PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - G Limits in aerobatic aircraft
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Old 20th Jun 2011, 12:33
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You can see the vertical axis is the load factor ("G limit"), and the horizontal axis speed. The normal axis stall speed at various loads is the curve marked "accelerated stall", and it runs up until meets the quoted G limit for that particular airframe.

The basic theory is: Pull back on the stick below this meeting point (ie. below the manoeuvring speed), and the wing will stall, thus unloading it, before it over-stresses. Pull back on the stick above this speed, and you will overload the wing before it can stall ...

If an aircraft is certified for a max +/- G loading then presumably;

1. This G load is permissable up to the VNE. Put another way does the stress on the airframe increase with speed or does the total G load "capture all", as it were.
You can see that as the speed increases towards VNE, you enter the caution range. Gust loads here will have a consequently higher effect on the airframe, which may result in an overload. The Ultimate G limits reduce (you can see the reduction on the negative side, the positive side reduction is off the scale), I would guess due to flutter problems outside of the ability for the damping control to be effective.

2. Even I know that "compound" manouvers put additional strain on the airframe (I suppose a lomke..whatsit being the most extreme example i can think of) and back when i flew only spamcans one was always warned to be very careful of multiple inputs (like ailerons and elevator in concert when recovering from a spiral dive). So is it the case that again the G meter catches all and the spamcan warning only applies because it doesn't have one.
No - compound manoeuvres reduce the G-limit for the airframe, the G meter only measure G along the normal axis.
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