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GATE 2023 AE – Question 32

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 · Numerical answer

An airplane weighing 40 kN lands on a horizontal runway and is retarded by an arresting cable of tension 100 kN, inclined 10° below horizontal. Engine thrust balances airplane drag. The horizontal load-factor magnitude (one decimal place) is ________.

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Correct answer: 2.49 to 2.51

Explanation

The horizontal cable force is $100\cos10^\circ$ kN. Dividing by 40 kN gives $n_x=2.462$, or 2.5.