Aircraft Performance Theory and Practice for Pilots

Squadron Leader Swatton joined the Royal Air Force in 1952. He qualified as an instructor in 1961 and taught, among other subjects, the then new subject of Scheduled Performance for Group "A" aeroplanes at the Argosy Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) as one of his duties. He was posted to the Andover OCU in 1964 as the senior navigation instructor and examiner, where he continued teaching and examining aircrew in scheduled performance until 1975. Subsequently he completed tours at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough and at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down. His last tour of duty, before retiring from the Royal Air Force in 1988 was at the Empire Test Pilots School where he taught scheduled performance to trainee test pilots. In 36 years of service he amassed 7500 flying hours On retirement from the RAF he joined the instructional staff at the Professional Pilot Study Centre where one of his duties was to teach scheduled performance to the trainee pilots. Subsequently he and two of his fellow instructors started their own ground school, Ground Training Services (GTS), for private, commercial and airline pilots where he currently teaches aeroplane performance to the JAA syllabus. He is the aeroplane performance consultant for the CAA and updated the CAP 698 at the request of the CAA.

PrefaceAcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsWeight and MassIntroductionPART 1 AERODYNAMIC THEORY1 Preliminaries1.1 Air Density1.2 Speeds1.3 Engine PerformanceSelf-Assessment Exercise 12 Level Flight Aerodynamics2.1 Stability2.2 Angle of Attack and Pitch Angle2.3 The Four Forces2.4 Mass2.5 Lift2.6 Drag2.7 Analysis of the Total Drag Curve2.8 The Effect of the Vareables on Drug2.9 The CL v CD Polar Diagram2.10 Analysis of the Lift/Drag Ratio2.11 Thrust2.12 Analysis of the Thrust Curves2.13 The Effect of the Variables on Thrust2.14 Power2.15 Analysis of the Power Curves2.16 The Effect of the Variables on Power2.17 SummarySelf-Assessment Exercise 23 Take-off and Climb Aerodynamics3.1 Take-off3.2 The Effect of the Variables on Take-off3.3 Climbing Flight3.4 The Effect of the Variables on the Climb3.5 Climb Gradient3.6 Rate of Climb3.7 Aircraft Ceiling3.8 Climb RegimesSelf-Assessment Exercise 34 Cruise Control4.1 Specific Air Range (SAR)4.2 Buffet4.3 The Buffet Onset Boundary Chart4.4 Cost Index4.5 Turns4.6 Types of Cruise4.7 Range and Endurance: General4.8 Cruise Techniques for Piston-engined Aeroplanes4.9 Cruise Techniques for Turbo-prop Aeroplanes4.10 Cruise Techniques for Jet Aeroplanes4.11 SummarySelf-Assessment Exercise 45 Descent Aerodynamics5.1 The Forces in a Descent5.2 Gliding for Maximum Range5.3 Gliding for Maximum Endurance5.4 Descent RegimesSelf-Assessment Exercise 5PART 2 Scheduled Performance Theory6 Performance Planning6.1 Regulations and Requirements6.2 The Performance Class System6.3 Performance Legislation6.4 Aeroplane Performance Levels6.5 Performance Planning6.6 Altimeter Corrections6.7 Flight Manuals6.8 Performance Calculations and Limitations6.9 Noise Abatement ProceduresSelf-Assessment Exercise 67 Aerodrome Geometry7.1 Field Lengths Available7.2 Take-off Run Available (TORA)7.3 Obstacles7.4 Stopway7.5 Accelerate/Stop Distance Available (ASDA)7.6 Clearway7.7 Take-off Distance Available TODA7.8 Balanced and Unbalanced Field Lengths7.9 Field-Length-Limited Take-off Mass Calculations7.10 Runway Alignment Reduction7.11 Runway Slope Calculation7.12 The Effect of Runway Slope on Obstacle Calculations7.13 Landing Distance Available (LDA)7.14 Runway End Safety Area (RESA)Self-Assessment Exercise 78 Runway Surfaces8.1 Aerodrome Pavement Strength8.2 The Pavement Strength Reporting System8.3 Aircraft Classification Number (ACN)8.4 Contaminated Surfaces8.5 Braking Coefficient of Friction8.6 Surface Contaminants8.7 The Effect of Runway Contamination8.8 HydroplaningSelf-Assessment Exercise 89 The Variables9.1 Air Density9.2 Wind Component9.3 Aeroplane Flap Setting9.4 Aeroplane Mass9.5 Runway Slope and Surface9.6 Miscellaneous Variables9.7 The Maximum Take-off Mass9.8 CalculationsSelf-Assessment Exercise 910 Speeds10.1 General10.2 Summary10.3 Stalling Speeds10.4 Take-off Speeds10.5 V Speeds and Take-off Field Lengths10.6 Climb Speeds10.7 Control Speeds10.8 Landing Speeds10.9 Other Significant Speeds10.9.1 VFE10.9.2 VFO10.9.3 VMO/MMO10.9.4 VNE10.9.5 VPSelf-Assessment Exercise 10PART 3 Scheduled Performance Practice11 Class 'B' Take-off11.1 General Regulations11.2 Take-off Speeds11.3 Take-off Requirements11.4 Take-off Distance Requirements11.5 Class 'B' Take-off CalculationsSelf-Assessment Exercise 1112 Class 'B' Take-off Climb12.1 General Requirements12.2 Climb Minimum-Gradient Requirements12.3 Obstacle Clearance Requirements12.4 Take-off Climb Calculations12.5 Climb Calculations - SEP1 & MEP1Self-Assessment Exercise 1213 Class 'B' En-route and Landing13.1 En-route13.2 LandingSelf-Assessment Exercise 1314 Class 'A': Take-off Theory14.1 General Regulations14.2 Field-Length Requirements14.3 Class 'A' FLL TOM Analysis14.4 Field-Length Requirements Analysis14.5 Rapid Calculation MethodsSelf-Assessment Exercise 1415 Take-off Calculations15.1 Field-Length-Limited Take-off Mass15.2 The Aeroplane Flight Manual (AFM)15.3 CAP 698 Section 415.4 Take-off Mass and Distance Calculations15.5 Take-off Abnormalities15.6 The Maximum Take-off MassSelf-Assessment Exercise 1516 Class 'A' Take-off Climb16.1 The Take-off Climb Requirements16.2 The Relationship of NFP to GFP16.3 Climb-Limited TOM16.4 MRJT Climb-Limited TOM Calculations16.5 Obstacle Clearance16.6 MRJT Obstacle-Limited TOM Calculation16.7 Planned Turns16.8 The Performance-Limited Take-off MassSelf-Assessment Exercise 1617 Class 'A' En-Route17.1 En-route Required Navigation Performance17.2 Descent Gradient Diminishment Requirements17.3 Terminal Aerodromes17.4 En-Route Requirements for all Class 'A' Aircraft17.5 En-Route Requirements for Three and Four-engined Aircraft17.6 En-Route Requirements for Twin-engined Aircraft17.7 Maximum Distance from an Adequate Aerodrome (Non-ETOPS Aeroplanes)17.8 ETOPS Aeroplanes17.9 Obstacle Clearance Requirements: All Class 'A' Aeroplanes17.10 Ceilings17.11 Drift-Down Technique17.12 Stabilizing Altitudes17.13 Route Profile Comparisons17.14 En-route Alternate Aerodromes17.15 Fuel Jettisoning17.16 En-route CalculationsSelf-Assessment Exercise 1718 Class 'A' Landing18.2 The Landing Field-Length Requirements18.3 Approaches18.4 Short-field Landings18.5 The Climb-Limited Landing Mass18.6 Climb-Limited Landing Mass Calculations18.7 Normal Field-Length Limited Landing Mass Calculations18.8 Scheduled Landing Mass Calculations18.9 The Quick Turnaround LimitSelf-Assessment Exercise 18PART 4 CONCLUSION19 Definitions19.1 Speeds19.2 Distances19.3 Altitude, Elevation and Height19.4 Weight and Mass19.5 ETOPS19.6 Obstacles19.7 Performance19.8 Power Unit(s)19.9 Surfaces and Areas19.10 Temperature19.11 Formulae used in Performance20 Answers to Self-Assessment ExercisesSelf-Assessment Exercise 1Self-Assessment Exercise 2Self-Assessment Exercise 3Self-Assessment Exercise 4Self-Assessment Exercise 5Self-Assessment Exercise 6Self-Assessment Exercise 7Self-Assessment Exercise 8Self-Assessment Exercise 9Self-Assessment Exercise 10Self-Assessment Exercise 11Self-Assessment Exercise 12Self-Assessment Exercise 13Self-Assessment Exercise 14Self-Assessment Exercise 15Self-Assessment Exercise 16Self-Assessment Exercise 17Self-Assessment Exercise 18BibliographyIndex