Longitudinal stability and control

In this chapter, we will start to investigate the stability of the entire aircraft. This can be split up into two parts: longitudinal and lateral stability. In this chapter, we will only look at longitudinal stability.

1
1.1

Stick xed longitudinal stability

Eects of the wing and the tail on stability

To start our investigation in the stability of an aircraft, we reexamine the moment equation. In an earlier chapter, we found that Cm = Cmac + CNw ( 0 ) where CNh is given by CNh = CNh ( 0 ) 1 d d + (0 + ih ) + CNh e .
e

xcg xw CNh c

Vh V

Sh l h = 0, S c

(1.1)

(1.2)

We can also rewrite the moment equation to Cm = Cmw + Cmh . In this equation, Cmw is the contribution due to the wings. Similarly, Cmh is the contribution from the horizontal tailplane. They are both given by 2 Vh Sh l h xcg xw and Cmh = CNh . (1.3) Cmw = Cmac + CNw ( 0 ) c V S c Taking a derivative of the moment equation will give us Cm = Cmw + Cmh , where Cmw = CNw xcg xw c and Cmh = CNh 1 d d Vh V
2

Sh l h . S c

(1.4)

To achieve stability for our aircraft, we should have Cm < 0. Usually, the wing is in front of the CG. We thus have xcg xw > 0 and also Cmw > 0. The wing thus destabilizes the aircraft. Luckily, the horizontal tailplane has a stabilizing eect. This is because Cmh < 0. To achieve stability, the stabilizing eect of the tailplane should be bigger than the destabilizing eect of the wings. We should thus have |Cmw | < |Cmh |. (1.5)

1.2

Eects of the center of gravity on stability

We will now examine the eects of the CG on the stability. To do this, we suppose xcg increases (the CG moves to the rear). However, the other parameters (including e ) stay constant. The movement of the CG causes Cm to increase. At a certain point, we will reach Cm = 0. When the CG moves beyond this position, the aircraft becomes unstable. Lets examine the point at which Cm = 0. We remember, from a previous chapter, that this point is called the neutral point. And, because the stick deection is constant (e is constant), we call this point the stick xed neutral point. Its x coordinate is denoted by xnf ix . To nd it, we can use Cm = CNw xnf ix xw + CNh c 1 d d Vh V
2

Sh xnf ix xh . S c

(1.6)

After some mathematical trickery, we can nd the position of the stick xed neutral point, with respect to the wing. It is given by CNh xnf ix xw = c CN 1 d d Vh V
2

Sh l h . S c

(1.7)

From this, we can also derive the position of the stick xed neutral point, with respect to the aircraft CG. This is given by xcg xnf ix Cm = CN . (1.8) c
f ix is known as the (stick xed) stability margin. It is an indication of how much The quantity c the CG can move, before the aircraft becomes unstable.

xcg xn

1.3

The elevator trim curve

Now lets examine the eects of the elvator deection e . We know from a previous chapter that the elevator deection necessary to keep the aircraft in equilibrium is e = 1 (Cm0 + Cm ( 0 )) . Cme (1.9)

e depends on . To see how, we plot e versus . We usually do this, such that the y axis is reversed. (Positive e appear below the horizontal axis.) Now we examine the slope of this graph. It is given by Cm de = . d Cme (1.10)

We always have Cme < 0. To make sure we have Cm < 0 as well, we should have de /d < 0. The line in the e , graph should thus go upward as increases. (Remember that we have reversed the y axis of the graph!) e also depends on the aircraft velocity V . To see how, we will rewrite equation (1.9). By using CN W CN ( 0 ) 1 V 2 S , we nd that
2

e =

1 Cme

Cm0 +

Cm W CN 1 V 2 S 2

(1.11)

We can now plot e against V . (Again, we reverse the e axis.) We have then created the so-called elevator trim curve. Its slope is given by de 4W 1 Cm = . dV V 3 S Cme CN (1.12)

To have Cm < 0, we should have de /dV > 0. The line in the graph should thus go downward. Also, if you want to y faster in a stable aircraft, you should push your stick forward.

2
2.1

Stick free longitudinal stability

The stick free elevator deection

Previously, we have assumed that e is constant. The pilot has his stick xed. But what will happen if the pilot releases his stick? It would be nice if the aircraft remains stable as well. 2

Lets suppose the pilot releases the stick. In that case, aerodynamic force will give the elevator a certain stick free elevator deection ef ree . To nd ef ree , we examine the moments He about the elevator hinge point. (Or, to be more precise, we look at the non-dimensional version Che .) Contributing to this hinge moment are the horizontal tailplane, the elevator and the trim tab. By using a linearization, we nd that Chef ree = Ch h + Ch ef ree + Cht te = 0. (2.1) It follows that the stick free elevator deection is ef ree = From this, we can also derive that de d =
f ree

Cht Ch h t . Ch Ch e

(2.2)

Ch Ch

d d

(2.3)

The elevator deection thus changes as the angle of attack is changed.

2.2

Dierences in the moment due to the stick free evelator

The free elevator deection eects the contribution Cmh of the horizontal tailplane to the moment Cm . Lets investigate this. We can remember that Cmh = CNh h + CNh e Vh V
2

Sh l h . S c

(2.4)

We now substitute e by ef ree . If we also dierentiate with respect to , and work things out, we will get 2 Vh Sh l h d Ch . (2.5) Cmh 1 = CNh CNh f ree Ch d V S c If we compare this equation to the right side of equation (1.4), we see that only CNh has changed. In fact, we can dene Ch CNh = CNh CNh . (2.6) f ree Ch If we use CNh
Ch Ch
f ree

, instead of CNh , then our stability analysis is still entirely valid.

f ree

Lets take a closer look at the dierences between CNh

and CNh . This dierence is the term

. We know that CNh > 0. The term Ch is interesting. If it would be positive, then it can be CNh shown that the elevator position is unstable. So, we have to have Ch < 0. Finally there is Ch . This term can be either positive or negative. If it is positive (Ch > 0), then the stick free aircraft will be more stable than the stick xed aircraft. If, however, it is negative (Ch < 0), then it will be less stable, or possibly even unstable.

2.3

The stick free neutral point

Lets nd the stick free neutral point xnf ree . Finding xnf ree goes similar to nding xnf ix . In fact, we can adjust equations (1.7) and (1.8) to CNh xnf ree xw f ree = c CN 1 d d Vh V
2

Sh l h , S c

(2.7)

xcg xnf ree . (2.8) c In this equation, we have CNf ree CN . This is because the elevator has a negligible inuence on CN , compared to the inuence of the wing. Cmf ree = CNf ree We can also nd the position of the stick free neutral point, with respect to the stick xed neutral point. Subtracting equation (1.7) from equation (2.7) gives CNh Ch xnf ree xnf ix = c CN Ch 1 d d Vh V
2

Sh l h Cm Ch = S c CN Ch

d d

(2.9)

2.4

Elevator stick forces

Now we will examine the stick forces which the pilot should exert. We denote the stick deection by se . By considering the work done by the pilot, we nd that Fe dse + He de = 0. From this follows that the stick force Fe is given by Fe = de 1 de He = Ch V 2 Se ce . dse dse e 2 h (2.10)

By the way Se is the elevator surface and ce is the mean elevator chord. If we massively rewrite the above equation, we can eventually nd that Fe = de Se ce dse Vh V
2

1 W 1 Ch0 V 2 + Ch 2 S CN

(2.11)

We see that Fe consists of two parts. One part varies with the airspeed, while the other part does not. By the way, the coecients Ch0 and Ch are given by Ch0 = Ch Ch Ch Cmac CNh (0 + ih ) + Cht te , f ree Cm CNh xcg xnf ree Ch Ch = . Cmf ree = CN Cm Cm c (2.12) (2.13)

We see that Ch0 depends on te . To simplify our equation, we can apply a small trick. We dene te0 to be the value of te for which Ch0 = 0. It follows that te0 = 1 Cht
2

Ch Ch Cmac + CNh (0 + ih ) . f ree Cm CNh

(2.14)

We can now rewrite the stick deection force as Fe = de Se ce dse Vh V W Ch xcg xnf ree 1 V 2 Cht te te0 S Cme c 2 . (2.15)

The control forces, which the pilots need to exert, greatly determine how easy and comfortable it is to y an airplane. The above equation is therefore rather important. We can also derive something else from the above equation. Lets dene the trim speed Vtr to be the speed at which Fe = 0. We now examine the derivative dFe /dV at this trim speed. (So at Fe = 0.) If it is positive (dFe /dV > 0), then the aircraft is said to have elevator control force stability in the current ight condition. It can be shown that this derivative is given by dFe dV = 2
Fe =0

de Se ce dse

Vh Vtr

W Ch xcg xnf ree 1 . S Cme c Vtr

(2.16)

Its the job of the designer to keep this derivative positive. 4

3
3.1

Longitudinal control
Special manoeuvres

Previously, we have only considered steady ight. Now we suppose that we are performing some special manoeuvre. We will consider both a steady pull-up manoeuvre and a horizontal steady turn. During these manoeuvres, we will have a certain load factor n = N/W . There are two parameters that are important for the manoeuvres. They are the elevator deection per g, denoted by de /dn, and the stick force per g, denoted by dFe /dn. Both these parameters should be negative. And they may not be too high or too low either.

3.2

The elevator deection per g

We will now nd an expression for de /dn. Lets suppose were initially in a horizontal steady ight. But after a brief moment, well be in one of the special manoeuvres. In this brief moment, several aircraft parameters have changed. Lets examine the change in normal force CN and the change in moment Cm . The change in normal force is eected by the angle of attack and the pitch rate q. This gives us CN = N
1 2 2 V S

n 1 2 2 V S

= CN CZq

q c . V

(3.1)

Similarly, the change in moment is eected by the angle of attack , the pitch rate q and the elevator deection e . This gives us q c Cm = 0 = Cm + Cmq + Cme e . (3.2) V You may wonder, why is Cm = 0? This is because both in the initial situation and the nal situation, we have a steady manoeuvre. There is thus no angular acceleration present. The moment must thus stay constant. From the rst of the above two equations, we can nd the derivative of with respect to n. It is given by c CZq d q d 1 W V = + . (3.3) dn CN 1 V 2 S CN dn 2 From the second of these equations, we can nd that de 1 = dn Cme Cm d d + Cmq V dn dn
q c

(3.4)

Inserting the value of d/dn will eventually give us 1 de = dn Cme Cm W + CN 1 V 2 S 2 Cm CZq + Cmq CN
c d q V dn

(3.5)

c We will determine the term d q /dn later, since it depends on the type of manoeuvre that is being V performed.

3.3

The stick force per g

Its time to nd an expression for dFe /dn. From equation (2.10), we can derive that de 1 2 dh de dFe = V Se ce Ch + Ch dn dse 2 h dn dn 5 . (3.6)

We already have an expression for de /dn. The expression for h is a bit tricky. This is because we also have a rotation q. If we take this into account, we will have h = ( 0 ) 1 d d + (0 + ih ) + lh q c . c V (3.7)

The derivative of h , with respect to n, will then be dh = dn 1 d d d lh d V + . dn c dn

q c

(3.8)

Luckily, we still remember d/dn from equation (3.3). From this, we can derive an equation thats way too long to write down here. However, once we examine specic manoeuvres, we will mention the nal equation.

3.4

The pull-up manoeuvre

Lets consider an aircraft in a pull-up manoeuvre. When an aircraft pulls its nose up, the pilot will experience higher g-forces. This will thus cause the load factor n to change. To be able to study pull-up manoeuvres, we simplify them. We assume that both n and V are constant. If this is the case, the aircrafts path will form a part of a circle. The centripetal accelaration thus is N W = mV q. By using n = N/W and W = mg, we can rewrite this as g c q c = 2 (n 1). V V Dierentiating with respect to n gives
c d q g c 1 W V = 2 = , dn V 2c 1 V 2 S 2

(3.9)

where

c =

W m = . S gS c c

(3.10)

By using this, we can nd the elevator deection per g for a pull-up manoeuvre. It is de 1 = dn Cme W
1 2 2 V S

Cm CN

1+

CZq 2c

Cmq 2c

(3.11)

Often the term CZq /2c can be neglected. This simplies matters a bit. We can also derive a new expression for the stick force per g. We will nd that de W dFe = dn dse S Vh V
2

Se ce

Ch Cme

Cmf ree CN

Cmqf ree 2c

(3.12)

In this equation, we can see the parameters Cmf ree and Cmqf ree . These are the values of Cm and Cmq when the pilot releases his stick. They are given by Cmf ree = CNw (The relation for Cmh xcg xw + Cmh f ree c and Cmqf ree = Cmq Cme Ch lh . CN c (3.13)

was already given in equation (2.5).)

f ree

3.5

The steady horizontal turn

Now lets consider an aircraft in a steady horizontal turn. It is performing this turn with a constant roll angle . From this, we can derive that N cos = W and 6 N W cos = mV q. (3.14)

If we combine the above relations, and rewrite them, we will get q c g c = 2 V V Dierentiating with respect to n will then give us
c d q 1 W V = 1 dn 2c 2 V 2 S

1 n

(3.15)

1+

1 n2

(3.16)

By using this, we can nd the elevator deection per g for a horizontal steady turn. It is de 1 = dn Cme W
1 2 2 V S

Cm + CN

Cmq Cm CZq + CN 2c 2c

1+

1 n2

(3.17)

Again, we may often assume that CZq /2c 0. This again simplies the equation. We also have the stick force per g. In this case, it is given by de W dFe = dn dse S Vh V
2

Se ce

Ch Cme

Cmf ree CN

Cmqf ree 2c

1+

1 n2

(3.18)

It is interesting to see the similarities between the pull-up manoeuvre and the steady horizontal turn. In fact, if the load factor n becomes big, the dierence between the two manoeuvres disappears.

3.6

The manoeuvre point

An important point on the aircraft, when performing manoeuvres, is the manoeuvre point. It is dened as the position of the CG for which de /dn = 0. First we will examine the stick xed manoeuvre point xmf ix . To have de /dn = 0 for a pull-up manoeuvre (neglecting CZq /2c ), we should have xcg xnf ix Cmq Cmq Cm + + = = 0. CN 2c c 2c If the above equation holds, then the CG equals the manoeuvre point. We thus have xmf ix xnf ix Cmq = c 2c and also xcg xmf ix Cmq Cm = + . c CN 2c (3.20) (3.19)

(Remember that the above equations are for the pull-up manoeuvre. For the steady turn, we need to multiply the term with Cmq by an additional factor 1 + 1/n2 .) By using the above results, we can eventually obtain that de 1 W xcg xmf ix = . (3.21) 1 dn Cme 2 V 2 S c By the way, this last equation is valid for both the pull-up manoeuvre and the steady horizontal turn. We can also nd the stick free manoeuvre point xmf ree . This goes, in fact, in a rather similar way. We will thus also nd, for the pull-up manoeuvre, that Cmqf ree xmf ree xnf ree = c 2c and Cmf ree Cmqf ree xcg xmf ree = + . c CN 2c (3.22)

(For the steady turn, we again need to multiply the term with Cmqf ree by 1 + 1/n2 .)