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Questions tagged [load-factor]

The ratio of lift to weight, also related to g units (apparent weight change due to vertical acceleration).

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3 votes
1 answer
127 views

Difference between load factor imposed in a turn vs with wings level

How does the load factor/resultant load in this picture change if instead the pilot is in wings level flight, and yanks back on the yoke enough to produce 1.73Gs of centripetal/centrifugal force? In ...
2 votes
1 answer
177 views

Is the centripetal acceleration when an aircraft turns related only to the load factor?

My question is about aircraft load factor and how it relates to turning ability. I've recently come across this chart for the F-16 that shows the turn rate in degrees per second and the load factor ...
1 vote
2 answers
201 views

Maneuvering Speed and load factor at different gross weights/ configurations

Many aircraft POH documents list Maneuvering Speed, and as is appropriate, they include a caveat that this speed is calculated at maximum aircraft gross weight. They then, often, include a second ...
10 votes
6 answers
2k views

What is the load factor in a descending turn?

Possibly related to How does the load factor vary when the aircraft pitches up/down? Could you help to settle a debate? I have recently flown a dead-stick approach with a CFI in the right seat. ...
0 votes
0 answers
160 views

Is there an equation to solve for bank angle using load factor and wing loading as variables? If so, what is it?

The problem is that I'm looking for both wing loading and load factor as variables to solve for bank angle and cannot find any equation that represents this. After searching various websites and not ...
3 votes
1 answer
231 views

Why does the maximum allowable load factor vary with airspeed in some aircraft?

In this ASE answer What is the maximum safe bank angle of a 747?, the author writes: If we stay with stationary turns (without the "falling out of the sky" part), the maximum bank angle is ...
3 votes
0 answers
150 views

How long does it take the Predator UAV to reach cruise altitude?

For applications such as UAVs, especially military ones like the Predators and Reapers, do the same regulations as light aircraft apply due to their structure? Or, does the absence of a human operator ...
2 votes
2 answers
856 views

Why does increasing speed in a turn not change load factor?

From what I've read, load factor (n) is the forces of lift (F) divided by weight (W), so the equation would be n=F/W. In a question about a constant bank angle turn, an increase in airspeed will ...
-1 votes
2 answers
734 views

What are the loads in a horizontal stabilizer? [closed]

I am doing a project and I can't really find any complete information on how to estimate and calculate de loads (lift, weight, drag...) in a horizontal stabilizer. If someone could give me good papers ...
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to calculate sink rate from wing measurements

First of all, sorry to bother you when I am coming from a bird rather than aircraft background. I have two questions that I'm struggling to get an answer for. Firstly, how is sink rate calculated (...
2 votes
2 answers
879 views

How to calculate g load from max lift coefficient?

I calculated for my flight configuration for different angle of attacks (0° to 20° in pitch) the corresponding lift coefficients for my aircraft (horizontal flight, only pitching). I would like to ...
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

At what bank angle does load factor's effect on performance increase?

I had this question on my Part 107 exam today. After some thought, I opted for a) 15 degrees, since that is the minimum bank angle at which the load begins to increase. Was I right? Load factors have ...
2 votes
1 answer
650 views

How can I calculate 'Max aircraft Load Factor' and 'Max aircraft Speed' when flaps are fully extended on a civil aircraft? [closed]

I am trying to calculate the critical loading conditions for Flaps (in order use them inside my Finite Element Analysis to, determine if the Flaps will be able to bear these critical loads) during the ...
4 votes
2 answers
270 views

How is it possible that the design criteria for turbulence intensity has nearly doubled, but the manoeuvring load factor is the same?

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/25.341 Here it says the turbulence intensity used for certification is 90 feet per second. Before, it was 50 feet per second, that section was added in 1981. So ...
3 votes
1 answer
174 views

In big transport jets, what is the difference between manoeuvring loads and gust loads?

In the design certifications for big transport jets, there are two factors that must be met in order for a new aircraft to be certified; manoeuvring loads, and gust loads. Why are these two separate ...
1 vote
2 answers
322 views

Could drag in a turn be twice the drag of that encountered in straight and level flight?

I Just wanted to see if my understanding of drag is correct, as I am unsure. I understand that during straight and level flight, the drag can be calculated as: With the first term being the parasitic ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

In wing design, how is factor of safety related to G-limits?

What does factor of safety mean with regard to the maximum G force an aircraft is rated for? Does a rating of 3Gs mean the same as a safety factor of 3? Or is there some extra margin?
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Will increasing the wing area result in higher aircraft range?

Intuitively, it seems that a low loading (large area) wing will allow to climb higher from the start, thus increasing true air speed and range. At the same time, a low loading wing also calls for a ...
5 votes
1 answer
960 views

Can the load factor during glider winch launch be measured with the G-meter?

I am looking at the flight envelope of a glider, the velocity - load factor diagram. I read that generally the air-frame, the G-meter and the pilot 'experience' the load factor as a G force (an ...
5 votes
2 answers
5k views

How to calculate bending moments and shear forces on a wing?

I am trying to create a MATLAB script to plot the Bending Moment Diagram (BMD) and Shear Force Diagram (SFD) as a function of spanwise distance, x, along a wing from the wing root (x=0) to the wingtip ...
14 votes
3 answers
5k views

Why do aircraft have a crossover airspeed, and why does it increase at higher vertical load factors?

According to the NTSB accident report on the crash of USAir Flight 427, all commercial aircraft have a crossover speed (the speed at which the maximum rolling force from the aircraft’s ailerons and ...
1 vote
1 answer
444 views

Can accelerations be used to calculate load factors?

Can I use the z accelerations to calculate the load factor in that axis? Please explain how or why not.
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

How does the load factor vary when the aircraft pitches up/down?

I know that when an aircraft starts rolling, it's load factor increases. But can anybody explain how does load factor vary when the aircraft pitches up/down? Does it increase/decrease?
20 votes
3 answers
10k views

Why do non-aerobatic aircraft have a negative G limit?

Why do airplane wings have limit load of both positive and negative g's (e.g., the Weedhopper ultralight has a load factor of +5 and -2gs). Why not just have a positive limit load since most airplanes ...
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

How will a prolonged series of steep turns produce a stall in subsequent level flight?

In Stick and Rudder, the author warns pilots against the unreliability of judging airspeed and hence “buoyancy” — his term for how far the airplane is from aerodynamic stall — by throttle position, ...
2 votes
4 answers
1k views

What is the effect of the Load Factor on wing Structures?

I am quite confused with the definition of Load factor and how it applies to the wing structures of an aircraft. For example, you have an Aircraft being subjected to a Load Factor of 2 and whose ...
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

FAA test question about load factor

The following question is from the FAA PAR (Private Pilot, Airplane) exam : The load factor on an airplane increases with : (A) Any moderate change in pitch attitude, increase in weight, and steep ...
3 votes
4 answers
309 views

Does Buoyant Lift Force scale with Load Factor?

Let's say I am flying an airplane that has a weight of 100,000 kg with a 1G load factor at normal steady flight. I have helium lift assist that is providing 50,000 kg (50%) worth of buoyant lift force ...
2 votes
1 answer
232 views

Is there an increased concern for stall safety in a 1G steep turn?

Most people know the standard, "At a 60 degree bank, an aircraft experiences 2G's" checkpoint for load-factor on an airplane. I assume that this statement has an underlying, unspoken assumption that ...