Aircraft Unique Design Configurations
I. Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a commercial transport aircraft used for long-range flights with the ability to carry 312 to 388 passengers. It has the ability to carry full passenger payloads out of many high-elevation and high-temperature airfields. This aircraft has a low-wing semi-monocoque design. The low-wing design allows for easier maintenance since the aircraft is quite large. The semi-monocoque fuselage also fits the heavy amount of loads the aircraft will withstand through internal and external forces. It also has a multi-bogey landing gear because of its large airframe. The fuel tank can carry about 31,000 gallons of fuel which is fit for long-range travel.
The aircraft cruises at Mach 0.84 at 35,000 ft and can reach up to 5,120 nautical miles. It uses a conventional style of control surfaces and is operated through electrical commands. It uses a multitude of engines, one of them being the Pratt & Whitney 4077 which is efficient to power an aircraft such as this. The summarized version and additional information about the design can be seen below.
Design Configuration
• Type
o Commercial Transport Aircraft
o 312 to 388 Passengers
o Monoplane
o Cantilever
o Low-Wing
o Semi-Monocoque
o Multi-Bogey Landing Gear
o Conventional Empennage
How should it perform?
o Design Requirements
▪ Fuel Tanks
• Maximum Fuel Capacity
o 31,000 gallons (117,340 L)
o Range
▪ 5120 nautical miles (9,480 km)
o Speed
▪ Cruise Speed (at 35,000 ft): Mach 0.84
o Maneuverability and Safety
▪ Uses conventional aileron, rudder, and elevator control surfaces
• Operated through maneuvering commands through electrical wires, augmented by computers, directly to hydraulic actuators for the control surfaces.
• Powerplant
o Pratt & Whitney 4077 77,000 lb
o Rolls-Royce Trent 877 76,000 lb
o GE GE90-77B 77,000 lb
Cessna 152
The Cessna 152 is a commonly known aircraft in the aviation industry. It is an aircraft that begins the journey of aspiring pilots. This aircraft offers multiple benefits as a trainer aircraft due to its design. It is a 2-seater aircraft which is a suitable capacity for an aircraft used for training. It uses a semi-cantilever, high-wing which provides support during times when stress is applied to the wing. It also uses a semi-monocoque fuselage which makes use of stringers to support the original skin design of the monocoque. The 152 uses the conventional tail design which allows an adequate amount of stability and control with low structural weight.
The fuel tanks of the aircraft are suitable for short-range flights with two (2) fuel tanks with the ability to contain a maximum of 19.5 gallons each. The speed of the aircraft must not exceed a Knots Calibrated Airspeed (KCAS) of 145 as per the manual. The aircraft also uses a Lycoming Model O-235-L2C which is a suitable design for a propeller-based aircraft, especially since it is not in need of high airspeeds.
All in all, the design of the Cessna 152 is perfect for a trainer aircraft due to its lightweight structure and control surfaces that promote easier control for the pilot. The engine of the aircraft provides the perfect amount of power so that it does not consume too much fuel and allows for perfect training flights. The summarized version and additional information about the design can be seen below.
Design Configuration
• Type
o Purpose – Trainer Aircraft
o 2 Passengers
o Monoplane
o Semi-Cantilever
o High-Wing
o Semi-Monocoque
o Tricycle Landing Gear
o Conventional Empennage
• How should it perform?
o Design Requirements
▪ Fuel Tanks
▪ 2 Fuel Tanks
• Standard
o 13 Gallons Each (26 Total)
o 24.5 gal usable fuel
Long Range
o 19.5 Gallons Each (39 Total)
o 37.5 gal usable fuel
o Speed
▪ Never Exceed Sped: 145 KCAS (149 KIAS)
▪ Maximum Structural Cruising Speed: 108 KCAS (111 KIAS)
▪ Maneuvering Speed
• 1670 lbs: 101 KCAS (104 KIAS)
• 1500 lbs: 96 KCAS (98 KIAS)
• 1350 lbs: 91 KCAS (93 KIAS)
▪ Maximum Flap Extended Speed: 87 KCAS (85 KIAS)
▪ Maximum Window Open Speed 139 KCAS (143 KIAS)
o Maneuverability and Safety
▪ Uses conventional aileron, rudder, and elevator control surfaces
• Operated through mechanical linkages using a control wheel and rudder/brake pedals
• Powerplant
o Lycoming Model O-235-L2C
▪ 110 hp
▪ 2550 RPM
• Payload and Crew
o Maximum Takeoff/Landing Load
▪ 1670 lbs
o Maximum Useful Load
▪ 589 lbs
Extra 330SC
As one of the most advanced and complex forms of flying, aerobatics requires the aircraft to have metrics and design variables that allow inverted flight, next-level performances, and transitional maneuvers. Aircraft with this type are often equipped with systems of devices, such as symmetrical wings, aileron spades, aerobatic propellers, and inverted oil and fuel systems to withstand aerobatic flight and different maneuvers,
including but not limited to spinning, turning, looping, and rolling an aircraft through 360 degrees of yaw, pitch, and roll (“Top 4 Aerobatic Aircrafts”, n.d.).
With many recent world champions earning their titles in the cockpit of Extra 330SC, it epitomizes the air sport. The Extra 330SC is a single-seat, propeller-driven aircraft. It is equipped with a low-wing monoplane configuration made from carbon fiber with an integrated fuel tank of the same material and a symmetrical airfoil section positioned with zero angles of incidence. Additionally, the flight control in the wing is a 75 ercent fullspan aileron. The wing design promotes uniform flying aircraft characteristics, allowing upright or inverted flight, lower center of gravity, greater stability during dives, shorter ground roll, and increased maneuverability with a faster roll rate, leading to a higher level of extreme aerobatics (“Flying the Extra 330SC Aerobatic”, 2017).
Similar to other acrobatic aircraft, the Extra 330SC is equipped with a conventional landing gear to reduce weight and drag. The tailwheel landing gear also provides a thrust advantage that pulls a little forward, keeping the aircraft as light as possible, reducing the rolling friction, and allowing faster acceleration.
The empennage of Extra 330SC is designed with a conventional configuration. Considering the purpose of the aircraft, this tail design offers a significant advantage over other tail configurations, as it reduces weight and allows the pilots to fly acrobatic maneuvers with precision. Some tail configurations, such as V-, T-, or H-Tail, limit basic acrobatic maneuvers (Wood, 2022).
The propeller installation is of tractor type, which ensures a more uniform flow of air to the rear, providing more direct flow to the flight control surfaces, increasing maneuverability, and reducing noise during its operation (SupermotoXL Designs, 2014).
Design Configuration
• Type
o Purpose – Acrobatic
o 1 Pilot
o Monoplane
o Cantilever
o Low-Wing
o Semi-Monocoque
o Tailwheel Landing Gear
o Conventional Empennage
• How should it perform?
o Design Requirements
▪ 3 Fuel Tanks
• Standard
o 16.6 Gallons Each (49.9 Total)
o 49.4 gal usable fuel
o Speed
▪ Never Exceed Sped: 220 KIAS
▪ Maximum Structural Cruising Speed: 158 KIAS
o Maneuverability and Safety
▪ FAA/EASA Certified Load Factor: +/- 10g
• Powerplant
o Lycoming Model AEIO-580-B1A
▪ 315 hp
▪ 6-cylinder
• Payload and Crew
o Maximum Gross Weight
▪ 1918 lbs
o Maximum Useful Load – 627 lbs
Rutan Boomerang
Rutan Boomerang is an experimental aircraft designed from the specifications of Beechcraft 58 Baron, a twin-engine civilian aircraft. Rutan Boomerang is known for its distinct asymmetrical appearance from tip to tail. The aircraft is equipped with a twinfuselage. The right fuselage houses the cockpit and passenger seats with a 210 hp engine installed in its nose, and the left fuselage encloses the baggage compartment equipped
with a tractor-type 200 hp engine, which is mounted five feet behind the right engine. The different placement of the engine minimizes the noise in the cabin and the unbalance control in case either engine fails.
The empennage is a twin-boom conventional configuration, with the horizontal stabilizer connecting the two fins and extending past the right but not on the left. The engine nacelle that extends rearwards to form a tail boom improves tail surfaces’ stiffness and provides extra baggage area. The landing gear is tricycle-type on right of the fuselage while the left side is only equipped with a main landing gear. The wings are swept forward, with the right-wing almost five feet shorter than the left wing, generating appropriate lift for the different sizes and weights of the two fuselages and allowing high wing loading and climb without stalling (Paur, 2011).
The asymmetry in the design eliminates the danger and asymmetries experienced during an engine failure. In a conventional twin-engine aircraft, the unbalanced thrust produced by the two engines when one engine fails forces the aircraft to turn in the direction of the inoperative engine. Therefore, the pilot is responsible for coordinated rudder and aileron control in the direction of the operative engine while maintaining the
airspeed above the minimum controllable speed to keep the aircraft from being flipped over. On the other hand, the boomerang can fly straight even with one inoperative engine taking less effort in the control as it only requires easing the nose up to hold the altitude, making no significant difference in the performance (Schapiro, 2012). The efficiency of the rudder is maintained by the propeller washdown (Brahmane, 2021).
Design Configuration
• Type
o Purpose – Experimental Aircraft
o 4 Passengers
o Monoplane
o Cantilever
o Low-Wing
o Semi-Monocoque
o Tricycle Landing Gear
o Twin boom Empennage
• How should it perform?
o Design Requirements
▪ 2 Fuel Tanks
▪ Fuel Weight: 1026 lbs
o Speed
▪ Maximum Speed: 311 mph
▪ Cruise Speed: 250 mph
o Maneuverability and Safety
▪ Asymmetric from wing to tail
▪ No rudder pedals on the left boom
• Powerplant
o Lycoming Model TIO-360-A1B
o Lycoming Model TIO-360-C1A6D
• Payload and Crew
o Maximum Takeoff Weight
4189 lbs
o Maximum cabin Payload
▪ 1000 lbs
A330-700L (Beluga XL)
The Airbus Beluga XL is a voluminous cargo aircraft used for transporting major Airbus parts, such as fuselage, wings, and empennage, from its multiple production sites to the final assembly line in Toulouse. The design of the BelugaXL is based on Airbus A330- 300 and -200F freighter, composing the aft section and the reinforced floor, respectively.
The shape of the fuselage mimics the shape of a whale to increase lift and decrease drag, reducing fuel consumption (Mohamed et al., 2021). The wing configuration of BelugaXL is of a low-wing cantilever monoplane. It is long, slender, and swept back at 30 degrees with a very high aspect ratio, providing high aerodynamic efficiency and a maximum operating Mach number of 0.86. The wing also has a high thickness-to-chord ratio, allowing reduced weight penalty of the high aspect ratio. On the ground, the two-wheel nose and four-wheel bogie main landing gears support the weight of the aircraft (“The Beluga Plane: The World’s Strangest Shaped Plane”, 2022).
As mentioned earlier, the design of BelugaXl is based on Airbus A330-300 and -200F. But this includes some modifications in the upper fuselage and the tail. The upper fuselage is replaced by a giant cargo bay with a huge, upward-hinging cargo door over the cockpit, resulting in its distinctive shape. Consequently, the empennage features a larger vertical tail to handle the weight distribution of oversized loads caused by the cargo bay and provide additional directional stability. The large conventional tail is also equipped with vertical endplates on the horizontal stabilizers and vertical fins under the rear empennage (Robinson, 2018).
Design Configuration
• Type
o Purpose – Cargo (Freight) Aircraft
o Monoplane
o Cantilever
o Low-Wing
o Swept Back
o Semi-Monocoque
o Tricycle Landing Gear
o Conventional Empennage
• How should it perform?
o Design Requirements
▪ Payload: 111333 lbs
▪ Cargo Hold: 78000 cu ft
o Speed
▪ Maximum Cruise Speed: 398 kts
▪ Approach Sped: 137 kts
• Powerplant
o 2 Rolls-Royce Trent 700
▪ 71000 lbs
▪ Turbofan
• Payload and Crew
o Maximum Takeoff Weight
▪ 500449 lbs
References
Boeing. (2014, May). The Boeing 777 Family: Preferred by Passengers and Airlines
around the world. Retrieved
from https://www.boeing.com/farnborough2014/pdf/BCA/bck777%20Family%20Backgrounder.pdf
Brahmane, A. (2021). Unconventional asymmetric design of Rutan Boomerang airplane.
International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Management (IJAEM), 3(12),
674–681. ISSN: 2395-5252
Cessna Aircraft Company. (1977). Cessna 152. PILOT’S OPERATING HANDBOOK.
https://longislandaviators.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1978-PilotsOperating-Handbook-Cessna-152.pdf
Flying the Extra 330SC Aerobatic Plane. World Air Sports Federation. (2017, September 6).
Retrieved from https://www.fai.org/news/flying-extra-330sc-aerobatic-plane
Mohamed, A. E., Tarek, R., & Gawad, A. A. (2021, April). Aerodynamic performance of
Airbus Beluga-XL for different cases of … Research Gate. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351326969_Aerodynamic_Performance
_of_Airbus_BELUGAXL_for_Different_Cases_of_Natural_Phenomena_and_using_BioInspired_Tubercles
Paur, J. (2011, July 29). Burt Rutan’s boomerang: Safety through asymmetry. Wired.
Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2011/07/burt-rutans-boomerang-safetythrough-asymmetry/
Robinson, T. (2018, May 4). Supersize My Beluga. Royal Aeronautical Society. Retrieved
from https://www.aerosociety.com/news/supersize-my-beluga/
Schapiro, S. (2012, September 1). Burt Rutan’s favorite ride. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved
from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/burt-rutans-favoriteride-18521055/
SupermotoXL Designs. (2014, October). Pusher vs Tractor Propeller configuration.
Retrieved from https://www.supermotoxl.com/resources/guides-tutorial/r-cmodels-fpv-uav-diy-how-to-tips/pusher-vs-tractor-propeller-configuration.html
The Beluga Plane: The World’s Strangest Shaped Plane. flyingbynumbers.com. (2022,
August 19). Retrieved from https://flyingbynumbers.com/beluga-whale-plane/
Top 4 Aerobatic Aircrafts. Sky Combat Ace. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.skycombatace.com/top-4-aerobaticaircraft#:~:text=Top%204%20Aerobatic%20Aircraft%201%201.%20The%20Edg
e,Russian%20militants.%20…%204%204.%20The%20Extra%20330SC
Wood, A. (2022, May 18). Aircraft tail surfaces: Stability, control and trim. AeroToolbox.
Retrieved from https://aerotoolbox.com/aircraft-tail-trim/