Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No.

08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 1 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
1There are four forces acting on an aircraft in straight-and-level, unaccelerated flight these are

thrust, drag, lift, and weight.

Two of them are aerodynamic forces created by the pressure and shear stress distributions over the
aircraft surface mostly on the wings. These two are Lift and Drag and can be defined as:

Lift (L) – is a force that is produced by the dynamic effect of the air acting on the airfoil, and acts
perpendicular to the flight path through the center of lift and perpendicular to the lateral axis. In level
flight, lift opposes the downward force of weight.

Drag (D) – a rearward, retarding force caused by disruption of airflow by the wing, rotor, fuselage, and
other protruding objects. As a general rule, drag opposes thrust and acts rearward parallel to the relative
wind.
2
Both Lift and Drag depends at least on:

a. Free stream Velocity (Vꝏ)

b. Free stream density (ρꝏ), that is, on altitude
c. Size of the Aerodynamic Surface
d. Angle of Attack α
e. Shape of Airfoil
f. Viscosity Coefficient (µꝏ)
g. Compressibility of the Airflow which is governed by the value of the free stream Mach Number (Mꝏ)

To compute for Lift and Drag we will use the derived formula for each force. This is:

L = CLS½ρꝏVꝏ2 and D = CDS½ρꝏVꝏ2

Where:
CL – is the Coefficient of Lift which is a f (α, Re, Mꝏ) where Re is Reynolds Number.
CD – is the Coefficient of Drag which is a f (α, Re, Mꝏ) where Re is Reynolds Number.

1 Federal Aviation Administration, Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, 2016, Chapter 5.

2 John D. Anderson, Jr, Introduction to Flight 3rd ed., (McGraw-Hill Book Company: 1989), pp. 182-185.
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 2 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
The Reynolds Number (Re) is defined as:
𝜌∞𝑉∞𝑐
Re =
𝜇∞

Where,

c is the chord length of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord

µꝏ is the Coefficient of Dynamic Viscosity of air that changes with temperature.

At sea level the coefficient of dynamic viscosity is 1.7894x10-5 kg/m(s) or 3.7373x10-7 slug/ft(s).

Since as altitude increases, temperature decreases, the µꝏ is also changing. Hence, Reynolds Number
changes as altitude also changes.

Both CL and CD are dimensionless numbers which relates the lift and drag generated by a body to the fluid
around the body. These coefficients can be determined by the Airfoil profile (for wings and stabilizer),
fuselage shape and length, and other protruding objects on an aircraft (antenna, landing gear, and etc.).
For ease, both the coefficients can be found using a program called 3Xflr5.

Coefficient of Lift

Wing

First, we must compute the corresponding Reynolds Number per altitude and Mach Number which is
required for the program. Since Reynolds Number is a function of density and the coefficient of dynamic
viscosity which both change with altitude, Reynolds Number also changes with altitude. The value for V ꝏ
Freestream Velocity will correspond to the value of Cruising Velocity (Vc) computed in Report 6.
Vc = 120.0329355 knots = 202.5927717 ft/s

Altitude Density Temperature Coefficient of Mach Number Reynolds

(ft) (slugs/ft3) (°R) Dynamic Viscosity Number
(slug/ft s)
Sea Level 0.002377 518.69 3.7373 x 10-7 0.1814877636 4824478.103
1000 0.00230816 515.124 3.71725 x 10-7 0.1821148642 4710024.692
2000 0.002240855 511.558 3.69724 x 10-7 0.1827485106 4597431.862
3000 0.002175063 507.992 3.6771 x 10-7 0.1833888175 4486891.732
4000 0.00211076 504.426 3.6592 x 10-7 0.1840359023 4375541.427
5000 0.002047921 500.86 3.63665 x 10-7 0.1846898855 4271603.112
6000 0.001986525 497.294 3.61632 x 10-7 0.1853508905 4166834.137
7000 0.001926546 493.728 3.59592 x 10-7 0.1860190439 4063952.071
8000 0.001867964 490.162 3.57545 x 10-7 0.1866944755 3962934.614
9000 0.001810755 486.596 3.55491 x 10-7 0.1873773184 3863759.619
10000 0.001754896 483.03 3.53429 x 10-7 0.1880677090 3766415.743

3 http://www.xflr5.com/xflr5.htm.
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 3 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
The chosen altitudes from sea level to 10,000 ft were based from FAR Part 23 §23.45 General.

Putting the following Reynolds Number to the program resulted in the following graphs. These
graphs are calculated from airfoils with Infinite Wings.

Cl versus Angle of Attack Graph

Each line represents each Reynolds Number.

 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 4 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Drag Polar or the Cl versus Cd Graph

This graph will be used later for the Drag computation.

Wing Aspect Ratio Correction

Since all aircrafts have finite wings, we will make a correction for the Cl (lower case L represent the
Infinite Wing) vs angle of attack graph for the Finite wing analysis. First we must calculate the Oswald
Efficiency Factor of our Aircraft. The Oswald efficiency, similar to the span efficiency, is a correction factor
that represents the change in drag with lift of a three-dimensional wing or airplane, as compared with an
ideal wing having the same aspect ratio and an elliptical lift distribution.4 The equation which we will use
to calculate the Oswald Efficiency Factor of our Aircraft is as follows:
Straight-Wing Aircraft: ℯ = 1.78(1-0.045AR0.68) – 0.64

Swept-Wing Aircraft: ℯ = 4.61(1-0.045AR0.68)(cos ɅLE)0.15 – 3.1 where in > 30 deg

Since my aircraft is a straight-wing meaning no sweep angle (ɅLE) I will use the first equation. My Aspect
Ratio (AR) = 10.2 from the previous report. Applying this to the equation yields:

ℯ = 1.78(1-0.045(10.2)0.68) – 0.64 = 0.7514198309

Now we can apply this factor to the Aspect Ratio Correction. The effect of a finite wing is to reduce the lift
curve slope. Here we will use this 5equation:
ɑ0
ɑ=
1+57.3 ɑ0/πℯ𝐴𝑅

Where: ɑ - Lift Slope for the Finite Wing. ℯ - Computed Oswald Efficiency Factor

ɑ0 – Lift Slope for the Infinite Wing. AR – Aspect Ratio

4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_efficiency_number
5 John D. Anderson, Jr, Introduction to Flight 3rd ed., (McGraw-Hill Book Company: 1989), p.225
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 5 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Applying the equation resulted in this new graph for CL (Upper case L represent Data for Finite Wings)
versus Angle of Attack.
Corrected CL versus Angle of Attack
2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1 Cl (Infinite)
Cl (Finite)
0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55

Wing Lift per Unit Span

We will now compute the lift per unit span of our wings. We must first construct the ideal Lift
distribution which is Elliptical in shape. To construct we will use this equation which represents half of the
wing lift distribution:

𝑥
L = L0 √1 −( )2
𝑏/2

Where:
L – is the Lift per unit x.
L0 – Centreline Lift.
b – Wing Span
To find the centreline lift, we must assign first the angle of incidence. Assigning the angle of
incidence is based on the aerodynamic efficiency and aircraft attitude during cruise condition. There is
one method to determine the angle of incidence. By using the Weight and CG Limits of the aircraft we
already computed in the previous report.
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 6 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
First you will assign the desired cruise condition of the aircraft from the following cases of report
no. 6. Then determine the CL for each conditions using the derivation of the lift equation making Lift equal
to weight which is:
2𝐿
CL =
𝑆𝜌𝑉2
Given the CL , we will determine the Angle of Attack of each case from the Corrected Lift Curve Slope. Next,
we will determine the distance between the Leading Edge and the CG position from the Mean
Aerodynamic Chord (LEMAC) from report no. 6.

Weight
CL Angle of Attack LEMAC
(lbs)
750.15 0.271222212 1.844083983 1.053846922
691.3619968 0.24996698 1.606562467 1.20878825
710.1499968 0.256759918 1.682021437 0.849562856
633.1499968 0.228920006 1.036501787 0.927755323
574.3619968 0.207664775 1.140877815 1.10135294
723.1558688 0.261462286 1.734257423 1.085472868
683.1558688 0.246999994 1.573603878 0.874968505
619.6529328 0.224040044 1.32278155 0.943463114
560.8649328 0.202784813 1.086669036 1.122884748
717.4749968 0.259408326 1.711441117 1.136790816
655.8296168 0.237119988 1.044701558 1.057536504
673.1499968 0.243382298 1.533416908 1.150760588
736.7636408 0.266382276 1.788910843 1.069240527
Now we will construct the Angle of Attack versus LEMAC graph. Whichever is lowest will be our chosen
angle of incidence.
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 7 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Now we will compute the Centerline Lift with a derivation on the Lift Equation. Since we are computing for
the Lift per unit span, we will set the Wing Area (S) to just the unit span multiplied by the Chord. Since it is
per unit span, 1 unit of span multiplied by the chord will result in the chord alone yielding the lift equation
1
to: L = CLc ρVc2
2

Using this equation we will now compute for the ideal Lift per unit span using the previous equation.
x Lift Per Unit x x Lift Per Unit x
0 43.52463938 10 36.0378247
1 43.45615651 11 34.2583454
2 43.25005729 12 32.19674304
3 42.90435858 13 29.79451134
4 42.41564718 14 26.96075225
5 41.77890469 15 23.54013655
6 40.98723265 16 19.22187574
7 40.03144033 17 13.14950939
8 38.89943189 17.835 0
9 37.57528442

Using your chosen Wing Twist we must now compute the Actual Lift per unit Span of our wing using the
above derived equation for Lift. The Data are as follows:

Chord
x Angle of Attack CL Lift per Unit Span
(ft)
0 4.4
1 4.330508333
2 4.243575
3 4.14175
4 4.046716667
5 3.962025
6 3.878233333
7 3.795458333
8 3.715066667
9 3.637791667
10 3.565075
11 3.495683333
12 3.4053
13 3.298933333
14 3.206408333
15 3.125875
16 3.046058333
17 2.299383333
17.835 0 0 0 0
Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 8 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1

Wing Lift Distribution Graph

Horizontal and Vertical Stabilizer

 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 9 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Coefficient of Drag
The total Drag of an aircraft is divided into the following:
1. 6Parasite Drag – is comprised of all the forces that work to slow an aircraft’s movement. It is the
drag that is not associated with the production of lift but the drag associated with the flow of air
through an object. Parasite Drag has three types:
a. Form Drag – is the portion of parasite drag generated by the aircraft due to its shape and
airflow around it. It is also known as Pressure drag to Flow Separation.
b. Interference Drag – it comes from the intersection of airstreams that creates eddy currents.
Turbulence, or restricts smooth airflow.
c. Skin Friction Drag – is the aerodynamic resistance due to the contact of moving air with the
surface of an aircraft.
7
2. Induced Drag – is the drag caused by creating lift for finite wings. Wingtip vortices simply alter the
flow field about the wing in such a fashion as to change the surface pressure distribution in the
direction of increased drag.
3. Wave Drag – it is the drag produced by shock waves in supersonic flow.
Since our aircraft is flying at subsonic speeds, we will only consider Parasite and Induced Drag. We
will base each drag in the following conditions:
a. At Sea Level.
b. At Cruising Velocity.
c. In Straight and Level Flight.

6 Federal Aviation Administration, Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, 2016, Chapter 5.

7 John D. Anderson, Jr, Introduction to Flight 3rd ed., (McGraw-Hill Book Company: 1989), p.217
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 10 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Parasite Drag Coefficient (CD,o)
Wings
The Parasite Drag for the wings can be easily gathered from the data given by the Xlfr5 program.
We will base our Wing Drag from the Attitude of the aircraft at cruising Velocity with Maximum Gross
Weight. From the equation of Lift making as weight we have a Coefficient of Lift equivalent to:
2𝑊 2(1653.79755)
CL = = 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔𝑠 𝑓𝑡 = 0.2712222116
𝑆𝜌𝑉2 125𝑓𝑡 2 (0.002377 )(202.5927717 )2
𝑓𝑡3 𝑠
Looking at data from the Xflr5 program corresponding to this value of CL, we have:
CL =0.2712222116 CD,O Wings =
8
For a high-wing, a mid-wing, or a well-filleted low wing, the interference will be negligible so we will not
add any interference factor to the CD,O.

Stabilizer
The Parasite Drag for the stabilizers can also be gathered the data from the Xlfr5 program. Here we
will base our data when our stabilizers at zero angle of attack. Both the Horizontal and Vertical stabilizers
have the same airfoil profile so we will have a consistent coefficient of drag. From the data we have:
At Zero Angle of Attack CD,O Stabilizers =
9
A tail surface with a hinged rudder or elevator will have a form factor about 10% higher than the
predicted CD. Also an additional four to five percent may be assumed for the interference factor. So our CD
will become:
CD,O Stabilizers =

For calculating the parasite drag of the fuselage, landing gear, cockpit/canopy and other parts of
the aircraft, we will use the Component Buildup Method. 10The component buildup method estimates the
subsonic parasite drag of each component of the aircraft using a calculated flat-plate skin friction drag
coefficient (Cf) and a component “form factor” (FF) that estimates the pressure drag due to viscous
separation. Then the interference effects on the component drag are estimated as a factor “Q” and the
total component drag is determined as the product of the Wetted Area (SWET), Cf, FF, and Q.
Miscellaneous drags (CD misc) for special features of an aircraft such as flaps, unretracted landing
gear, an upswept aft fuselage, and base area are then estimated and added to the total, along with
estimated contributions for leakages and protuberances (CD L&P).
The subsonic parasite-drag buildup equation is now:
𝛴𝐶𝑓𝑐 𝐹𝐹𝐶 𝑄𝐶 𝑆𝑊𝐸𝑇 𝐶
(CD O)Subsonic =( ) + 𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐 + 𝐶𝐷 𝐿&𝑃
𝑆𝑅𝑒𝑓
Where:
SRef – Wing Reference Area.
Using this equation we can now compute the Parasite Drag of each component of my aircraft.

8 Daniel P. Raymer, Aircraft Design - A Conceptual Approach (AIAA:1992), p.285.

9 Daniel P. Raymer, Aircraft Design - A Conceptual Approach (AIAA:1992), p.285
10 Daniel P. Raymer, Aircraft Design - A Conceptual Approach (AIAA:1992), p.281
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 10 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Fuselage
Fuselage Flat-Plate Skin Friction Coefficient (Cf FUSELAGE)
First, we must compute for the Reynolds Number of our fuselage. Using the same equation for
Reynolds number as mentioned above making the “c” equivalent to the fuselage overall length.
𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔𝑠 𝑓𝑡
0.002377 (202.5927717 𝑠 )(20.75583333𝑓𝑡)
𝑓𝑡3
Re = 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔 = 26744552.88
3.7373 𝑥 10−7 𝑓𝑡(𝑠)
11 If the surface is relatively rough, we must compute for the “cut-off Reynolds Number,” which is
𝑙
determined from the equation Re = 38.21 ( )1.052 where “l” is the overall length and “k” is the skin-
𝑘
roughness value.

12

−5
Computing for the Cut-off Reynolds Number yields using k = 0.17 x 10 (ft) for Smooth Molded
Composite, yields:
20.75583333 𝑓𝑡 1.052
Re = 38.21 ( ) = 1089873859
0.17 𝑥 10−5 𝑓𝑡
The lower the actual Reynolds Number and the cut-off Reynolds Number will be used for computing the
Skin Friction Coefficient. Here the actual is the lowest so it will be used for the computation.
The equation for computing the Skin Friction Coefficient is divided between Laminar and Turbulent
Flow. We will assume a turbulent flow for the fuselage, so we will use this equation:
0.455
Cf =
𝑙𝑜𝑔10 𝑅)2.58 (1+0.144𝑀2 )0.65
Computing for the Skin Friction Coefficient of the fuselage using the same Mach Number at sea level as th
Wing Reynolds Number:
0.455
Cf,Fuselage =
(𝑙𝑜𝑔10 26744552.88)2.58 (1+0.144(0.1814877636)2 )0.65
= 2.570049589 x 10-3
Fuselage Component Form Factor (FFFUSELAGE)
For computing the Form Factor for the fuselage we will use the equation:
60 𝑓
FF = (1 + 3 + )
𝑓 400
𝑙 1
Where: f = = 𝐴𝑀𝐴𝑋 is the maximum frontal area of the component.
𝑑 4
√ (𝐴𝑀𝐴𝑋 )
𝜋

20.75583333 𝑓𝑡
Computing for the f of the fuselage yields: f = = 4.111035756
4
√ (18.72939375 𝑓𝑡 2 )
𝜋

11
Daniel P. Raymer, Aircraft Design – A Conceptual Approach (AIAA:1992), p.282
12
Daniel P. Raymer, Aircraft Design – A Conceptual Approach (AIAA:1992), p.283
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 10 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
Computing for the Fuselage Form Factor:
60 4.111035756
FFFuselage = (1 + + ) = 1.873847473
(4.111035756)3 400

Fuselage Component Interference Factor (Q)

Parasite drag is increased due to the mutual interference between components. The Fuselage has a
negligible interference factor so Q = 1.

Fuselage Parasite Drag Coefficient (CD, O FUSELAGE)

Using the Component Buildup Method equation, the Fuselage Parasite Drag is now equal to:
𝛴𝐶𝑓,𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑄𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑆𝑊𝐸𝑇 𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑒
CD O Fuselage =( )
𝑆𝑅𝑒𝑓
2.570049589 𝑥 10 (1.873847473)(1)(204.8026847 𝑓𝑡 2
−3
=[ ]
Landing Gear
Computing for the Landing Gear Parasite Drag, we will use the same method but just using the
Miscellaneous Drags method. The drag of miscellaneous items can be determined separately using a
variety of empirical graphs and equations, and then adding the results to the parasite drags as above.
Using the Drag divided by the Dynamic Pressure (D-over-q or D/q) data to find the CD for the misc. drag.
D/q has units of square feet, and so is sometimes called “drag area”. D/q divided by the wing reference
area yields the miscellaneous parasite drag coefficient.
The landing-gear drag is best estimated by comparison to test data for a similar gear arrangement.
If such data is not available, the gear drag can be estimated as the summation of the drags of the wheels,
struts, and other gear components using the data below:
 Name: Pabs V. Fernandez Report No. 08: Aerodynamics

Date: February 8, 2019 Page 10 of

Instructor: Engr. Carl Marvin F. Red
Grade: Issues No. 1
These values times the frontal area of the indicated component yield D/q values, which must be
divided by the wing reference area to obtain parasite drag coefficients. To account for mutual
interference, it is suggested that the sum of the gear component drags be multiplied by 1.2. Also, the total
gear drag should be increased by about 7% for a retractable landing gear in which the gear wells are left
open when the gear is down.

We can now compute the landing gear parasite drag coefficient of our aircraft. Using the Equation,
we will first compute for the Landing Gear (LDG) Strut and Wheel & Tire Parasite Drag Coefficient: