Conditions of Equilibrium

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M EC H A N I C S O F F L I G H T
Fig 5A Long haul, large capacity This Boeing 747400 Jumbo has 350 seats, and a range of 13 528 km that could take it from Europe to Australia non-stop. 2. The Weight of the aeroplane, W, acting vertically downwards through the Centre of Gravity. 3. The Thrust of the engine, T, pulling horizontally forwards. 4. The Drag, D, acting horizontally backwards. Just as for certain purposes it is convenient to consider all the weight as acting through one point, called the centre of gravity, or all the lift as acting at the centre of pressure, so we may imagine the resultant of all the drag acting at one point which, for convenience, we will call the centre of drag. Its actual position depends on the relative resistance of different parts of the aeroplane.
Conditions of equilibrium
Now, under what conditions will these four forces balance the aeroplane? That is to say, keep it travelling at a steady height at uniform velocity in a xed direction, a state of affairs which, in the language of mechanics, is known as equilibrium. It is sometimes hard to convince a traveller by air that he may travel at 200 m/s and yet be in a state of equilibrium; equilibrium simply means that the existing state of affairs is remaining unchanged; in other words, that the aeroplane is obeying Newtons First Law of Motion. In order to do this the forces acting on it must be balanced the lift must be equal to the weight (this condition will keep the aeroplane at a constant height); and the thrust must be equal to the drag (this condition will keep the aeroplane moving at the same steady velocity). The idea is often prevalent that the lift must be greater than the weight, or, as it is often expressed, the lift must overcome the weight; and when it comes
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pivots or exures to an arm upon which is placed a jockey weight. The moment of the applied force is balanced by moving the jockey weight along the arm. The position of the jockey weight therefore indicates the magnitude of the force. The further along the arm the jockey weight has to be moved, the greater is the force being balanced. The same principle is used to measure horizontal drag or thrust forces, as shown in Fig. 2.16. One arm has to be used for each of the three forces and three moments that make up the six components illustrated in Fig. 2.17. In small college tunnels it is normal to have only three arms which measure the three most important components, lift, drag and pitching moment. The design of the levers and pivots is very complicated because it is important that a change in the vertical lift force does not affect the arm that is supposed to measure only the horizontal drag force. The balance unit which is large is situated outside the tunnel, and the model is attached to it by means of a number of rods or wires (see Fig. 2D, earlier). Originally the jockey weights were moved by hand, but nowadays they can either be moved automatically by a servo electric motor, or are left xed, with the force of the arm being measured by an electrical force transducer. A force transducer is an instrument that produces an electrical output that is proportional to the applied force. This brings us to the second form of balance, the electronic type. The electronic force balance consists of a carefully machined block of metal that is attached to the model at one end and to a supporting structure at the other; this often takes the form of a single rod or sting protruding from the rear of the model. Electrical resistance strain gauges attached to the block produce output voltages proportional to the applied forces. Up to six components can be measured. This type of balance is very small and compact and is normally contained within the model. One potential disadvantage is that there is usually a certain amount of unwanted interference between the different components; changes in lift affect the drag reading, etc. However, the computer-based data acquisition systems to which such balances are invariably attached are able to make corrections and allowances automatically.
Lift Yawing moment Rolling moment Drag
Pitching moment Side force
Fig 2.17
The six components

Conditions of Equilibrium

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MECH_C05.

Pitching moment Side force

The six components

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