At AERALIS we’re very grateful for the large number of people that follow our progress with interest.

Although our aircraft are very traditional in structure, the wider air system of course is distinctly novel, and it’s understandable that our followers, aviation enthusiasts, engineers and industry peers alike should have questions.

So, in this series we’re going to answer some of those questions, which we hope you will find insightful and interesting.

Up first:

How has AERALIS managed the shift in Centre of Gravity (CoG), weight and balance etc, between aircraft configurations in terms of safe, predictable and consistent flight characteristics?

Centre of Gravity is critical for aircraft of all sizes as it affects a number of performance factors, including stability, fuel efficiency, control, manoeuvrability and, of course, safety. Crews calculate CoG before flight to ensure it falls within the aircraft’s safe operating parameters, and fuel is commonly transferred between tanks during flight to help maintain an optimised balance.

That’s with typical aircraft. The AERALIS air system however combines a Common Core Fuselage with different wings, engines, intakes and empennage, which all affect the weight and balance of the aircraft.

Here’s AERALIS Chief Engineer Tim Williams: “The process to assess and manage weight and balance of the aircraft was introduced right at the inception of the programme. Weight and balance has been reviewed at the programme’s regular design reviews and a clear acceptable range of CoG position has been defined.

“For significant configuration changes, for example: changing an Advanced Jet Trainer built for dynamic flight regimes to an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) or tanker, which have to fly for longer and at higher altitudes, the aircraft will have a fuselage ‘extension’ inserted between the Common Core Fuselage and the empennage to offset the larger wings, and to balance the pitching moment of the aircraft.

“AERSIDE (AERALIS Smart Integrated Digital Enterprise) is used to manage aircraft configuration and to ensure that the precise weight and balance of any built configuration is known, and that the appropriate flight control laws for the configuration are used.”

You can also ask the AERALIS team directly at DSEI. Find us on stand A-180.

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