What is the purpose of a flight envelope?

In aerodynamics, the flight envelope defines operational limits for an aerial platform with respect to maximum speed and load factor given a particular atmospheric density. The flight envelope is the region within which an aircraft can operate safely.

Who defines flight envelope?

The operating boundaries of altitude, Mach number, and normal load factor define the flight envelope for an aeroplane. Flight envelopes describe the absolute “never exceed” limits of the airframe and define the operating limits required for a particular mission or flight phase.

Why is it called a flight envelope?

In addition, the term has been widened in scope outside the field of engineering, to refer to the strict limits in which an event will take place or more generally to the predictable behaviour of a given phenomenon or situation, and hence, its “flight envelope”.

What is an aircraft safety envelope?

Flight envelope protection is a human machine interface extension of an aircraft’s control system that prevents the pilot of an aircraft from making control commands that would force the aircraft to exceed its structural and aerodynamic operating limits.

What is Coffin Corner in aviation?

Answer: Coffin corner is a term used to describe a condition at high altitude when the maximum speed (limited by the spreading of supersonic shock waves) and the minimum (limited by amount of air passing over the wing) are nearly the same.

What is tuck under aircraft?

Mach tuck is an aerodynamic effect whereby the nose of an aircraft tends to pitch downward as the airflow around the wing reaches supersonic speeds. This diving tendency is also known as tuck under. The aircraft will first experience this effect at significantly below Mach 1.

What is a Mach trim?

Why is it called coffin corner?

The name comes from the “coffin corner” found in Victorian houses (the slang and often refuted term for a decorative niche, or very small ‘corner’, cut into the wall of a staircase landing), because the target area is very small.

When is the flight envelope defined?

This flight envelope is normally defined during the design phase. A chart of speed versus load factor (or V-n diagram) is a way of showing the limits of an aircraft’s performance. It shows how much load factor can be safely achieved at different airspeeds. 5.

What are the different types of aircraft flight envelope diagram?

There are several types of aircraft flight envelope diagram, normally depicting the relation between one flight parameter and another. The most common diagram includes airspeed (normally expressed in Mach) and flight altitude variation (V-h) or airspeed and load variation (V-n).

What is the difference between Permissable and service flight envelope?

The permissable flight envelope describes the limiting flight condition boundaries within which an aeroplane may be flown and safely recovered without exceptional pilot skill. The service flight envelope defines the boundaries of altitude, Mach number, and normal load factor pertaining to all operational mission requirements.

Where can I find the manoeuvring flight envelopes for this aircraft?

The manoeuvring flight envelopes for this aircraft were obtained from “Notes for Technical Observers” ( College of Aeronautics, 1965) and are reproduced in Fig. 10.5.