CHAPTER 5

Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and

Wing Loading
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and Wing Loading
• Two very important performance parameters

• Before initial design layout

- Estimates of T/W and W/S

- Optimization Methods to be discussed later

• High T/W => Big Engine

• Low W/S => Big Wing
• Two are interconnected - e.g Take off distance

- Low T/W can be compensated by large wing or low W/S

- High T/W => big engine and high W/C => small wing

• Because of inter connectivity it is difficult to use historical data to

select initial values of the two
 Interconnectivity of Two
For inter connectivity consider sustained turn rate equation

For a given load factor Based on one selection of T/W if you

calculate W/S then if any one is selected differently the
other needs to be rechecked and adjusted.
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
• It is thrust produced per unit weight of the A/C

• High T/W means

- Quick Acceleration
- High ROC
- Higher Vmax
- Higher sustained Turn Rate

• But High T/W means

- Bigger engine and more fuel

- and thus more gross weight

• T/W Variations

- Weight charges in each segment

- Thrust varies with

- Altitude
- Speed of a/c
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
• Standard Definition

- Sea level
- Static (Zero Velocity) i.e. Test bed
- Standard Day
- Design T/Weight
- Throttle at max

• Other Definitions

- Combat T/W

- Partial Power Setting e.g Landing where it is less than 5 %

• Important: T/W must be adjusted for T/O conditions

(called thrust matching) if calculated for other flight conditions
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
• T/W associated with jet engine

• For propeller a/c wc define

Power Loading = Weight of a/c

Horse Power

• Higher Power Loading => Smaller Engine it is opposite of T/W

• Typical range 10 – 15 lb / hp

• Aerobatic a/c Value is about 6 lb / hp /; means bigger engine

 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
• Equivalent T/W for propeller a/c

Where hp/W is hp/lb i.e Horse Power to Weight ratio

• This book uses power loading for propeller a/c where T/W is applicable

• NOTE: AS WEIGHT OF THE AC DECREASES IN EACH MISSION

SEGMENT, FOR COMPARAISON ALL VALUES NEED TO BE ADJUSTED
FOR TAKE OFF WEIGHT
 T/W Selection
In the following slides two methods for selection of T/W
will be discussed
You will have two values one statistical from tables
Other from thrust matching
Higher of the two must be selected
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Selection
1st method
Statistical Estimation of T/W:
• Table 5.1 and 5.2 provides typical values for T/W and P/W for different classes of aircraft.
• Note that these values are all at a maximum power setting at sea level and zero
velocity.

• Sample calculation for a twin turbo prop

 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
• For now use, Table 5.3 (for jet) and 5.4 ( for propeller) which provide curve fit
equations based upon Max. Mach Number for different classes of aircraft. These can be
used as a first estimate for T/W and power loading respectively.
 General aviation (GA)
General aviation (GA) is the term for all civil aviation
operations other than scheduled air services and non-
scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or
hire.General aviation flights range from gliders and powered
parachutes to corporate business jet flights. The majority of
the world's air traffic falls into this category, and most of the
world's airports serve general aviation exclusively.
General aviation covers a large range of activities, both
commercial and non-commercial, including flying clubs,
flight training, agricultural aviation, light aircraft
manufacturing and maintenance.
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Selection
2nd method
Thrust Matching
• A better initial estimate of required T/W for aircrafts designed primarily for
efficiency during cruise can be obtained by “thrust matching”. For level
unaccelerated flight

• For jet aircraft cruise L/D is 86.6% of maximum L/D.

• Thrust decreases with altitude. Weight decreases with each segment and time
• This value is adjusted for take off conditions ( altitude and weight)
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
Estimation of

• T/W cruise known from equation

•The thrust Ratio between takeoff and cruise conditions is obtained from actual
engine data given in form of Fig 5.1 and 5.2 (next two slides). Otherwise data
from Appendix E4 for similar engine can be used or search from other sources.
• The weight ratio between takeoff and cruise conditions is obtained from
already calculated weight ratios in chapter 3
• sample calculation: If
hpcruise=0.7*hptakeoff
hptakeoff/ hpcruise=1/0.7=1.4285
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
Appendix E Data
Appendix E data
 T/W Selection
You have two values one statistical from tables
Other from thrust matching
Higher of the two must be selected
There are other criteria such as climb, takeoff etc can
also be used
 WING LOADING
Calculate wing loading separately for each segment as per
your mission profile:
– Stall
– Takeoff Distance
– Landing distance
– Turning
– Climb / glide / ceiling
– Cruise
– Loiter
Adjust it for take off weight e.g. for segment I
(W/S)i adjusted = (W/S)i calculated (WTO /Wi )
Select the most suitable
WING LOADING
 FAR and Milt Specs
Appendix F gives Federal aviation Regulations
Find Milt Specs from Net
 Wing Loading
Wing Loading (W/S)
• The term “Wing Loading” normally refers to the takeoff Wing Loading as was the case
with Thirst-to Weight Ratio. Wing Loading and thrust-to-weight ratio must be optimized

together.

• Wing Loading effects stall speeds, climb rate, takeoff and landing distances, and turn
performance.

• The Wing Loading determines the design lift coefficient, and impacts drag through its
effect upon wetted area and wing span. Also it has a strong effect on sized aircraft takeoff
gross weight.

• To ensure that the wing provides the lift in all circumstances, the designer should select
the lowest of the estimated wing loadings ( highest wing area).

• However, if an unreasonably low wing loading value is driven by only one of these
performance calculations, the designer should consider another way to meet that
requirement. For initial purposes, Table 5.5 gives the Wing Loadings for different types of
aircrafts.
TYPICAL TAKEOFF WING LOADINGS
 Wing Loading
Stall Speed
• Wing Loading and the maximum Lift coefficient determine the stall speed
of an aircraft. Civil and military design specifications establish maximum
allowable stall speeds for various classes of aircrafts. For military
aircrafts, Vstall should be less than 183 ft/s at sea-level
W = L = 1/2pV2stallSCLmax
Most critical requirement because wing
W/S = L = 1/2pV2stallCLmax loading can not be lower than the one
dictated by stall speed limitation. Min Stall
speed is dictated by FAR and MIL specs

• At this stage follow historical data for STOL aircrafts; CLmax = 2.4 ( next slide)

(W/S)stall = 1/2 * 0.0023769 * 168.72 x 2.4

(W/S)stall = 81 lb / ft2

• Vstall for reference a/c (C-130H is given below:)

Vstall = 168.67 ft/s
 Max Lift Coefficient
Fig below shows max lift as function of wing c/4 sweep for plain wing and wing
with various high lift devices for aspect ratio from 4-8
Lift Contribution of High Lift Devices
 Wing Loading
Takeoff Distance
• Based upon historical data, take off parameter permits estimation of the takeoff
ground roll and takeoff distance to clear a 50 ft obstacle • Where б is the density
ratio of density at TO
altitude to sea level
density
• TO lift coefficient is less
than its max value as
speed is 1.1 times of
• How to estimate takeoff parameter ( next slide) stall speed.

• Assuming that the aircraft is taking off at sea level i.e. б=1

Prop: (W/S) = (TOP)ÓCLTO(hp/w)

=69.76ft/sec

where CLtakeoff = CLmax = 1.983

(1.1)2
 How to estimate takeoff parameter

Takeoff distance = 2000ft

 Wing Loading
• To determine the required wing loading to meet a given takeoff distance requirement,
the takeoff parameter is obtained from Fig. 5.4 and then the following expression give

the maximum allowable wing loading for a given takeoff distance.

Density ratios

• if requirement is to have a maximum takeoff distance of 800m (2625 ft).

For this the (W/S)takeoff is,

(W/S) = [160* 0.2248 * 2.48 *1]

(W/S)takeoff = 69.76 lb/ft2

 Wing Loading
Landing Distance
• Landing Distance can be calculated using the following equation:

Sa = obstacle clearance distance = 450 ft ( ref TB for diff type of a/c)

• To have landing under 2000 ft, we can find the wing loading as follows:
 Wing Loading
Cruise
Two values are required i.e. the wing efficiency factor e and zero lift drag
coefficient. Ref TB for selection at this stage. More details in chapter 12
• Wing Loading must be selected to provide a high L/D at cruise conditions to
maximize range. Wing Loading reduces during cruise as the aircraft’s weight reduces
due to the fuel burned. A jet aircraft which is flying a cruise-climb will obtain
maximum range by flying at a wing loading such that the parasite drag is three times
the induced drag. This yields the following equation:
 Wing Loading
Loiter Endurance
• Typically, most aircrafts will have some loiter requirement during the mission (20
minutes). Unless the loiter segment is a substantial fraction of the total mission, the
aircraft should be optimized for cruise wing loading. For jet aircraft the best loiter
occurs at maximum L/D, so the following equation is used:
 Wing Loading
Instantaneous Turn
• An aircraft designed for air-to-air dog fighting must be capable of high turn rate. The parameter,
dψ/dt, will determine the outcome of a dogfight if the aircraft and pilots are evenly matched. A 2 deg/s
superiority of turn rate is considered significant. Instantaneous Turn Rate is the highest turn rate
possible, ignoring the fact that the aircraft will slow down or lose altitude. For a level turn:

• Load factor (n), is equal to the lift divided by the aircraft’s weight.

• A fighter aircraft will be typically designed to an operational maximum load factor of 7.33g, although
ew fighters are designed to a maximum of 9g. This g-limit must be met at some specific combat
weight. Corner Speed is the speed at which the maximum lift available exactly equals the allowable
load factor and provides the maximum turn rate for that aircraft at that altitude.

• Design specifications will usually require some maximum turn rate at some flight condition. Typically,
a
modern fighter has a corner speed of about 650 km/h (592 ft/s) indicated air speed regardless of
altitude. For the aircraft to have a turn rate greater than 20 rad/s, thus value of n can be calculated as
 Wing Loading

• This value of load factor should not be greater than the ultimate load factor (i.e. 9g’s)
specified in the design requirements. If the aircraft need to have a maximum load
factor of 9g then the maximum turn rate would be:

• The required wing loading can then be solved as:

 Wing Loading
Sustained Turn
• Sustained turn rate is the turn rate at which the thrust of the aircraft is just sufficient to
maintain velocity and altitude in the turn. It is usually expressed in terms of the
maximum load factor at some flight condition that the aircraft can sustain without
slowing or losing altitude. For example, the ability of sustaining 4 or 5g at M = 0.9 and
30,000 ft is frequently specified. The wing loading to exactly attain a required
sustained load factor n using all of the available thrust can be determined by:

CD0 , k and e
estimation on
later slides
Wing Loading
Chapter 12 method
can be used to
estimate CD0 , k and
e
 Wing Loading
Climb & Glide
• There are numerous climb requirements for FAR or military aircraft which specify
rate of climb for various combinations of factors such as engine-out, landing gear
position and flap settings. The ratio between vertical and horizontal distance
traveled is called the Climb gradient, G.

G = (T – D) /W

• The wing loading for climb and glide segment can be given by the following
equation. As before, (T/W) must be calculated to flight conditions and weight
under consideration.

• The term within the square root cannot go below zero, so: 0.1069
 Thrust-to-Weight Ratio for climb
• This equation implies that (T/W) must be greater than the desired climb gradient.
For a thrust setting of 20000 lbf in climb segment, (T/W) is:

• So the value of G must be less than 0.607 for this flight condition. The value of G
then depends upon the (W/S) chosen. The same equation for the climb can be used
to establish the wing loading required to attain some specific glide angle, by setting
T/W to zero and using a negative value of G.
 Selection of Wing Loading
and Thrust-to-Weight Ratio

• First adjust all calculated values for Takeoff weight

• For selecting the Wing Loading, the lowest of the above Wing Loadings is
selected to ensure that the wing is large enough for all flight conditions.

• The thrust to weight ratio now should be the maximum to ensure that all
requirements are still met.

•However the final selection is a compromise

TKANK YOU

Q&A
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and Wing Loading
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and Wing Loading
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and Wing Loading
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and Wing Loading
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio and Wing Loading