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The thrust-to-weight ratio varies continually during a flight. Thrust varies with throttle setting, airspeed, altitude, air temperature, etc. Weight varies with fuel burn and payload changes. For aircraft, the quoted thrust-to-weight ratio is often the maximum static thrust at sea level divided by the maximum takeoff weight. [2]
The low speed region of flight is known as the "back of the power curve" or "behind the power curve" [7] [8] (sometimes "back of the drag curve") where more thrust is required to sustain flight at lower speeds. It is an inefficient region of flight because a decrease in speed requires increased thrust and a resultant increase in fuel consumption.
The type of jet engine used to explain the conversion of fuel into thrust is the ramjet.It is simpler than the turbojet which is, in turn, simpler than the turbofan.It is valid to use the ramjet example because the ramjet, turbojet and turbofan core all use the same principle to produce thrust which is to accelerate the air passing through them.
If speed decreases, drag decreases, and the aircraft will accelerate back to its equilibrium speed where thrust equals drag. However, in slow flight, due to lift-induced drag, as speed decreases, drag increases (and vice versa). This is known as the "back of the drag curve". The aircraft will be speed unstable, because a decrease in speed will ...
For jet engines, air flight speed is an important factor too. Air flight speed counteracts the jet's exhaust speed. (In an artificial and extreme case with the aircraft flying exactly at the exhaust speed, one can easily imagine why the jet's net thrust should be near zero.) Moreover, since work is force (i.e., thrust) times distance ...
Graphs of C L and C D vs. speed are referred to as drag curves. Speed is shown increasing from left to right. The lift/drag ratio is given by the slope from the origin to some point on the curve and so the maximum L/D ratio does not occur at the point of least drag coefficient, the leftmost point. Instead, it occurs at a slightly greater speed.
A thrust curve, sometimes known as a "performance curve" or "thrust profile" is a graph of the thrust of an engine or motor, (usually a rocket) with respect to time. [1] [2] Most engines do not produce linear thrust (thrust which increases at a constant rate with time). Instead, they produce a curve of some type, where thrust will slowly rise ...
This occurs at the speed for which the difference between thrust and drag is the greatest (maximum excess thrust). In a jet airplane, this is approximately minimum drag speed, occurring at the bottom of the drag vs. speed curve. Climbing at V Y allows pilots to maximize altitude gain per time. This occurs at the speed where the difference ...