《Introduction to Aircraft Design》

1Introduction1

1.1 Why another aircraft design book？1

1.2 Topics2

1.3 The design process2

2Why should we design a new aircraft？7

2.1 Market surveys7

2.2 Operator-derived specifications11

2.3 Specification for a close air support aircraft12

2.4 Airline specification for a 150-seat airliner13

3Why is it that shape？- Civil aircraft19

3.1 Background19

3.2 Civil aircraft types24

4Why is it that shape？-Other types37

4.1 Military aircraft types37

4.2 Rotorcraft and V/STOL aircraft50

5What’s under the skin？- Structure and propulsion55

5.1 General55

5.2 The structure55

5.3 Propulsion - the primary power system63

6What’s under the skin？- Airframe systems73

6.1 Secondary power systems73

6.2 The fuel system80

6.3 Furnishings82

6.4 Safety installations83

6.5 Landing gear installations84

7What’s under the skin？- Avionics，flight control and weapon systems89

7.1 Avionic systems89

7.2 Flight control systems96

7.3 Weapon systems100

8Why do aircraft cost so much？109

8.1 General109

8.2 Acquisition costs （the costs of buying or acquiring the aircraft）109

8.3 Civil aircraft operating costs115

8.4 Military aircraft life-cycle costs116

8.5 The costs of reliability and maintainability118

9What help can I get？- Bibliography and computer-aided design129

9.1 Aircraft design bibliography129

9.2 Relevant data sheets131

9.3 Computer design tools135

9.4 The integration of computer tools as part of concurrent engineering140

9.5 Classic computer-aided design systems141

10The shape of things to come - Should the project continue？149

10.1 Introduction149

10.2 Conceptual design definition149

10.3 Comparison and choice150

10.4 Simple decision-making techniques151

10.5 Example of a conceptual aircraft design definition description - The Cranfield A-90153

10.6 Progress of the A-90 project beyond the conceptual design stage161

11What can go wrong？- Some lessons from past aircraft projects，and a glimpse into the future163

11.1 Introduction163

11.2 Aircraft that suffered from requirements that were too restrictive，too ambitious or were changed during development163

11.3 Projects that were overtaken by events167

11.4 A step too far or too soon？171

11.5 Some challenging future projects174

11.6 Conclusions177

Appendix A - Useful aircraft design data179

A1Introduction179

A2 US/UK nomenclature179

A3 UK and US/SI conversion tables and airspeed charts180

A4 Aircraft leading data tables183

A5 Power plant data196

A6 Aerodynamic data213

A7 Structures and materials data220

A8 Landing gear data222

A9 Aircraft interior data223

A10 Aircraft weapons238

Appendix B - A-90 parametric studyExample - the A-90 500-seat airliner243

B1 Introduction243

B2Landing field distance243

B3 Take-off field length245

B4 Second segment climb246

B5 Missed approach247

B6 Cruise performance248

B7 Ceiling with one engine inoperative252

B8 Arrival at the match point253

Appendix C - The prediction of aircraft reliability and maintainability targets255

C1 Introduction255

C2Commercial aircraft dispatch reliability prediction255

References259

Index261