Flight and Orbital Mechanics

AE2104-11. In this lecture Ir. R. Noomen talks about interplanetary flight. He start off by talking about transfer orbits, reaching the Hohmann transfer. Hohmann transfers for interplanetary flight are different however from those just in earth orbit. He then talkt about the different escape velocities needed in order to travel to different planets in our solar system. When transfering to a different planet, timing is essential due to the different periods which planets orbit the sun. The next subject is a fast trajectory, this would mean expending more energy to reach a destination faster. Finally the time it takes to make a round trip to another planet is explained.

AE2104-11. In this lecture Ir. R. Noomen talks about eclipses and maneuvers. Eclipses, being the time a satellite spends in the shadow of earth, have different effects on a satellite, such as on its power, thermal control and attitude control. The second part covers maneuvers, a change in velocity in order to obtain a change in orbit. The different applications to this are orbit transfers, orbit maintenance, rendezvous and docking, and end of life disposal.

AE2104-11. In the lecture Ir. R. Noomen kicks off the subject of orbital mechanics. He starts off with a brief introduction on the space environment, and follows with deriving some equations to describe Kepler orbits. Next the earth gravity field is described in detail. With this explain, more practical applications of orbits are covered, focusing on the ground tracks of satellites in certain orbits. Next Sun Synchronous orbits are covered, followed by geostationary orbits.

AE2104-11. In this lecture Dr. Ir. M. Voskuijl first continues his lecture on cruise flight. He starts with the analytic solution for the range of cruise flight, followed about a story about the global flyer which flew around the world. Next the weight breakdown of aircraft is discussed and its effect on range. Of course range is only part of the story, as it is greatly intertwined with the price of fuel and the money earned for a flight, so the economics are discussed. Then the main topic of the lecture is addressed, deriving the general equations of motion of aircraft including wind. To do so a new set of axis systems is explained, the earth,the body and the air path axis system. To be able to transform between these axis systems, vector notation is used. Accelerations and forces are then explained in these new axis systems, and with these known, the complete set of equations of motion can be written down.

AE2104-11. This lecture covers the theory behind cruising with an aircraft. It starts off with talking about the different aspects of flight affecting cruise strategy, followed by finding an analytic solution to the range and aircraft can cover. Next an example is brought about the global flyer, which can fly around the entire world in one cruise. As the weight breakdown of an aircraft greatly affects the performance of an aircraft during cruise, this subject is expanded on, followed by the economics behind the whole. Finally this lecture is summarized.

AE2104-11. In this lecture Dr. Ir. M. Voskuijl starts with a recap of the previous lecture, and finishes where had had left off talking about turning performance, advanced manoeuvres and altitude effects. Continuing with the actual topic of the lecture, the takeoff performance of aircraft is discussed and the equations of motions are derived. Next the takeoff distance of aircraft is derived from these equations of motion, resulting is certain critical parameters such as the decision speed, rotation speed and safety speed. Finally the effect of the environment on a takeoff is discussed.

AE 2104-11. In this lecture Dr. Ir. M. Voskuijl begins with recapping the material covered in the previous lecture. The first subject of this lecture is the performance diagram, which described the space of velocities and altitudes an aircraft can fly in. Next an analytical solution is derived for optimal climb, first tailored for low speed aircraft, and later to high speed aircraft. First however the matter of energy height is explained, which uses the kinetic and potential energy of the aircraft to describe the problem. This is then used to solve the case for high speed aircraft.

AE2104-11. In this introduction lecture to flight mechanics Dr. Ir. M. Voskuijl starts off by explaining the way pilots perform their climb, and the method of performing calculations on it. This leads to the derivation of the equations of motion of a climbing aircraft and using these, an example of a crashed Boeing is explained. With the equations of motions derived, a solution can be found for the rate of climb, and conclusions are drawn about the way excess power is used to both climb and accelerate the aircraft. Finally using these equations, an example exam question is solved.