Flight Aerodynamics Workbench
Explore standard atmosphere, airspeed, lift, drag, glide, stall, level flight, climb, turns, takeoff, landing, Reynolds number, compressibility, and longitudinal stability.
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How this tool works
Fourteen guided modules connect atmospheric properties and aerodynamic coefficients to aircraft performance and stability.
The workbench covers forces, drag polar behavior, glide, stall, level flight, climb, coordinated turns, field-length estimates, viscous scaling, compressibility, and static margin.
Every quantitative graph includes explicit units, and all inputs are bounded before calculations and drawing.
Core equations
q = ½ρV²L = qSC_LC_D = C_D0 + C_L²/(πeAR)V_s = √[2nW/(ρSC_Lmax)]ROC = (T−D)V/WR = V²/(g tanφ)Re = ρVL/μSM = (x_NP−x_CG)/c̄Assumptions
- The atmosphere is a simplified dry-air standard model through 50 km.
- The drag model is a parabolic polar with constant C_D0, aspect ratio, and Oswald efficiency.
- Level-flight, climb, turn, takeoff, and landing modules use steady or average-force approximations.
- Compressibility uses ideal-gas stagnation relations and a first-order subsonic correction.
- Static stability uses a simplified wing-tail neutral-point estimate.
Limitations
- The workbench is educational and is not a flight-planning, certification, dispatch, structural-load, control-law, or handling-quality tool.
- Takeoff and landing estimates omit wind, runway slope, pilot delay, flare, tire and brake limits, hydroplaning, ground effect, engine variation, and regulatory factors.
- Real aircraft analysis requires validated aerodynamic data, propulsion maps, weight and balance data, aeroelastic effects, CFD or wind-tunnel evidence, and flight test.
References and verification
- NASA Glenn Research CenterEducational references for lift, drag, atmosphere, Mach number, and aircraft performance.
- Anderson, Aircraft Performance and DesignStandard aerodynamic and flight-performance relationships.
- Etkin and Reid, Dynamics of FlightLongitudinal stability terminology and static-margin concepts.