Lofting coordinates

Last updated
Two points on a fuselage at waterline 100/fuselage station 93 and waterline 101/fuselage station 276 Waterline on the airplane.jpg
Two points on a fuselage at waterline 100/fuselage station 93 and waterline 101/fuselage station 276

Lofting coordinates are used for aircraft body measurements. The system derives from the one that was used in the shipbuilding lofting process, with longitudinal axis labeled as "stations" (usually fuselage stations, frame stations, FS), transverse axis as "buttocks lines" (or butt lines, BL), and vertical axis as "waterlines" (WL). The lofting coordinate frame is similar, but not the same as aircraft principal axes used to describe the aircraft flight. For the US-manufactured aircraft the ticks on the axes are labeled in inches, [1] (for example, WL 100 is 100 inches above the base waterline).

Contents

Fuselage station

Fuselage stations on a scheme of a fuselage (atypically FS 0 is amidship, usually origin is at the nose, and FS values are nonnegative) Lofting fs.png
Fuselage stations on a scheme of a fuselage (atypically FS 0 is amidship, usually origin is at the nose, and FS values are nonnegative)

Fuselage stations are traditionally nonnegative, thus the origin is located at the nose of the plane or, sometimes, ahead of it. When compared to the coordinates used for aeromechanics, the fuselage stations are measured in the opposite direction than the ticks on the x-axis (and might not be aligned at all, if the wind-aligned coordinate system is used to describe the flight). [1] Some manufacturers use the designation "body stations", with the corresponding abbreviation BS. [2]

Waterline

Water lines on a scheme of a fuselage. Baseline is at the ground line, all WL values are nonnegative Lofting wl.png
Water lines on a scheme of a fuselage. Baseline is at the ground line, all WL values are nonnegative

Per the US Air Force Airframe Maintenance and Repair Manual (1960), a horizontal waterline extends from the nose cone of the aircraft to the exhaust cone. The base line of the aircraft is designated as waterline 0 (zero). The location of this base line varies on different types of aircraft. However. the planes of all waterlines above and below the zero waterline are parallel. [3] The waterline number (WL or W.L.) in the US is expressed in inches, values increase upwards. Two typical alignments for the base line are the tip of the nose (negative WL are possible) or the "nominal ground plane" (measurements will be nonnegative). [4]

Butt line

Butt lines on a scheme of a stabilizer (BL ticks are symmetrical here, usually ticks on the left are negative) Lofting bl 01.png
Butt lines on a scheme of a stabilizer (BL ticks are symmetrical here, usually ticks on the left are negative)

Butt line ticks increase to the right of the pilot with the origin at the centerline. When compared to the (right-handed) aeromechanics coordinate systems, the direction of the butt line is opposite to the y-axis. [1]

Other

Other coordinate references on the aircraft body Lofting other.png
Other coordinate references on the aircraft body

Many other reference points are used, especially on a large aircraft: [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aileron</span> Aircraft control surface used to induce roll

An aileron is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll, which normally results in a change in flight path due to the tilting of the lift vector. Movement around this axis is called 'rolling' or 'banking'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cessna 152</span> Two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane

The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed-tricycle-gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating a number of minor design changes and a slightly more powerful engine with a longer time between overhaul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight control surfaces</span> Surface that allows a pilot to adjust and control an aircrafts flight attitude

Aircraft flight control surfaces are aerodynamic devices allowing a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slip (aerodynamics)</span> Aerobatic maneuver

A slip is an aerodynamic state where an aircraft is moving somewhat sideways as well as forward relative to the oncoming airflow or relative wind. In other words, for a conventional aircraft, the nose will be pointing in the opposite direction to the bank of the wing(s). The aircraft is not in coordinated flight and therefore is flying inefficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi MU-2</span> Utility transport aircraft

The Mitsubishi MU-2 is a Japanese high-wing, twin-engine turboprop aircraft with a pressurized cabin manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It made its maiden flight in September 1963 and was produced until 1986. It is one of postwar Japan's most successful aircraft, with 704 manufactured in Japan and San Angelo, Texas, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helio Courier</span> Type of aircraft

The Helio Courier is a cantilever high-wing light STOL utility aircraft designed in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio-controlled aircraft</span> Aircraft controlled remotely via radio control

A radio-controlled aircraft is a small flying machine that is radio controlled by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver within the craft that sends signals to servomechanisms (servos) which move the control surfaces based on the position of joysticks on the transmitter. The control surfaces, in turn, directly affect the orientation of the plane.

Aircraft flight mechanics are relevant to fixed wing and rotary wing (helicopters) aircraft. An aeroplane, is defined in ICAO Document 9110 as, "a power-driven heavier than air aircraft, deriving its lift chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surface which remain fixed under given conditions of flight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterline</span> Line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water

The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cessna 210 Centurion</span> Six seat retractable gear single-engine general aviation aircraft

The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engined, high-wing general-aviation light aircraft. First flown in January 1957, it was produced by Cessna until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan ST</span> American light airplane

The Ryan STs were a series of two seat, low-wing monoplane aircraft built in the United States by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were used as sport aircraft, as well as trainers by flying schools and the militaries of several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites ARES</span> Type of aircraft

The Scaled Composites ARES is a demonstrator aircraft built by Scaled Composites. ARES is an acronym for Agile Responsive Effective Support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Eagle Flight 4184</span> 1994 plane crash in Indiana, US

American Eagle Flight 4184, officially operating as Simmons Airlines Flight 4184, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois, United States. On October 31, 1994, the ATR 72 performing this route flew into severe icing conditions, lost control and crashed into a field. All 68 people aboard were killed in the high-speed impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunting H.126</span> Type of aircraft

The Hunting H.126 was an experimental aircraft designed and built by British aviation company Hunting Aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aircraft principal axes</span> Principal directions in aviation

An aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: yaw, nose left or right about an axis running up and down; pitch, nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing; and roll, rotation about an axis running from nose to tail. The axes are alternatively designated as vertical, lateral, and longitudinal respectively. These axes move with the vehicle and rotate relative to the Earth along with the craft. These definitions were analogously applied to spacecraft when the first crewed spacecraft were designed in the late 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aileron roll</span> Aerial maneuver

The aileron roll is an aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft does a full 360° revolution about its longitudinal axis. When executed properly, there is no appreciable change in altitude and the aircraft exits the maneuver on the same heading as it entered. This is commonly one of the first maneuvers taught in basic aerobatics courses. The aileron roll is commonly confused with a barrel roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Airlines Flight 812</span> Non-fatal inflight emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona

Southwest Airlines Flight 812 was a Boeing 737-300 passenger jet that on April 1, 2011, suffered rapid depressurization while cruising at 34,000 ft (10,000 m) near Yuma, Arizona, leading to an emergency landing at Yuma International Airport. Two of the 123 people on board suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was operating Southwest Airlines' domestic scheduled service from Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow roll (aeronautics)</span> Aircraft manoeuvre

A slow roll is a roll made by an airplane, in which the plane makes a complete rotation around its roll axis while keeping the aircraft flying a straight and level flightpath. A slow roll is performed more slowly than an aileron roll; although it is not necessarily performed very slowly, it is performed slowly enough to allow the pilot to maintain balance, keeping a steady flightpath, pitch angle, and height (altitude) throughout the maneuver. The maneuver is performed by rolling the airplane at a controlled rate with the ailerons, and moving the elevators and rudder in opposition, or "cross-controlling," to keep the plane on a steady, level flightpath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNCASO Deltaviex</span> Type of aircraft

The SNCASO Deltaviex or SNCASO-ONERA Deltaviex was a small French experimental jet aircraft, first flown 30 April 1954 and distinguished by highly swept, small span wings. It was designed to explore the possibility of controlling roll and yaw with fine jets of air bled from the engine's compressor.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-7 was a development of the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-3 experimental fighter. Planned as a Mach 2-class aircraft, the I-7 was the second of a series of three experimental fighter aircraft from the Mikoyan-Gurevich design Bureau. Like the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-3, the I-7 was to be one of the components of the automated Uragan-1 then under development by protivovozdushnaya oborona strany, the Soviet defense system.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Takahashi 2017, Coordinate Frames.
  2. 1 2 FAA 2012, p. 1-39.
  3. United States. Air Force 1960, p. 14-20.
  4. Takahashi 2017, p. 77.

Sources