Flight Characteristics

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=94 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="5" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="6" WIDTH="361" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#A6CAF0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#C0C0C0" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id29_rrfws.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Training"><U>Hornet Training</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="70"><div> <A HREF="id131_a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Glossary"><U>Glossary</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id132_a_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RadioCalls"><U>Radio Calls</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id170_onlinedictionary.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Online Dictionary"><U>Dictionary</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>This page has links to other data click on section title or picture.</B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=386 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="61100c00egerdp.jpg"> <bR> <div> Flight Characteristics</div> <div> <B> <A NAME="fc"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="6c804c30.jpg" border=0 width="260" height="195" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> Flight characteristics are a collective set of-tendencies that reflect an aircraft's stability and maneuverability. An aircraft's shape, weight, external stores and built-in flight control systems determine it's basic flight characteristics in a specified flight envelope. As changes occur in the center of gravity, lift, speed and momentum, the flight characteristics tics may vary. A fully loaded aircraft traveling at Mach 1.5 at an altitude of 30,000 feet isn't going to act the same as a lightly loaded plane.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>TURN PERFORMANCE</B></div> <bR> <div> An aircraft's turn performance is Its ability to change direction during flight. This is often referred to as maneuverability. The number of G's an aircraft can pull in a turn is a general indication of how tightly It can turn,. An aircraft's maximum turn performance can be characterized in two ways instantaneous and sustained. The acceleration felt during a turn is the load factor.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id187_turnload.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Turn load"><U><B>Load Factor</B></U></A><B>.</B> This is a component of the centrifugal acceleration created during a turn. Making a turn increases the aircraft's acceleration and adds G-force. This is called the load factor. The higher the airspeed, the greater the load factor during a turn.</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="649" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 457 WIDTH="322"><div> A diagram is a graphical representation of the load factor versus the airspeed. Above the 0 G line, the aircraft pulls positive Gs; below it, the aircraft pulls negative Gs. Lift limits for various airspeeds and load factors are also shown on the graph.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Instantaneous Turn Capability.</B> This refers to an aircraft's best turn performance at any one instant in time. As speed and altitude change, so does the aircraft's instantaneous turn capability. The amount of lift an aircraft can produce relates directly to instantaneous turn performance.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sustained Turn Capability. </B>In a sustained turn the aircraft maintains a specific turn rate and radius for some time. The load factor must be at least 1G to maintain current lift and altitude. At higher load factors, turn performance improves, but drag increases. The overall sustained turn capability of an aircraft depends on its thrust-to-weight ratio and its lift capability.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="4fd42520.jpg" border=0 width="322" height="338" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> Lower airspeeds yield optimal sustained turns. In genera!, the lower your airspeed (to a point), the more quickly you can execute a turn. This gives credence to the old fighter pilots' adage "Slow down, and get there faster."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="68d2ec30.gif" border=0 width="302" height="195" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Grow the Lift Vector so that the Vertical Component of Lift is equal to the Weight</div> <div> When Horizontal component grows,it creates increase turn rate and g</div> <div> A bank of 90°or more will always cause an altitude loss</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Drag is a byproduct of Lift </div> <div> Therefore all level turns need to be accompanied by an increase in thrust if you want to maintain constant speed. </div> <div> Bank angle dictates Lift which dictates Drag which dictates Thrust </div> <div> The engine has a limit to the thrust it can create </div> <div> Therefore is a limit to the amount of drag we can overcome</div> <div> Therefore is a limit to the amount of lift we can create </div> <div> Therefore the pilot needs to limit to the amount of bank angle to maintain a constant speed level turn. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="68f65c30.gif" border=0 width="101" height="195" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">All virtical lift</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="68e6ea70.gif" border=0 width="110" height="167" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Virtical lift componet shrinks as horizontal component grows</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="68c8b8a0.gif" border=0 width="139" height="138" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Virtical component shrinks as horizontal componet gorws</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="68b88830.gif" border=0 width="136" height="131" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> All horizontal lift here you will start to lose altitudeNo vertical lift to keep you at altitude</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id190_turnrate.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Turn rate"><U><B>TURN RATE</B></U></A><B> AND </B><A HREF="id191_turnradius.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Turn radius"><U><B>TURN RADIUS</B></U></A></div> <div> Turn performance is measured in terms of turn rate and turn radius. Turn rate is the number of degrees per second a particular aircraft can turn. Higher airspeeds and smaller bank angles slow down the turn rate. Turn radius is the radial distance required to complete the turn. The radius increases with velocity and decreases with a more extreme bank angle. A high turn rate and a low turn radius yield the best turn performance. Angle-of-attack (AoA) affects turn performance. During a maximum turn (the tightest turn possible), the AoA should be near(but not exceed) 20 units. In an optimum turn (the fastest turn possible), the intent is to save momentum while sacrificing turn radius. The AoA during this type of turn is less, usually falling inside the 14-18 unit range.</div> <div> <B>Turn rate and radius</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Two characteristics of a turning aircraft that a fighter must understand are turn radius and turn rate. Turn radius is simply a measure of how tightly your jet is turning. If you were looking down on the aircraft as it turned, turn radius would be the distance from the center of the turn circle to the aircraft, measured in feet.</div> <bR> <div> The equation for turn radius is: TR=V2 /gG </div> <bR> <div> V is the aircraft's velocity in feet/second. Little g is gravity and big G is the G force the aircraft is pulling.</div> <bR> <div> It is not important to understand how to compute turn radius, but it is important to realize that velocity is squared in the equation and that the equation also includes aircraft Gs. The more Gs you pull, the tighter the turn.</div> <bR> <div> Turn rate is another important characteristic of turning the jet. Turn rate tells how fast the aircraft is moving around the turn circle /how fast the plane is moving its nose/. Turn rate is measured in degees per second and is also dependent on Gs and airspeed.</div> <bR> <div> Turn rate = K G/V</div> <bR> <div> K is a constant, and big G and V are the same as in the equation for turn radius. This equation tells the fighter pilot that the most Gs can pull, at the lowest airspeed, gives him the best turn rate. Turn rate is very important in BFM because it measures how fast you can put your nose on the bandit. Since you have to put your nose on the bandit to shoot missiles or the gun, you need a fast turn rate.</div> <bR> <div> You will never master BFM unless you can control your airspeed. A good overall combat airspeed is 400 - 450 knots. If you fly faster when you are trying to turn, your plane will have a very large turn radius and slow turn rate. If you fly slower than 400 knots, your turn radius will be small but your turn rate will go down because you can't achieve high Gs at a slow speed.</div> <bR> <div> In an A-G configuration /with bombs or Mavericks loaded/ or in the presence of SAM's, you want to keep your speed up to at least 550 knots. If you start turning when you are loaded with bombs, you will soon bleed down your airspeed to the desired fighting speed of 400 - 450. If you are flying an air-to-air intercept and are going to turn and fight, then you should enter the "merge" /within visual range or WVR/ fight with your airspeed at 450 kts.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Acceleration</B></div> <bR> <div> Acceleration is how fast you go faster. It is very important because BFM usually results in energy bleed off and a fighter must be able to regain this energy by acceleration. The best way to accelerate is to light the afterburner /AB/, roll the wings level with the horizon, and head for the ground in about 20 deg of dive.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>CORNER SPEED</B></div> <div> For any given altitude, the speed at which maximum lift occurs without structural damage during a turn is known as the corner speed. The corner speed gives the best turn performance that is, the highest possible turn rate with the lowest possible turn radius. At the corner speed, the aircraft experiences its maximum instantaneous turn performance. Note that the corner speed occurs at a velocity that provides maximum lift at the structural boundaries of the aircraft.</div> <div> <B><U>Corner velocity</U></B></div> <bR> <div> Corner velocity (also called corner speed or maneuvering speed) is an important value for each aircraft. It is determined by plotting the structural limitations (in G forces) against airspeed. The corner velocity is the minimum speed at which an aircraft can pull its maximum rated Gs. An aircraft at corner velocity attains maximum instantaneous turn performance.</div> <bR> <div> The corner velocity for the F-18E in a stock configuration is 450 knots. This means that at 450 knots the F-18E has its best turn performance. At speeds above the corner speed, turn performance drops off.</div> <bR> <div> Corner speed also affects the minimum turn radius. The size of the turn radius of an aircraft depends on the speed it is traveling. A faster aircraft requires a larger circle to turn in than a slower one. However, the turn redius isn't only a function of speed. It also depends on the number of Gs a pilot pulls during the turn. An aircraft at a constant speed will make a relatively wide circle at 1 G but will turn in a very tight circle at 7 or 8 Gs. The corner velocity is the speed that gives the optimum balance between turn rate and turn radius.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>AUTO-CONTROL SYSTEMS</B></div> <div> Each aircraft has unique handling capabilities that result from the aircraft's shape, size, weight and structural strength, and the F/A-18E is no exception. The super Hornet has several systems that assist you in handling the aircraft. what it means is that you're in a seat of one hot aircraft. Its computerized flight controls enable you to put this bird through its paces whit little fear.</div> <bR> <div> The first of these is the Control Augmentation System (CAS), which attempts to stabilize the G-force the aircraft experiences during normal flight within the flight envelope. The CAS Is designed to automatically modify your original pitch, roll and yaw inputs to account for varying flight conditions. If CAS is operating correctly, you can maintain a certain stick force and a certain G-force during flight, regardless of speed, or load changes. Another system used in the F/A-18E is the Pitch Trim Compensator (PTC), which automatically trims the aircraft's pitch. The process of trimming involves using the aircraft's onboard computer to automatically make fine adjustments to maintain stable, 1G flight.</div> <bR> <div> Aircraft handle differently at higher Mach numbers and angles-of-attack, and it's easy to overcompensate with the flight controls. The F/A-18E's Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) helps bridge this gap by modifying each control input you provide so that the adverse effects of changing speeds and AoA are minimized. This allows you to take advantage of the Super Hornet's entire flight envelope. The AFCS can adjust for unbalanced weapon and fuel loads and single-engine failure. It can also make certain adjustments when the aircraft is in its landing configuration. However, if the AoA is too high during these conditions (over 10), undesired yaw may occur.</div> <bR> <div> All this activity takes place behind the scenes, whit out you ever noticing anything out of the ordinary. This's the beauty of the system. It works hand-in-hand whit you, maximizing flight response of your inputs.</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="10" CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="656" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFFFFF" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="75"><div> <A HREF="id73_cpt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="cockpit"><U>Cockpit</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="82"><div> <A HREF="id80_bf.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Basic Flight"><U>Basic Flight</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="80"><div> <A HREF="id88_bfm.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BMF"><U>BFM</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="78"><div> <A HREF="id94_form.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Formation"><U>Formation</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="75"><div> <A HREF="id105_mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Tactics"><U>M-Tactics</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id171_campaigns.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Campaigns"><U>Building 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