assessment Exercise 13 464Self-Assessment Exercise 14 466Self-Assessment Exercise 15 470Self-Assessment Exercise 16 478Self-Assessment Exercise 17 482Self-Assessment Exercise 18 485Bibliography 487Index 489