Determination of the drag polar is one of the most important initial performance flight tests, since the drag polar directly impacts many aspects of an aircraft's performance. This chapter begins with methods for analytically estimating the drag polar for a given aircraft. Following this, basic theory of engine and propeller performance are provided. The PIW–VIW flight testing method is then described, where power and airspeed are measured across a range of flight speeds in steady, level flight conditions. In‐flight measurement of power on standard general aviation aircraft requires knowledge of engine performance (from prior ground testing data sets) and propeller efficiency (again, from prior testing or analysis). Measured power and velocity data are normalized to remove effects of weight, density, and other factors, and a curve fit to the data provides the drag polar.
Drag Polar Measurement in Level Flight
Introduction to Flight Testing ; 107-131
2021-08-09
25 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
AIAA | 1980
|Drag Polar Invariance with Flexibility
Online Contents | 2015
|Drag Polar Invariance with Flexibility
AIAA | 2015
|