Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G.

Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 1

Chapter 2
Longitudinal stickfixed static stability and control
Lecture 10
Topics
Example 2.5
Example 2.6
2.12 Longitudinal control
2.12.1 Elevator power
2.12.2 Control effectiveness parameter ()
2.12.3 Elevator angle for trim
2.12.4 Advantages and disadvantages of canard configuration
2.12.5 Limitations on forward movement of c.g. in free flight
2.12.6 Limitations on forward movement of c.g. in proximity of ground

Example 2.5
A sailplane has the following characteristics. C
D
= 0.02 + 0.025 C
L
2
,
C
Lw
= 0.093,
0Lw
= - 4, i
w
= 0, a.c. location = 0.24 c , S
t
= S / 7, l
t
= 4 c ,
= 0.4, C
Lt
= 0.05 and = 0.9. All the angles are in degrees. Neglect the
contribution of fuselage. Find the c.g. location for which the equilibrium is
reached with zero lift on the tail at the lift coefficient corresponding to the best
guiding angle. Calculate the tail setting. Is the sailplane stable?

Solution:
The airplane prescribed in this exercise is a sailplane. A sailplane is a high
performance glider. There is no power plant in a glider. Further, the contribution
of fuselage is prescribed as negligible. Hence, the terms (C
mcg
)
f,n,p
and (C
m
)
f,n,p

are zero in the present case.
The given data is as follows.
C
D
= C
D0
+ KC
L
2
= 0.02 + 0.025 C
L
2

Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 2
Wing: C
Lw
= 0.093 (
w
+4), C
Lw
= 0.093 deg
-1
= 5.329rad
-1
, C
mac
= -0.08, i
w
= 0,
a.c. at 0.24 c .
Tail: S
t
= S / 7, = 0.4 or d/d = 0.4, = 0.9, C
Lt
= 0.05 deg
-1
= 2.865 rad
-1
.
For the best gliding angle (C
D
/C
L
) should be minimum.
This happens when C
L
= C
Lmd

Lmd D0
and C = C / K
In the present case C
Lmd
= 0.02/ 0.025 0.895 =
When the airplane is flying at C
L
= C
Lmd
, the lift on tail is prescribe to be zero or

t
= 0.
Now,
t
=
w
- i
w
+ i
t
,
At C
L
= C
Lmd
,
w
= (0.895/ 0.093) - 4 = 5.62
0
, = 0.4 = 0.4 (
w
- i
w
)
At C
L
= C
Lmd
, = 0.4 (5.62 - 0) = 2.25
0

Since,
t
is zero at C
L
= C
Lmd,
gives the following result.
0 = 5.62 - 2.25 + i
t

or i
t
= - 3.37
0

To examine static stability, the quantity (C
m
)
stick-fix
is calculated. It is noted that:
C
mcg
= C
m0
+ C
m

cg
ac
mcg mac Lw mcg f,n,p mcgt
cg
ac
m stick-fix Lw m f,n,p H Lt
x
x
C = C + C ( - )+(C ) + C
c c
x
x d
(C ) = C ( - )+(C ) -V C (1- )
d c c

To evaluate the expression for C
m
the quantity
cg
ac
x
x
( - )
c c
is needed. This can be
obtained using the following steps.
When the airplane is flying at C
L
= C
Lmd
, the contributions of tail, fuselage,
nacelle and power are zero. Hence, the expression for C
mcg
reduces to
cg
ac
mcg Lw mac
x
x
C = C ( - ) + C
c c

For equilibrium C
mcg
must be zero at C
Lmd
i.e. :
Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 3
cg
ac
cg
ac
cg
x
x
0 = 0.895( - ) - 0.08
c c
x
x 0.08
- = = 0.089
0.895 c c
x
or = 24+ 0.089 = 0.329
c

t
H
S
Further, V =
S
4
=
c 7
t
l

m
-1
4
Finally, C = 5.329(0.329-0.24)-0.9 2.865(1-0.4)
7
= 0.47428-0.88406 = -0.4098 rad

C
m
is negative and hence the sailplane is stable.

Example 2.6
The contribution of wing fuselage combination to the moment about the
c.g. of an airplane is given below.

C
L
0.28 0.488 0.696 0.9
(C
mcg
)
w,f
- 0.0216 - 0.006 0.0064 0.0156

(i) If the wing loading is 850 N/m
2
, find the flight velocity at sea level when the
airplane is in trim with zero lift on the tail. (ii) Investigate the stability of the
airplane with the following additional data: C
Lw
= 0.08 deg
-1
, C
Lt
= 0.072 deg
-1
,
d/d = 0.45 , l
t
= 2.9 c , S
t
= S/7, =1.0. Assume the contributions of power to
C
mcg
and
o m
C to be negligible.
Solution:
i) To answer the first part, the value of C
L
at which the airplane is in trim with zero
lift on tail needs to be obtained. In this case:
C
mcg
= (C
mcg
)
w,f
= 0
The prescribed variation of (C
mcg
)
w,f
with C
L
is slightly non-linear. Hence, the
given data are plotted and the value of C
L
at which (C
mcg
)
w,f
is zero is obtained
from the plot. The plot is shown in Fig. E2.6. When (C
m
)
w,f
is zero, C
L
equals
0.585 .
Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 4
In level flight: L = W = V
2
SC
L

L
or V = 2W/SC
Substituting various values, the desired velocity is:
2850
-1
V = = 48.7ms
1.2250.585

ii) To examine the static stability C
m
needs to be calculated.


Fig.E2.6 (C
mcg
)
w,f
vs C
L

m
m L w w,f H L t
L
L w L t H
dC d
C = C ( ) - V C (1- )
dC d
1
C = 0.08,C = 0.072, V = 2.9 = 0.414
7
d
= 0.45
d



From graph in Fig.E2.6 at C
L
= 0.585 we obtain, the slope of the curve as:
-0.025
-0.02
-0.015
-0.01
-0.005
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
(C
mcg
)
w,f
C
L
Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 5
m L w,f
m
-1
(dC /dC ) = 0.0615
Hence, C = 0.08 57.3 0.0615 - 0.414 1 0.072 57.3 (1- 0.45)
= 0.2819 - 0.9394 = - 0.6575 rad

Since, C
m
is negative the airplane is stable.
2.12 Longitudinal control
An airplane is said to be trimmed at a given flight speed and altitude, when
the moments are made zero by suitable deflection of control surfaces. For the
longitudinal motion, the trim or C
mcg
= 0 is achieved by suitable deflection of
elevator. The convention regarding the elevator deflection is that a downward
deflection of elevator is taken as positive (Fig.2.16b). For the conventional tail
configuration, this deflection increases lift on tail and produces a negative
moment about c.g..
Let C
L
and C
mcg
be the incremental lift and pitching moment due to the
elevator deflection i.e.

c
c
L
L Lt Le e Le
e
C
C = C = C ; C =

(2.72)
mcg
mcg mcgt me e me
e
C
C = C = C ; C =

c
c
(2.73)
Hence, when the elevator is deflected, the lift coefficient (C
L
) and moment
coefficient about c.g. (C
mcg
) for the airplane are :
L L 0L Le e
C = C (- ) + C (2.74)
mcg m0 m me e
C = C + C + C (2.75)
Where C
L
, C
L
and
0L
refer respectively to the lift coefficient, slope of the lift
curve and zero lift angle of the airplane.
Note: In this section C
m
will mean (C
m
)
stick-fixed
.
2.12.1 Elevator power (C
me
)
The quantity C
me
is called elevator power. An expression for it has been
hinted in Eq.(2.64). It can be derived as follows.
Let, L
e
be the change in the airplane lift due to elevator deflection which is also
the change in the lift of the horizontal tail i.e.
Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 6
2
e t e t t Lt e
1
L = (L ) = V S (C )
2

c
c
e t t Lt
Le Lt e e
2
e
L S S C
C = = (C ) =
1
S S
V S
2
(2.76)
Hence,
c c
c c
t Lt L
Le
e e
S C C
=C =
S
(2.77)
2
e e t t t Lt e t
2
t
e t t
me Lt e
2 2
Lt
me H Lt e H e
e
1
M = L = V S (C )
2
1
V
M S
2
C = = (C )
1 1
S c
V Sc V
2 2
C
Or C = -V (C ) = -V

l l
l
c
c

;
t
L
m
me H H Lt Le Lt
e e
C
C
Hence, = C = - V = - V C = C /C

t t
c
c
c c
(2.78)
2.12.2 Control effectiveness parameter (t)
The quantity t is called elevator effectiveness parameter. The value of t
depends on the geometrical parameters of the tail and the elevator. However, it
mainly depends on (S
e
/ S
t
) where S
e
is the area of the elevator. References
1.12 and 2.2 give a detailed procedure for estimating it. However, Fig.2.32 can
be used for an initial estimate.




Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 7

Fig.2.32 Control effectiveness parameter
(Reproduced from Refs.1.1, chapter 2 with permission from
McGraw-Hill book company)

2.12.3 Elevator angle for trim
The following steps are followed to get the elevator angle for trim (
etrim
).
From Eq. (2.75)
mcg m0 m me e
C = C +C +C
For trim C
mcg
= 0.
Hence,
m0 m trim me trim
0 = C + C + C
Or
trim m0 m trim
me
-1
= [C + C ]
C
(2.79)
From Eq.(2.74)
Ltrim L trim 0L Le trim
C = C ( - ) + C (2.80)
Or
trim
=
Ltrim Le trim L 0L
L
1
{C - C + C }
C

Hence,
m
trim m0 Ltrim Le trim L 0L
me L
C -1
= [C + {C - C + C }]
C C
(2.81)
m0 L m Ltrim L 0L m Le trim
me trim
L
[C C + C (C +C ) - C C ]
Or C = -
C

Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 8
Simplifying,
L m0 m 0L m Ltrim
trim
me L m Le
[C (C + C ) + C C ]
= -
[C C - C C ]
(2.82)
Differentiating with C
L
,
trim m
Ltrim me L m Le
d C
= -
dC [C C -C C ]
(2.83)

Following may be noted.
(i) The quantities C
me
, C
L
and C
Le
depend on the airplane geometry. Further,
for a given c.g. location, C
m
is also known and hence the term (d
etrim
/dC
Ltrim
) in
Eq.(2.83) is a constant. Hence, in the simplified analysis being followed here, it is
observed that for a given c.g. location
trim
is a linear function of C
L
. Further the
term C C
m Le
is much smaller than C
me
C
L
. Consequently,
trim
as a function
of C
L
can be written as:
m
trim eoCL stick-fixed L
me L
dC 1
= - ( ) C
C dC
(2.84)
where,
L m0 m 0L
e0CL
me L m Le
C (C + C )
= -
[C C -C C ]


Similarly, using Eq.(2.79),
trim
as a function of
trim
can be expressed as:
m0 m
trim trim
me me
C C
= - -
C C
(2.85)
Typical curves for the variations of
trim
with C
L
are shown in Fig.2.33 for different
locations of c.g.. From Eq.(2.85) it is seen that at C
L
= 0 the value of
trim
is
positive as C
m0
is positive and C
me
is negative. For a stable airplane
(dC
m
/dC
L
)
stick-fixed
is negative and hence the slope of
trim
vrs C
L
curve is
negative.

Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 9

Fig.2.33 Elevator angle for trim

(ii) In light of the above analysis, consider a case when the airplane is trimmed at
a chosen C
L
by setting the elevator at corresponding
trim.
Now, if the pilot wishes
to fly at a lower speed which implies higher C
L
, he would need to apply more
negative elevator deflection or the incremental lift on the tail ( )
t
L A would be
negative. This is what is implied when in section 2.4.1 it is mentioned that for
achieving equilibrium with conventional tail configuration, the lift on the tail is
generally in the downward direction. An alternate explanation is as follows.

When the pilot wishes to increase the angle of attack by o A , a statically stable
airplane produces a moment
cg
- M .To counterbalance this moment, the elevator
must produce
cg
M + . This requires A
t
L and inturn o A
e
.
(iii) Military airplanes which are highly maneuverable, sometimes have the
following features.
Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 10
(a) An all movable tail in which the entire horizontal tail is rotated to achieve
higher
cg
M . (b) Relaxed static stability wherein
m
C may have a small positive
value. Such airplanes need automatic control (section 10.3). See section 6.1 of
Ref.1.13 for further details.
2.12.4 Advantages and disadvantages of canard configuration
In light of the above discussion the advantages and disadvantages of the
canard configuration can now be appreciated.
Advantages:
(a) The flow past canard is relatively free from wing or engine interference.
(b) For an airplane with C
m
< 0, the lift on the horizontal stabilizer located behind
the wing (i.e. conventional configuration) is negative when the angle of attack
increases. Thus, for a conventional tail configuration, the wing is required to
produce lift which is more than the weight of the airplane. If the surface for
control of pitch, is ahead of the wing (canard), the lift on such horizontal control
surface is positive and the lift produced by the wing equals the weight of the
airplane minus the lift on canard. Thus, the wing size can be smaller in a canard
configuration.
Disadvantages:
(a) The contribution of the canard to C
m
is positive i.e. destabilizing.
(b) As the wing, in this case, is located relatively aft, the c.g. of the airplane
moves aft and consequently the moment arm for the vertical tail is small.
Topics for self study:
1. From Ref.2.3 study the airplanes with canard and obtain rough estimates
of (S
t
/ S) and (l
t
/ c). Two examples of airplanes where canard is used are
SAAB Viggen and X-29A.
2.12.5 Limitations on forward moment of c.g. in free flight
As the c.g. moves forward, the airplane becomes more stable and hence
requires larger elevator deflection for trim at a chosen C
L
. It is seen that as C
L

increases, more negative elevator deflection is required (Fig. 2.33). Further, each
airplane has a value of C
Lmax
which depends on the parameters of the wing.
However, equilibrium at C
Lmax
can be achieved only if the airplane can be
Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 11
trimmed at this lift coefficient. Further, the maximum elevator deflection is limited
to approximately about 25
0
(negative). Hence, there would be a forward c.g.
location at which the maximum negative elevator deflection would be just able to
permit trim at C
Lmax
. This brings about a limitation on the forward movement of
c.g. from control consideration. It may be recalled that the rearword movement of
c.g. is limited by the stability consideration.
2.12.6 Limitations on forward movement of c.g in proximity of ground
As the airplane comes in to land, the lift coefficient is generally the
highest. It is achieved using flaps and this makes C
macw
more negative. Further,
due to the proximity of ground, following changes in
Lw
C and ( ) d / d are
observed.
(a) The slope of lift curve of the wing, i.e. C
Lw
increases slightly. The actual
amount of increase in C
Lw
depends on the ratio of the height of the wing above
the ground and its span (see Ref.1.7, chapter 5). There is no significant change
in C
Lt
.
(b) The downwash due to wing decreases considerably (Fig.2.12) and
consequently the tail contribution to stability (C
mt
) becomes more negative
(Eq.2.50) or the airplane becomes more stable.
The net effect is that the airplane requires more negative elevator
deflection. This imposes further restrictions on the forward movement of c.g..
Figure 2.34 shows the restrictions on c.g. travel based on factors discussed so
for. Additional restrictions on the movement of c.g. would be pointed out after
discussions in chapters 3 and 4.




Flight dynamics II Prof. E.G. Tulapurkara
Stability and control
Dept. of Aerospace Engg., IIT Madras 12


Fig.2.34 Restrictions on c.g. movement from stick fixed stability and control
considerations (schematic)