Flight mechanics - Propulsive balance and energy

This course is dedicated to energy management, i.e. speed and altitude control. The various sources of drag are first described and modeled, as well as thrust origin, and evolution with speed and altitude. Using these models, we can evaluate the propulsive balance and derive important concepts like flight regimes, best climb speed, or propulsion ceiling. We take then a glance at cruise performances and the evolution of range with weight. This course is a part of the specialization "Fundamentals of Flight mechanics".

• Equation of propulsion
• First we will look at the physics at the origin of drag and thrust, and derive basic models and representations like the drag polar.
• Flight regimes
• We will see here how the airspeed chosen to fly a stabilized phase of flight, like climb, final approach, or cruise, affects the behavior of the airplane, and why certain speeds are optimal for a given phase.
• Cruise performance
• Our main subject here is the distance we can fly with a given payload and fuel quantity, and how it relates with the design and operational characteristics of the airplane.