Aircraft Design

Author: Martin Yanev

The complete step-by-step guide for development of most of the existing types of aircraft

Workbook
2021

-This book is designed specifically for the Aircraft Design course-

Aircraft Design

Contents
Contents 2
1. Preparation for statistical analysis 3
2. Types of flight missions 4
3. Determination of the main aircraft parameters 5
3.1. Initial estimations of the aircraft mass 5
3.1.1. Estimating the mass of the empty aircraft. 6
3.1.2. Estimating the fuel mass 7
3.1.3. Estimating the mass of the cabin crew 8
3.1.4. Estimating the mass of the aircraft loading 8
3.2. Determination of the wing loading 8
3.3. Aircraft traction and qualities 9
4. Aerodynamic scheme 10
4.1. Choosing the aerodynamic scheme 10
4.2. Wing airfoil and geometry 11
4.3. Horizontal surface geometry 12
4.4. Vertical surface geometry 12
4.5. Elevator and rudder design 13
5. Cabin design 13
5.1. Estimating the fuselage width 13
5.2. Estimating cabin length 14
5.3. Estimating cabin height 14
5.4. Estimating the body length 15
6. Re-estimation of aircraft masses 15
6.1. Estimating the masses of aircraft construction 15
6.1.1. Estimating final relative wing mass 15
6.1.2. Estimating final relative fuselage mass 16
6.1.3. Estimating the final control surfaces mass 16
6.1.4. Estimating the final landing gear mass 17
6.1.5. Estimating the final landing gear mass 17
6.2. Powerplant, fuel and equipment final relative mass 17
7. Aircraft mass balance characteristics 17

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Aircraft Design

1. Preparation for statistical analysis

Having all aircraft design requirements, an extensive research for similar aircrafts can be completed. It
is a common practice that engineers research from 3 to 5 aircrafts that have number of passengers,
mission and range close to the one you design. You can search those parameters on the web or in the
aircraft design books.
All parameters and characteristics of the machines included in the research is recorded in the table
below. This table is later used to derive the first order parameters of the aircraft you are designing.

Aircraft Aircraft Aircraft Your

№ Parameters and Characteristics 1 2 3 Aircraft
(country) (country) (country) Name
Mass
1 Take Off Mass, kg
2 Number of Passengers
Mass of the Empty Aircraft, kg
3 (Approximate mass*)

Fuel Mass, kg (Approximate

4
mass*)
5 Wing loading, daN/m2
Geometry
6 Wingspan, m
7 Wing Area, m2
8 Aspect Ratio
9 Aircraft Length, m
10 Fuselage Diameter, m
Flying Capabilities
11 Minimum Speed, km/h
12 Maximum Speed, km/h
13 Range, km
14 Max Flight Height, km
15 Take Off Distance, m
16 Landing Distance, m
Powerplant
17 Engine Make
18 Number of Engines
19 Thrust, daN
Take Off Relative Thrust,
20
kW/daN)
Specific Fuel Consumption,
21
kg/kNh
Table 1: Statistical Parameters and Characteristics

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Aircraft Design

2. Types of flight missions

The flight mission of the aircraft predefines its future project. The flight missions can be categorized
based on the tactical use of the Aircraft. This distinguishes the missions to Civil, Surveillance, Bombing
and Combat. You can choose your flight mission based on your aircraft design project. It is important
to remember all components of your flight. For instance, the components of the Civil Flight are: Take
Off, Climb, Cruise, Descent and Lending.

Figure 1: Airplanes by Type of Mission

As you can see every element of the flight can be classified, so it makes sense that you will have
different characteristics and variables for each stage of the flight. Once you decide what is the mission
that suits to your aircraft and explored the stages of your mission, you can find the parameters specific
to each stage in the table below.

Segment Characteristics
№
Name
1 Take Off Ltoff, Vtoff
2 Climb Hcl, Vcl, tgθ
3 Cruise Flight Vcr, Hcr, L
4 Descending Vdes, δH
5 Landing Vdes, ldes
6 Maneuvering Hm, tm, ny

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Aircraft Design

Table 2: Segment Variables

3. Determination of the main aircraft parameters

The determination of the main aircraft parameters includes the estimation of those key relative and
absolute characteristics:

• Take off mass - m0

•
• –
Take off wing loading p0
Take off traction – P0
• Estimated wing span – S
• Take off thrust – P0
The choice for the main aircraft parameters is conducted in terms of the data obtained during the statistic
research of similar aircraft types. It is worth mentioning that later in the project those parameters may
change due to the advanced calculations performed throughout the project. But at this stage they are
your starting point from which you can continue with the mass estimation with continuously increasing
level of accuracy throughout the project.

3.1. Initial estimations of the aircraft mass

The take-off mass is the mass with which the aircraft starts its mission. This is not necessary the
maximum possible pass for the aircraft. Some aircrafts include military equipment and could be
overloaded, this reduces their manoeuvrability. At this stage you shouldn’t aim for accuracy, but to
include the main components of the mass:

m0 = mcw + mld + mfl + mey (1 )

• Crew mass- mcw

• Loading mass (passengers, luggage, armoury, etc.) - mld
• Fuel mass - mfl
• Empty mass - mey
• Take off mass – m0
The mass of the crew can be easily calculated. To determine the fuel mass and the mass of the empty
aircraft, you need to modify their parameters in Equation 1.

m0 = mcw + mld + (mfl/m0)m0 + (mey/m0)m0 (2)

We can take the values of mey* = mey/m0 and mfl* = mfl/m0 as a relative empty and fuel masses,
respectively.

The final equation for the initial aircraft mass estimation is:

m0 = (mcw+mld)/(1-mlf* – mey*) (3)

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Aircraft Design

3.1.1. Estimating the mass of the empty aircraft.

At that stage the empty mass can be calculated based on the statistical analysis. It is usually from 0.3 to
0.7 of the whole mass, depending on the aircraft size and mission. The Figure 2 shows the relative
empty mass depending on the type and the take off mass of the aircraft. Table 3 shows summarized
statistical analysis to determine m*ey.

mey* = A(2.2m0)CKp (4)

- A, C – Coefficients;
- m0 – Take-off mass (from the statistics), kg;
- Kp – Coefficient of the propeller type.

Figure 2: Relative empty aircraft mass

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Aircraft Design

Aircraft Type A C
Glider 0.86 -0.5
Monoplane 0.91 -0.5
Single Engine 2.36 -0.18
Two Engine 1.51 -0.1
Agricultural 0.74 -0.03
Turbofan 0.96 -0.05
Jet Engine 1.59 -0.1
Fighter Jet 2.34 -0.13
Bomber 0.93 -0.07
Heavy Transport 1.02 -0.06
Kp = 1.00 for fixed propellers
Table 3: Empty Plane Coefficients

3.1.2. Estimating the fuel mass

The fuel needed and basically its mass can be estimated from all segments of the flight that require
significant fuel consumption: take-off, climbing, cruise flight, descending, landing, manoeuvring. Once
you determine the segments of your flight by choosing its mission, the sum of the fuel used in each
segment will give you the final fuel volume and mass for the mission.
If you the number of segments is denoted with i then the fuel in the end of this segment will be mi. So
the difference between the starting point and the final point is due to the fuel burn. To determine the
change in the mass due to fuel burn depending on the number of segments, you can use the following
equation:

mfl* =mfl/m0=1.06(1-(m2/m1)(m3/m2) …mn/mn-1) (5)

, where n is the number of segments.

When determining the fuel mass change during flight it is important to take into account the
aerodynamic qualities of the aircraft, which are determined from the quality coefficient Kmax.
- Take-off fuel segment:

mi/mi-1 = 0.970 (6)

- Climbing segment:

mi/mi-1 = (1-0.009 δH)/(1-0.0045 δH) (7)

, where δH is the required climbing altitude.

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Aircraft Design

• Cruise flight segment:

mi/mi-1 = exp((-Lc)/(VcrKcr)) (8)

, where: L – Flight range

c – Specific fuel consumption, kg/daNh
Vcr - Cruise speed, km/h
Kcr - Aerodynamic quality coefficient

• Aeronavigation reserve is required in case of emergency. It is usually 3 to 5 % of

the total fuel mass: mi/mi-1= 0.95…0.97

3.1.3. Estimating the mass of the cabin crew

The mass of the cabin crew is usually approximated taking for each bomber of the cabin crew a weight
of 90kg.

mcr = 90ncr (9)

, where ncr is the number of the cabin crew members.

3.1.4. Estimating the mass of the aircraft loading

The mass of the aircraft load includes the passengers and their luggage.

mld=90npas+180Vl (10)

, where npas – number of passengers

Vl – volume of the baggage aera, m3.

3.2. Determination of the wing loading

The wing loading p = G/S is determined from one of three estimation cases: from the landing
conditions, from the conditions for maintaining the cruise flight and from the maneuvering conditions.
From the three cases you have to choose the minimum wing loading.

• Landing conditions

P0I = (clandymax V2min)/(30,2(1-mfl.hf), daN/m2 (11)

where: clandmax = 2.5…3.2 –max lift coefficient when landing for effective wing mechanization
Vmin – landing velocity

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Aircraft Design

m*fl.hf – relative horizontal flight fuel mass ( m*fl.hf = 1 – mi/mi-1)

• Cruise flight conditions

P0II = (cycrρcrV2cr)/(20(1-0.6m*fl.hf) , daN/m2 (12)

where: cycr - lift coefficient for cruise flight

ρcr - air density at flight altitude
Vcr – cruise flight velocity

• Manoeuvring conditions

PIII0 = 0.1(cyman/nymax)qmax, daN/m2 (13)

where: cyman - lift coefficient for manoeuvring

ρmax – maximal structure loading coefficient
qmax – dynamic pressure, Pa
Once the estimation of the above coefficients is completed, you can take the once having the minimum
value.

3.3. Aircraft traction and qualities

There are certain factors that ensure the aircraft has enough thrust and lift to overtake climb, descend,
flying with one engine out of order and so on. Here you will consider again three cases: from the
conditions for climbing with failed engine, from the condition for a cruise flight and from the condition
for take off distance condition.

• climbing with one failed engine

P*I0 = kv(neg/(neg-1)(1/Kcb+tgθ), (14)

where: kv - coefficient
Kcb – aerodynamic quality when climbing
neg – number of engines
tgθ – climbing gradient

• horizontal flight

P*II0 = 1/(Kcr δ0.85φ), (15)

where: φ = 0.8 – throttling coefficient

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Aircraft Design

δ – relative density at cruise altitude

• take-off condition

P*III0= 1.05[(520/(Cymaxtolto) + 0.5(3fto + 1/Kto)], (16)

where: Cymaxto =1,7…2.3 – Lift coefficient for take-off

fto – friction coefficient of the landing gear (Table 4)

No Airport Surface fto

1 Snow and ice 0.02
2 Dry concrete 0.02
3 Wet concrete 0.03
4 Solid primer 0.07
5 Wet grass 0.06
6 Grass 0.08
Table 4: Friction coefficient values

Once the estimation of the above coefficients is completed, you can take the once having the maximum
value.

4. Aerodynamic scheme
The term “Aerodynamic Scheme” describes some scheme that includes all surfaces on the aircraft,
regardless whether they are control surfaces or static. This scheme determines the shape, position and
dimensions of those surfaces. A typical aircraft scheme consists of main surfaces, such as wing, that
provide most of the total lift and supporting surfaces such as horizontal and vertical surfaces that help
for the stabilization and control of the aircraft.
Depending the position of the supporting surfaces to the wing, we can divide the aerodynamic schemes
to the following:
- Standard Scheme: Horizontal surfaces are positioned behind the wing
- Foreplane: Horizontal surfaces are positioned in from of the wing
- Flying wing: There is only a single surface

4.1. Choosing the aerodynamic scheme

When designing a new aircraft there has always been the problem for designing its general scheme. The
general scheme is something more than the typical aerodynamic scheme and depends on the
applications for which the machine will be used for. Once we know the tasks that the aircraft will
perform, we can determine the components of the general aircraft scheme as:
- Positioning the crew and the load

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Aircraft Design

- Choosing the take off and landing mechanization and the aerodynamic scheme
- Choosing the powerplant scheme, such as number, type of the engines and their position on the
aircraft.
- Aircraft sections and armoury
We can organize all elements from the general scheme in a table for simplicity. We can use the values
in that table later on, when determining the dimensions of each component in the aerodynamic scheme.
The table is called features matrix and is provided on Table 5.

Aerodynamic scheme standard foreplane flying wing

Wing position low wing mid wing high wing
Wing shape rectangle tapered triangle trapezoidal
Wing sweep straight standard reversed convertible
Control surfaces standard T-shaped V-shaped H-shaped
Cabin shape circular rectangle elliptical
Lending gear front wheel tail
wheel
Engine type turboprop turbofan piston
Number of engines 1 2 3 4
Engines position front tail wing mixed
Table 5: Features Matrix

4.2. Wing airfoil and geometry

Based on the loading and traction coefficients, we can estimate the wing area (S) and re-estimate the
required thrust produced by the engines:
0.1𝑚0𝐼 𝑔
𝑆 =
𝑃0
𝑇0 = 0.1𝑃0∗ 𝑚𝑜𝐼 𝑔

With the date from the previous section, we can find the wing span (l):

• S – wing area, m2
• λ - aspect ratio (from the statistics and the scheme)

𝑙 = √𝑆𝜆 (17)
Then based on the statistical analysis we can now choose the inner and outer chords of the whing and
find the taper ratio.

𝑏
𝜂 = 𝑏0 , (18)
𝑟

where 𝜂 - the taper ration, b0 – inner chord, br – outer chord.

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Aircraft Design

We can now estimate the geometric and the aerodynamic chords of the wing:
𝑏0 𝑏𝑟 𝑆
𝑏𝑚 = = 𝑙 , where bm is the median geometric chord (19)
2

2 1+𝜂+𝜂2
𝑏𝐴 = 3 𝑏0 , where bA is the median aerodynamic chord (20)
𝜂(1+𝜂)

Once we choose the front wing sweep Xfe, we can now estimate:
2 𝑙
𝑋𝑟𝑒 = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑔 [ (𝑏𝑟 − 𝑏0 + 𝑡𝑔𝑋𝑓𝑒 ], rear sweep (21)
𝑙 2

2 𝑏𝑟 −𝑏0 𝑙
𝑋0.25 = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑔 [ 𝑙 ( + 2 𝑡𝑔𝑋𝑓𝑒 ], crank sweep at 0.25 from the inner chord (22)
4

We can finally choose dihedral angle (Ψ)

4.3. Horizontal surface geometry

The following parameters related to the geometry of the horizontal pane have to be chosen:

• Ahs = [0.8…1.1] – static moment

• Lhs/bA = [2.0…3.0], Lhs – distance from the center of gravity to the aerodynamic center of the
horizontal surface
• λhs = [3.4…4.5] – HS aspect ratio
• ηhs = [2.0…3.5] – HS taper ratio
• Xhs – HS sweep angle
• Ψhs – HS dihedral angle

We can find Ahs with the following equation:

𝑆ℎ𝑠 𝐿ℎ𝑠
𝐴ℎ𝑠 = (23)
𝑆𝑏𝐴

The rest of the parameters for the horizontal surface (Lhs, Shs, lhs, b0hs, brhs, bAhs, Xrehs) are estimated
with the equations from the wing geometry section (17) – (22).

4.4. Vertical surface geometry

The following parameters related to the geometry of the vertical pane have to be chosen:

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Aircraft Design

• Avs = [0.05…0.08] – static moment

• Lvs/bA = [2.0…3.0], Lvs – distance from the center of gravity to the aerodynamic center of the
vertical surface
• λvs = [0.8…1.2] – VS aspect ratio
• ηvs = [2.0…3.5] – VS taper ratio
• Xvs – VS sweep angle

We can find Avs with the following equation:

𝑆𝑣𝑠 𝐿𝑣𝑠
𝐴𝑣𝑠 = (24)
𝑆𝑙

The rest of the parameters for the vertical surface (Lvs, Svs, lvs, b0vs, bkvs, bavs, Xrevs) are estimated with
the equations from the wing geometry section (17) – (22).

4.5. Elevator and rudder design

The parameters typically used for the design of the control surfaces are:

• Elevator area Sel, m2 – Sel/Shs = [0.3…0.4]

• Rudder area Srd, m2 – Srd/Svs = [0.35..0.45]
• Aileron area Sai, m2 – Sai/S = [0.05…0.07]
• Aileron span lai, m – lai/l = [0.3…0.4]
• Aileron chord bai, m bai/b = [0.20..0.25]

5. Cabin design

5.1. Estimating the fuselage width

The width of the fuselage can be estimated based on the design of the passenger cabin. In this case the
width of the body shall be about 635..650 mm above the cabin floor and can be estimated using the
following equation:

𝐵𝑚 = 𝐵2 𝑛2 + 𝐵3 𝑛3 + 𝑐𝑛 𝑛𝑛 + 2𝛿1 +2𝛿2 , (25)

where:
B2 and n2, B3 and n3 – width and quantity of the double and triple blocks of seats respectively.
They are shown on Figure 3.
cn and nn – width of the cabin corridors (cn >509mm)
δ1 = 30…50mm – distance between the seats and the inner wall of the cabin

δ2 = 120…130mm – cabin wall thickness

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Aircraft Design

Figure 3: Transport aircraft seat dimensions

We can use Table 6 to determine each of the cabin dimensions.

Seat and
Forearm Forearm Seat length L, Seat Seat block width
Class backrest Backrest shift angle, deg
distance B, mm size b, mm mm height, h
height H, mm B2 B3
I 500 70 500 445 1140 45 1260 -
II 440 50 470 445 1120 36 1030 1520

Figure 4: Transport aircraft cabin dimensions

5.2. Estimating cabin length

The cabin length can be determined with the following equation:

𝐿𝑐 = 𝑙1 + (𝑖𝑟 − 1)𝑡 + 𝑙2 , (26)

where:

l1 – minimum distance between the front compartment to the front row (Figure 4). Ist class =
630mm, IInd class = 615mm, IIIrd class = 585mm;
l2 – minimum distance between the rear compartment to the back row (Figure 4). Ist class =
1000mm, IInd class = 800mm, IIIrd class = 750mm;
ir – number of rows;
t – distance between two seat blocks. Ist class = 980…1080mm, IInd class =
840…870mm, IIIrd class = 780…810mm;

5.3. Estimating cabin height

The height of the cabin Hcab shall be between 1900mm and 2500mm. The ratio between the cabin
width and cabin length is represented by the coefficient kφ = 0.2…0.5.
The relative volume in the cabin for each passenger shall be 0.84...1.2 m3/passenger

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Aircraft Design

Figure 5: Scheme for mounting the passenger seats in the aircraft

5.4. Estimating the body length

The length of the aircraft body is estimated by choosing the extensions of the front and rear
compartments of the body with the equation:

𝐿𝑚 = 𝐿𝑐 + 𝜆𝑓 𝐷𝑚 + 𝜆𝑏 𝐷𝑚 , (27)

where:
𝜆𝑓 = 1.2. . .2 and 𝜆𝑏 = 2. . .3 – extensions of the front and rear compartment respectively.

D 𝜇 – diameter of the median section estimated with 𝐷𝜇 = √4𝑆𝜇 /𝜋, where Sμ is section area.

6. Re-estimation of aircraft masses

6.1. Estimating the masses of aircraft construction

6.1.1. Estimating final relative wing mass

∗ 𝑛𝑒 √𝑆 𝜂+4 𝜇−1
𝑚𝑤 = 1,15.10−4 . 𝐾𝑚𝑒𝑐 𝐾𝑐𝑜𝑛 𝐾𝑚𝑎𝑡 𝜑 (1 − ), (29)
√𝜃𝑐0𝑐𝑜𝑠 1,5 𝑋 𝜂+1 𝜂+3

where:
- Kcon – Coefficient related to the type of construction. Kcon = 0.9 for wings with honey comb

structure. Kcon = 0.95 for riveted + glued wing. Kcon = 1 for riveted wing.

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Aircraft Design

- Kmec – Mechanization coefficient. Kmec = 0.9 for wing without mechanization. Kmec = 1 for

wing with flaps. Kmec = 1.15 for full mechanization.

- Kmat – Wing material coefficient. Kmat = 1 for material D16, Kmat = 1.2 for material AMG6.

- Θ – coefficient determining the construction strength

- λ – Aspect ration

- η – Taper ration

- c0 – Core wing thickness

- ct – Tip wing thickness

- μ= c0/ck – thickness ratio

- φ = 0.68 – Unloading coefficient

- ne = 5.5…6 – Overloading

6.1.2. Estimating final relative fuselage mass

∗ 𝑒 ) 1,5 −0.75
𝑚𝑚 = 1,14𝐾𝑒𝑝 (1 − 0,4𝑝𝑐𝑎𝑏 𝑙𝑚 𝑚0, , (30)

where:

- Kep =1.14 for engines mounted inside the fuselage. Kep = 1 for engines mounted outside the

fuselage.

- lm - body length, m

- m0 – take off mass, kg

- pcab cabin pressure, atm

6.1.3. Estimating the final control surfaces mass

∗ 𝐾𝑣 𝐾𝑚
𝑚𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑚0
(4.4 + 0.8 ∗ 10−3 𝑚0 )𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 , (31)

where:
- Kv - velocity coefficient, Kv = 0.643 + 1,02.10-3Vcr

- Km – 1 for low manoeuvrability aircrafts, Km = 1.5 for hight manoeuvrability aircrafts

- Vcr – cruse speed, km/h

- Stail = Shs + Svs, m2

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Aircraft Design

6.1.4. Estimating the final landing gear mass

√𝑝
∗
𝑚𝑙𝑑 = 𝐾𝑚𝑡 𝐾𝑓𝑙 (6. 𝐻ℎ𝑙 + 11.3)10−3 + 0,625𝐾𝑡𝑟 1+𝑝𝑡𝑟 + 0.005 , (32)
𝑡𝑟

- Kmt = 0.65..0.7 – landing gear material coefficient

- Kfl – aerodynamic coefficient of the landing gear. Kfl = 1.2 aerodynamic shape, Kfl = 1 for

unshaped landing gears

- Ktr = 1 for cambered tires, Ktr = 0.93 for uncambered tires

- Hlh – landing gear height, m

- Ptr – pressure in the tires, atm

6.1.5. Estimating the final landing gear mass

∗ ∗ ∗
𝑚𝑐∗ = 𝑚𝑤
∗
𝑚𝑓𝑠 𝑚𝑡𝑙 𝑚𝑙𝑑 , (33)

6.2. Powerplant, fuel and equipment final relative mass

The powerplant mass denoted by m*pp = 0.05…0.1m0, or between 0.5 and 1 % of the aircraft take off
mass.
The equipment mass includes also the aircraft loading mass and can be found with the following
equation:
200 ∗ 𝐿
𝑚𝑐∗ = + 0.02𝑚𝑙𝑚 (1 + 0.1 𝑉 ) + 0.08 , (34)
𝑚0 𝑐𝑟

where:
- m*ld = mld/m0 – the relative loading mass
- L – range, km
- Vcr – cruise velocity, km/h
Finally the fuel relative mass is simply the ratio between the actual fuel mass and the take-off mass:
∗ 𝑚𝑓𝑙
𝑚𝑓𝑙 = 𝑚0
, (35)

7. Aircraft mass balance characteristics

The balancing characteristics are important for the relative positioning of the wing, tail, fuselage,
passengers, engines etc.
One of the most important tasks of the engineers in determining the center of masses of the aircraft.
The relative position of the center of masses and the median aerodynamic chord is of significant
importance for its dynamic and balancing characteristics. The aircraft changes its mass during flight
is this relative distance has to ensure that when the center of masses is moving back (tailwise), there is

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Aircraft Design

enough longitudinal stability. Also in case the center of masses moves forward, there is enough lever
displacement to balance the aircraft for take-off and landing.
Here we are going to center the horizontal axis of the aircraft as since it is symmetric, the vertical axis
moments can be neglected. The origin of the coordinate system can be either taken at the nose of the
aircraft or at the tip of the coot wing chord.
We first need to estimate the sum of static horizontal moments with the equation:
∑(𝑚𝑔𝑥)𝑖
𝑥𝑚 = ∑(𝑚𝑔)𝑖
, (36)

where:
- x is the distance of the element from the chosen coordinate system origin.
- m is the mass of the element
Then we can estimate the balancing characteristics with the equation:
∗ 𝑥𝑚 𝑥𝐴
𝑥𝑚 = 𝑏𝐴
, (37)

where:
- xm – coordinates of the center of masses
- x*m longitudinal balancing
- xA – coordinate of the tip of the median aerodynamic chord.
The coordinates of the elements are taken from a simplified aircraft blueprint, showing their relative
positions.
The balancing characteristics of the aircraft have to be estimated in all of those cases:
- Maximum take-off mass
- Fully equipped aircraft without fuel.
- Full fuel tank without any load.
- Empty aircraft without fuel and load.
The moving masses such a passengers and cabin crew have to be positioned near the center of masses
of the aircraft.

Aircraft Balancing
Component Moment Distance Force
mgx, daNm x, m mg, daN
1.1 Wing
1.2 Fuselage
1.3 Main landing gear
1.4 Front landing gear
1.5 Horizontal surface
1.6 Vertical surface
2. Powerplant
3. Equipment
3.1 Front compartment
3.2 Back compartment

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Aircraft Design

4. Cabin crew
4.1 Pilots
4.2 Flight attendants
4.3 Crew luggage
5. Fuel
6. Load
7. Passengers

Σ(mgi x) Σ(mg)i
Standard positions of the aircraft components are:
- Wing center of mass position – 40…42% bA
- Tail center of mass position – 45…50% bAhot
- Fuselage center of mass position – 50% of fuselage length
- Re-estimating passenger and cabin crew mass: 80kg for a pilot, 70kg for cabin crew, 75kg for
passenger and 15kg for luggage per passenger.
The balance characteristic of the aircraft in each case shall be between x*m = 0.2…0.3.

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