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Investigation of longitudinal stability analysis of general aviation aircraft by phase plane method

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Abstract

This paper describes using phase plane analysis to investigate the short-period longitudinal stability of a general aviation aircraft during take-off and landing phases. Firstly, the aerodynamic coefficients and characteristics of the aircraft in take-off and landing configurations are analyzed. What is more, considering the effects of deploying flaps during take-off and landing, a second-order short-period modal equation is constructed to evaluate the pitch stability of the aircraft. The stability criterion for the system is also provided. Finally, phase plane analysis is performed on 3 Cases, and the phase trajectory and equilibrium points of the system under 8 different combinations of flight surfaces are obtained. The results show that the deployment of flaps during take-off and landing affects the longitudinal stability of the aircraft, and also some unstable regions that could affect flight safety are predicted.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to the policy of university, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

\(c\) :

Mean Aerodynamic Chord

\(C_{L}\) :

Lift Coefficient

\(C_{m}\) :

Pitching Moment Coefficient

\(C_{m\alpha }\) :

Longitudinal Static Stability Margin

\(I_{yy}\) :

Moments of Inertia

\(m\) :

Mass

\(q\) :

Rate of Pitching

\(S\) :

Wing Area

\(V\) :

Airspeed

\(\alpha\) :

Angle of Attack

\(\delta_{e}\), \(\delta_{flap}\) :

Deflection of Elevators and Flaps

\(\rho\) :

Air Density

CG:

Centre of Gravity

CM:

Center of Mass

NTSB:

National Transportation Safety Board

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Acknowledgements

The author is very grateful to Dr. Fu Junquan of Nanchang Hangkong University for his suggestions on the article.

Funding

This study was supported by Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (2023M006056001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aircraft Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, 330063, China

    Chao Yan, Lianghui Tu, Zhenwen Li, Yang Yang & Yuhao Wang

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  1. Chao Yan
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  2. Lianghui Tu
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  3. Zhenwen Li
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  4. Yang Yang
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Contributions

C.Y. and L.T. wrote the main manuscript text, Z.L. prepared the simulation data, Y.W. designed the simulation process, and Y.Y. prepared all figures. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lianghui Tu.

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Yan, C., Tu, L., Li, Z. et al. Investigation of longitudinal stability analysis of general aviation aircraft by phase plane method. Nonlinear Dyn 112, 13845–13861 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-024-09780-9

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