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GATE 2024 AE – Question 28

Flight Mechanics & Space Dynamics · Airplane performance: drag polar, take-off and landing, climb and descent, ceilings, range and endurance, load factor, turning flight, V-n diagram, winds · 1 mark · Multiple select

Which of the following statements about a general aviation aircraft, while operating at point $Q$ in the $V$-$n$ diagram, is/are true?

A V-n diagram. The curved stall boundary rises from the origin and meets the horizontal positive limit load factor line at the point Q, the corner of the envelope.
  1. The aircraft has the highest turn rate
  2. The aircraft has the smallest turn radius
  3. The aircraft is flying with minimum drag
  4. The aircraft is operating at $C_{L,max}$

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Correct answer: (A) The aircraft has the highest turn rate; (B) The aircraft has the smallest turn radius; (D) The aircraft is operating at $C_{L,max}$

Explanation

Point Q is where the stall boundary (maximum lift coefficient) meets the limit load factor, the manoeuvring speed. The aircraft is at $C_{L,max}$ and it is at the highest load factor it can reach at that speed, which gives the highest turn rate and the smallest turn radius. At $C_{L,max}$ the aircraft is at a high angle of attack with high drag, not minimum drag.