Performance Calculation for Jet-Propelled Aircraft

Extract

An analytical method is developed for calculating the speed and climb performance of jet-propelled aircraft, given the drag and thrust data. A method is also given for dealing with the effects of compressibility and the results in a typical example are included to illustrate the form of curves obtained.

In the past, when dealing with aircraft driven by reciprocating i-c engines and propellers it has not been possible, even on the assumption of the available power being independent of forward speed, to evolve an analytical method of calculating the complete level speed and rate-of-climb performance of the aircraft, because the level speed equation is a cubic, for which there is no general solution, while even a constant speed propeller causes the thrust horse power in the region of the best climbing speed to vary with forward speed in some manner that cannot be expressed as a simple function.