Aircraft Design Calculator

The “empty weight” of an aircraft, often referred to as the “basic empty weight” or “unladen weight,” represents the weight of the aircraft without any passengers, cargo, or fuel. It includes the weight of the airframe, engines, avionics, fixed equipment, and any required operating fluids such as oil and hydraulic fluid. The empty weight is […]

In the context of aircraft design and operations, “disposable load” refers to the total weight of items or cargo that can be carried by an aircraft in addition to its own empty weight (airframe, engines, avionics, etc.) and fuel. This includes passengers, cargo, baggage, and any other items carried on the aircraft for a specific

The “aspect ratio” of an aircraft’s vertical tail, often referred to as the vertical tail aspect ratio, is a measure of the elongation or slenderness of the vertical tail fin. Aspect ratio is an important parameter in aircraft design as it influences the tail’s efficiency in providing stability and control. The formula for calculating the

The “bypass ratio” of an aircraft engine is a critical parameter in aviation that measures the ratio of the mass of air that bypasses the engine core (flows around the engine) to the mass of air that passes through the engine core (flows into the engine and is combusted). It’s a key design parameter for

The “rate of roll” in aircraft design and aviation refers to the angular rate at which an aircraft rotates about its longitudinal axis (the axis that runs from the nose to the tail). It measures how quickly an aircraft can change its bank angle (tilt) during a roll maneuver, such as initiating a turn. The

The “wing taper ratio” is a parameter in aircraft design that describes the ratio of the wing’s tip chord to its root chord. The chord of a wing is the width of the wing from front to back, and the taper ratio indicates how the wing’s width changes from the root (base) to the tip.

The “static margin” in aircraft design refers to the longitudinal stability of an aircraft, particularly its tendency to return to its trimmed or equilibrium position after being disturbed in pitch (nose-up or nose-down attitude). It’s a measure of how stable an aircraft is in maintaining its desired pitch attitude during flight. The static margin is

The “turn radius” of an aircraft is the radius of the circular path it follows when making a coordinated turn in flight. It’s an important parameter in aircraft design and aviation as it affects an aircraft’s maneuverability and turning performance. The formula for calculating the turn radius of an aircraft during a coordinated level turn

In aircraft design and aviation, “endurance” refers to the amount of time an aircraft can remain in flight on a given amount of fuel or energy. It is a critical performance parameter for various aviation missions, including search and rescue, surveillance, and long-distance flights. The formula for calculating the endurance of an aircraft is as

The “stall speed” of an aircraft is the minimum speed at which it can maintain controlled, level flight in a specified configuration (e.g., landing configuration) and at a specific load factor. It’s a crucial parameter for aircraft design and operations as it defines the minimum speed below which an aircraft should not be flown to