Flight Performance Envelope for an Aircraft with a Fixed-Pitch Propeller

A flight envelope for aircraft performance in the vertical plane illustrates the performance limitations on the aircraft, usually indicating the minimum and maximum airspeeds at a given altitude, the airspeeds for maximum rate of climb and maximum angle of climb at a given altitude, and the maximum altitude or absolute ceiling of the aircraft. This study outlines the procedure for constructing a vertical-plane flight performance aircraft for an aircraft with a fixed-pitch propeller, which involves additional complexities due to the variable propeller efficiency. The propeller performance, engine power, and drag polar models are described, as is the computational procedure. Envelopes for the flight performance in the vertical plane are presented for a particular remotely-piloted aircraft at different take-off weights.