Trim Analysis of Box Wing Aircraft

Abstract

Computational studies at the conceptual design level were performed to investigate the longitudinal trim of a Box wing aircraft. The analysis was intended to show the points in the envelope at which the aircraft could be trimmed longitudinally. A similar analysis was performed on an equivalent conventional cantilever aircraft. The results suggests that further optimization is required for the Box wing as its trimmable flight envelope is smaller than that of an equivalent conventional cantilever aircraft. Nomenclature AoA: Angle of Attack [deg]; OEM: Operating Empty Mass [kg] Box wing aircraft's longitudinal trim should be practicable. It was therefore instructive to investigate the longitudinal trim of Box wing aircraft and how it compares to an equivalent conventional cantilever aircraft. The object of trimming is to bring the forces and moments acting on the aircraft into a state of equilibrium; a condition when the axial, normal and side forces, and the roll, pitch and yaw moments are all zero [9].