Conceptual Design of a Flying-V Aircraft Family

Abstract

The Flying V is a flying-wing aircraft, which promises a 20% reduction in fuel consumption compared to a conventional twin-aisle commercial transport. The passenger cabin, cargo hold and fuel tanks are all integrated into a highly-swept, cranked wing. This study presents the conceptual design of a three-member family of Flying-V aircraft with maximal commonality between the family members. A design process is proposed to automate the synthesis process of the aircraft family comprising all relevant disciplinary analysis methods. A vortex-lattice method is employed to study the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft, enhanced with a viscous drag prediction method to estimate the lift-to-drag ratio. Weight of the aircraft is estimated using a combination of empirical and analytical methods. A constrained optimization algorithm is employed that minimizes fuel consumption, ensuring commonality in terms of design-variable values between family members. Comparing the resulting two largest family members to their conventional twin-aisle counterparts shows a 20% and 22% reduction fuel burn, respectively. The smaller two family members feature 100% commonality with the largest family member allowing for further reduction in fuel consumption if this constraint is relaxed. Driving parameters in Flying-V family design are the center-of-gravity excursion during flight, the wing span and the fuel tank volume.