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Module 18 · Real Project: Aircraft Stability & Control Analysis

Real Project: Aircraft Stability & Control Analysis

A worked static stability case study on a small aircraft — neutral point and static margin across the CG envelope, plus an elevator sizing check at the worst-case forward-CG, flaps-down trim condition.

The project brief: check a small single-engine aircraft's (2,450 lb MTOW, 174 ft² wing) approved 15%–35% MAC CG envelope for static longitudinal stability, then verify the horizontal tail and elevator have enough authority to trim the aircraft at every point in that envelope — including the worst-case combination of forward CG and a nose-down-pitching landing configuration. Framed as this program's baseline stability-and-control project, it walks the full sequence: neutral point from tail geometry, static margin at both CG limits, and a control-surface sizing check against the elevator's mechanical travel limit.

This module works the analysis the way a stability-and-control engineer actually would: a tail-volume-coefficient-based neutral point calculation, static margin at both the forward and aft CG limits, a trim equation solved for required tail lift and elevator deflection at the specific flight condition that demands the most control authority, and a check of that number against the elevator's mechanical limit — plus why the stability-critical CG case and the control-critical CG case turn out to be two different conditions. The full worked numbers, complete parameter table, and finished design reasoning are part of the unlocked module below.

Free related reading in this studio
→ Aircraft Stability & Control→ Concept Explainer: CG vs. Center of Pressure vs. Aerodynamic Center→ Concept Explainer: Static vs. Dynamic Stability

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