INDUCED DRAG

Earlier, we defined three categories of drag produced by a wing:

 parasite drag
 shock wave drag
 induced drag

Induced drag is often called drag due to lift, but producing lift also creates parasite drag, as we have seen.

L AF

Drag due to lift

relative wind

Parasite Drag Resulting from Producing Lift with an Infinite Span Wing

A finite span wing (wing with wingtips) generates wingtip vortices, when air flows from high static
pressure on the lower surface around the wingtips into low pressure air on the upper surface. See Figure
5.4 (text p. 65)

Figure 2.37 Wing tip vortices.

As a consequence, the airflow pattern across an infinite span wing is different than the airflow pattern
across a finite span wing. Specifically, a finite span wing bends the relative wind downward at the trailing
edge, so that it has a different direction than the relative wind at the leading edge. By contrast, the relative
wind at the trailing edge of an infinite span wing flows in illustrate this distinction.

Rogers’s As309 Notes Part III (30 October 2000): Page 1

 5.5

5.6

5.8

5.7

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Note that Figure 5.8 (text p. 67) may be a little misleading, since it seems to suggest (incorrectly) that the
wing is operating at a negative angle of attack.

Downwash angle. For a finite span wing, the angle between the relative wind at the leading and trailing
edges is known as the downwash angle. The average relative wind on such a wing is thus “tilted upward”
by ½ the downwash angle. This angle i is called the induced angle of attack. This effect in turn tilts the
lift vector “backwards” by i, creating induced drag.

Key Point. The induced angle of attack is half the downwash angle.

In essence, for a finite span wing, the aircraft must be operated at a higher pitch angle to get the same lift,
thus creating additional drag. See Figures 5.9 (text p. 67) and 5.14(text p. 74)

Figure 5.9 Relative wind and force vectors on a finite wing

Figure 5.14 Drag vector diagram (for finite span wing)

Again, Figure 5.14 (like Figure 5.8) seems to suggest that the wing is operating at a negative angle of
attack. This implication is incorrect.

Key Point. The total drag due to lift on a finite span wing has two components: one due to induced drag,
and one due to parasite drag. The total drag produced by the wing is the vector addition of these two
components.

Rogers’s As309 Notes Part III (30 October 2000): Page 3

Effect of Wing Planform on Induced Drag and Lift

In general, induced drag decreases as airspeed increases (and AOA decreases).

CDi

Airspeed

Typical induced drag vs. airspeed plot

However, the planform and aspect ratio (AR) of a wing has a marked effect on induced drag.

Let b be the wing span, and c the chord of a rectangular wing. By definition,

AR = b / c;

i.e., aspect ratio is span divided by chord.

For other planforms, if cave is the average chord, then AR = b / cave. Since average chord is just wing area S
divided by the average chord (Cave = S / b), we have

AR = b / cave = b / (S/b) = b2 / S.

Figure 5.3 (text p. 64) illustrates these and related concepts.

Figure 5.3 Wing planform terminology

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Concepts illustrated on Figure 5.3include:

1. AR = b / cave = b / (S/b) = b2 / S (as explained above).

2. Taper ratio (small lambda) is tip chord ct divided by root chord cr: = ct / cr.
3. Sweepback angle  (cap lambda) is the angle between the 25% chord line and a perpendicular to
the root chord. (The 25% chord line is a straight line connecting points ¼--or 25%--of the way aft
of the leading edge on the root and tip chords).
4. Mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) of a wing is the chord that divides a half wing (port or starboard
wing) into equal areas.

Interesting Fact (of more interest to aeronautical engineers, perhaps, than to pilots): Suppose a wing with
arbitrary planform has span b and MAC cmac. Then a rectangular planform wing of span b and chord cmac
produces the same pitching moment at the same AOA.

In general, low aspect ratio means less lift and more induced drag, and vice versa, as illustrated in Figure
2.44 (text 1st edition, p.55):

Figure 2.44. Effect of aspect ratio on wing characteristics.

Also, sweepback angle  affects induced drag, since it also affects aspect ratio. Large  (high sweepback)
is associated with low AR and high induced drag, particularly at high CL (e.g., in slow flight; i.e., for
takeoff and landing).

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 L/D CURVES FOR AN ENTIRE AIRCRAFT

Lift and drag as a function of AOA can be computed in a wind tunnel for any object: a flat plate, a wing, or
an entire aircraft. Here we are interested in lift and drag for an entire airplane.

From the lift and drag equations:

C L V 2
L C
 295.372  L , where in the present context CL and CD are for the entire airplane.
D C D V CD
295.37

L/D is called the lift-drag ratio. The L/D curve can be computed from CL and CD curves, either for the
wing or for the entire aircraft, depending on which CL and CD curves are used. Figures 5.1 (text p. 62) and
5.2 (text p. 62) are relevant:

Figure 5.1. CL- and CD- curves. Figure 5.2. Typical lift to drag ratios.

(L/D)max—the highest point on the L/D curve—and the associated AOA are very important from the pilot’s
point of view.

Key Point. (L/D)max is the highest point on the L/D curve.

Assume W = L for 1 G steady state flight. (This approximation is not far from correct.) Then L/D = W/D,
and when L/D is maximum for a given weight, drag must be minimum. That is,

W
Dmin =
 L D  max .
Note, this identity applies for any arbitrary gross weight. The associated velocity V will vary with weight,
but the AOA for (L/D)max is constant for a given aircraft and configuration.

Example: Suppose weight is 20,000# and (L/D)max = 11.0. Then

Dmin = W / (L/D)max = 20,000# / 11.0 = 1818.18#.

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Key Point. Minimum drag in a given configuration varies directly with weight, but always occurs at the
AOA corresponding to (L/D)max.

Also, we have already seen that the best power out glide ratio occurs at the AOA for (L/D)max. Recall from
Unit 2 that when a is the glide angle, tan a = (w sin a) / (w cos a) = D/L = absolute altitude/glide distance,
as shown below. This means a is minimum when (L/D) is maximum. We can conclude that the glide
distance to altitude ratio is just (L/D)max.

a (glide angle)

L
D

W cos a a
W

W sin a glide path (x-axis)

absolute
altitude
glide distance

Example: Suppose (L/D)max is 12.0 in the clean configuration and 5.5 in the dirty configuration. This
means that the aircraft clean will glide 12 nm (or statute miles, or feet, or meters, or &c.) for every nm (or
statute mile, or foot, or meter, or &c.) of altitude above ground level. Dirty it will glide 5.5 nm for every
nm of altitude.

Key Point. (L/D)max gives the glide ratio for maximum range power off glide. Best glide velocity varies
directly with weight, but AOA for best glide is constant for a given configuration.

TOTAL DRAG VS. VELOCITY CURVE

Induced drag, which is always a result of producing lift, decreases as AOA  decreases and velocity V
increases. Parasite drag by contrast increases as V increases. Here we are still talking about lift and drag
for the entire aircraft, not just the wing. 5.10 (text p. 68) and Figure 5.13 (text p. 74) are relevant:

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 Fig 5.10. Induced drag versus velocity. Figure 5.13. Parasite drag versus velocity.

Total drag for an aircraft (or a wing) is just the scalar addition of induced and parasite drag for the aircraft
(or wing). Mathematically, Dt = Di + Dp. Figure 6.2 (text p. 82) shows the total drag curve for a
unspecified aircraft (in fact, an Air Force T38 jet trainer at sea level and 10,000# gross weight). Ordinarily
these curves are for an aircraft in the clean configuration.

Assuming thrust is equal to drag in level flight (again, an approximation not far from correct), each pound
of drag requires a pound of thrust to offset it. Thus the total drag curve is also the thrust required curve
(Figure 6.3, text p. 83). Again, this curve is for the T38 jet trainer at sea level and 10,000# gross weight.

Key Point. Total drag and thrust required curves are essentially the same, for the same aircraft, altitude,
and gross weight.

Figure 6.2. Total drag curve. Figure 6.3. T38 thrust required.

Key Point. Total drag / thrust required curves are for a given gross weight and altitude, as indicated above.

Key Point. (L/D)max occurs at the minimum point on the drag curve, i.e., at minimum drag, as shown in the
section on L/D curves.

SLOW FLIGHT (FLIGHT IN LANDING CONFIGURATION)

I. Effect of Sweepback on Stall Characteristics

Sweepback decreases aspect ratio for a constant planform area, hence increases induced drag and decreases
lift for a given AOA. In addition, the CL curve for a sweptback airfoil is much flatter than for a straight
wing aircraft, profoundly influencing flight characteristics at AOAs beyond CL(max) (stall onset). 11.1 (text
p. 168) illustrates these claims.

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 Figure 11.1. Effect of sweepback on CL -  curve.

II. Other Effects of Wing Shape on Stall Behavior

A straight wing aircraft has a pronounced loss of lift at stall, while a swept wing aircraft loses lift gradually.
However, high induced drag at stall on a sweptback wing may mean that insufficient power is available to
“fly out of the stall,” and that altitude must be traded for airspeed to recover. Thus stalls past the ninety in
swept wing aircraft are likely to result in a crash, even if there is no resultant roll/spin effect.

CL is the average coefficient of lift for a wing. Let Cl be the local coefficient of lift for any given point on
the wing. The local wing loading ratio is defined to be Cl / CL. Beyond  for CL(max), an airfoil stalls first
where the local wing loading coefficient is highest.

It has been found that an elliptical planform wing has the most even wing loading ratio. Specifically,
Cl / CL  1 over the whole wing, and the wing stalls evenly from root to tip on the upper aft surface. Figure
4.2 (text p. 127) gives the wing loading ratios for different wing planforms.

Recall that the taper ratio (small lambda) of a wing is just the tip chord divided by the root chord, i.e.,
 = tip chord / root chord. For example, for = 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25, the tip chord is respectively 1/1, ½, and
¼ of the root chord. When  = 0, since the root chord is finite, the tip chord must be zero; i.e., the wing
tapers to a point. As  decreases, Cl / CL is increasingly higher at the wing tip compared to the wing root,
as illustrated in Figures 11.2 and 11.3 (text pp. 168-169).

Key Point. Wings stall first where the wing loading ratio Cl / CL is highest.

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 Figures 11.2 and 11.3. Wing spanwise lift distribution

Since different planforms have different wing loading patterns, they have different stall characteristics.
Figure 11.4 (text p. 170) illustrates stall characteristics of different planforms. For each shape, stall occurs
first where the wing loading ratio is highest.

Figure 11.4. Stall patterns

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For straight wing aircraft, root first stall means ailerons are effective well into the stall, and turbulent air
contacts the fuselage and tailplane, giving a stall alarm. Neither is true for aircraft which stall at the tip first
and have outboard ailerons. In this case, must use rudder to yaw/roll, avoiding aileron movement, which
can induce spin.

In particular, swept wing aircraft stall at the tip first, and progress slowly into a stall, with the result that
adequate stall warning many not occur. Sometimes, a horn or rudder shaker is used to indicate that stall
AOA is about to be reached. Also, sometimes the angle of incidence at the tip is reduced in swept wing
aircraft design, so that stall occurs more evenly over the entire wing, or at the root first. This however
cannot improve the flat shape of the CL – AOA curve for a swept wing, so stall behavior is usually not
improved.

III. Region of Reversed Command

We have seen on the thrust required curve for SS 1G flight that, except when thrust corresponds to (L/D) max,
a given thrust setting can produce two often very different airspeeds. Figures 11.5 (text p. 171) and 11.6
(text p. 172) are relevant

Figure 11.5. Regions of normal and reversed command Figure 11.6. Climbing an aircraft, stick or throttle?

Flight in the region of reversed command is required for takeoff and landing, most importantly for jet
powered swept wing aircraft. During takeoff, the duration of such flight is brief, but when landing, the time
flying on the so-called “back side of the power curve” may be prolonged. (The book insists we must call it
the “back side of the thrust curve,” but the former expression is more common in my experience.)

To control airspeed and altitude in the region of reversed command (SS level 1G flight):

 To slow down, increases AOA (back stick); it wills be necessary to add power to avoid
descending, though initially a climb may result.
 To speed up, decrease AOA (forward stick); it will be necessary to reduce power to avoid
climbing, although initially a sink rate may develop.

For approaches, coordinating stick and throttle is a little more complex, but in general:

Attitude (AOA) controls A/S. Throttle controls vertical speed (rate of climb or descent).

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Note: you may hear a different analysis in AS310, Performance, involving the supposed difference between
the way Air Force and Navy fighter pilots fly approaches. From my own experiences, it is true that Air
Force pilots fly a “hotter” (faster) approach than Navy carrier pilots, who are trained to fly just a few knots
above stall to minimize the energy which must be absorbed by the arresting gear during a carrier landing.
However, both Navy and Air Force fighter aircraft approach on the back side of the power curve. On the
other hand, even in the region of reversed command, excess speed may be traded for altitude, so Air Force
pilots might use back stick rather than power as an initial response to low-on-glide-slope information, and
sometimes push the nose down to remedy a high-on-glide-slope. All this means is they aren’t as concerned
as Navy pilots about maintaining speed within 1-2 knots of the optimum. If you’re 20 knots above stall,
losing 5 knots of airspeed isn’t very important. If you’re 5 knots above stall, then losing even 2-3 knots
should be attention grabbing. And if you’re 5 knots fast, you’ll be waved off from the carrier because your
airplane has too much kinetic energy to engage the arresting gear safely.

(The fact that Air Force pilots tend to fly a little faster on the glide slope for safety’s sake doesn’t mean
they aren’t as good as Navy pilots, no matter what Navy people say. When Air Force pilots land on short
runways, they slow down and fly just like Navy pilots.)

IV. Influence of Ground Effect

Recall that induced drag is caused when wingtip vortices create a downwash at the wing’s trailing edge,
effectively changing the direction of the relative wind. Ground effect “neutralizes” downwash, increasing
lift and decreasing drag. Ground effect starts within one wing span of the ground, and is more noticeable
on low wing aircraft than on high wing aircraft. Figure 5.12 (text. 71) illustrates a number of important
points about ground effect.

Figure 5.12. Ground Effect.

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Some key points about ground effect.

 Light aircraft float more than heavy aircraft in ground effect.

 For props, can use ground effect over water to reduce DI and increase max range. Don’t get
careless and fly into the water!
 For low horizontal stabilizer aircraft, downwash may hit stabilizer in normal flight, creating a
nose up pitch which must be trimmed out. In ground effect, this nose up pitch disappears,
resulting in a nose down pitch on close final.
 For low horizontal stabilizer aircraft, leaving ground effect on takeoff may cause a nose up
pitch effect. See previous bullet for explantion.
 If the pitot-static system static port is low on an aircraft, static pressure may increase upon
entering ground effect, giving a low airspeed reading.

A summary some of these effects is given in the following table.

Entering Ground Effect Leaving Ground Effect

Low Horizontal Tail Nose Down Pitch Nose Up Pitch
Induced Lift and Drag Lift Increased; Drag Decreased Lift Decreased; Drag Increased
Low Static Port Airspeed Reads Low Airspeed Reads Correctly

AIR TURBULENCE

I. Wind Shear

Wind Shear is a change in wind velocity (speed or direction or both) at two points in close proximity in the
atmosphere. Some facts about wind shear:

 180o direction and 50 kt speed changes have been observed.

 Thunderstorms, fronts, and low level jet streams can cause wind shear.
 Downbursts from thunderstorms create wind shear.
 Headwind, tailwind, and crosswind bursts can occur when a downburst contacts the terrain.
 Wind shear is very dangerous, especially when experienced close to the ground. It is
known to have caused a number of airline accidents involving the loss of many lives.

Figure 11.7 (text p. 174) and Figure 11.8 (text p. 174) illustrate how a thunderstorm can cause downbursts,
and headwind, tailwind, and crosswind bursts.

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 Fig 11.7. Wind shear caused by thunderstorm.

Figure 11.8. “Bursts” caused by thunderstorm.

(See also pp. 176-177)

Influence of wind shear on aircraft control:

 In a headwind burst, RW and IAS increase, and the aircraft pitches up from increased lift.
 In a tailwind burst, RW and IAS decrease, and the aircraft pitches down from decreased lift.

Potential pilot over-reaction in power adjustment to compensate for wind shear on landing:

 Entering Tailwind burst. More power is needed. Add too much power: go high. Add too
little power: go low.
 Entering Headwind burst. Less power is needed. Reduce too much power: go low. Reduce
too little power: go high.
 Leaving a headwind or tailwind burst. Power adjustments opposite to those indicated above
are required. Also, these adjustments may have to be applied when the aircraft is not in steady
state flight, due to power compensations made upon originally entering wind shear.

Figure 4.11 (text first edition p. 137) and Figure 4.12 (text first edition p. 138) illustrate problems a pilot
encounters on entering wind shear. Compare the figures on pp. 176-177 of the second edition of the
textbook.

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Figure 4.11 (text 1st ed.). Head wind shearing from tail wind. (Compare pp. 176-177 in 2nd edition of text.)

Figure 4.12. 11 (text 1st ed.). Tail wind shearing to head wind. (Compare pp. 176-177 in 2nd edition of text.)

Key Point. Flying in thunderstorms, or near thunderstorms/fronts close to the ground is dangerous, and
can be fatal. Avoid thunderstorms at all cost. You will avoid placing in peril your own life and the lives of
your crew and passengers. I personally know of quite a few accidents where friends were killed flying into
thunderstorms, including one where an airliner was vectored by controllers into a thunderstorm at about
18,000 feet approaching Atlanta Hartsfield. Both engines failed due to hail ingestion, resulting in a forced
landing and heavy loss of life. A Navy Reserve squadron mate, Lyman Keele, was the copilot of this
aircraft.

Key Point. Air traffic controllers can’t always see thunderstorm activity on their scopes. Ultimately, the C
Captain is responsible for the safety of an aircraft. Sometimes you may have to resolve disputes with
controllers, or even with your own company, which arise when you are reluctant to allow a controller or
company policy to tempt you to fly into weather you think may be dangerous. It seems to me that handling
such situations gracefully must be one of the more difficult duties required of an airline pilot.

II. Aircraft Caused Air Turbulence

There are two types:

 Thrust stream turbulence caused by prop or jet wash.

 Wake turbulence caused by wingtip vortices.

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Of these two, wake turbulence presents the greater hazard to aircraft in flight, in part because it has much
longer duration.

Some facts about wake turbulence:

 The heavier the aircraft, the stronger the wake turbulence.

 A downflow at the centerline of the aircraft creates a disturbance. (Figure 11.14, p. 181).
 If taking off in a light aircraft, get airborne downwind of heavy aircraft departing ahead of
you (Figure 11.15, p. 183).
 If landing in a light aircraft, land upwind of heavy aircraft landing ahead of Figure 11.15, p.
183).
 2-4 minutes is a minimum wait interval while wake turbulence dissipates.
 Crosswinds can present a wake turbulence problem if you are using the downwind runway
with a heavy aircraft utilizing the upwind runway.
 Vortices move outboard from the aircraft centerline at about 5 knots (no wind).
 Vortices are at a maximum at high AOA, i.e., during takeoff and landing.
 Winglets, splines, &c. help diminish wingtip vortices (and reduce induced drag).
 Best (and only sure) protection is to delay takeoff or landing behind heavy aircraft. (When I
flew out of Dobbins Air Force Base / Navy Atlanta, where the C5 is built and operates, takeoff
or landing by this heavy transport resulted in an automatic closing of the duty runway for 4
minutes.)

Figure 11.14. Wing tip vortices behind an aircraft.

Figure 11.15. Takeoff and landing clearance to avoid wake turbulence.

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