Rev 1-2020

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 1
 •Aircraft design, analysis, & optimization based on real industry methods and
decades of personal experience, not a few equations from someone else’s book
•25+ years of evolutionary development
•Integrated CAD, aerodynamics,
weights, propulsion (jet & prop),
stability & control, sizing, range,
performance, & cost analysis.
•Switches between MKS and FPS
•Student & Professional versions
in use world-wide
•Professional version adds
automated trade studies,
MDO/multivariable optimizer,
greater accuracy, fully-lofted
surface geometry, IGES CAD RDS win is 100k+
output, & numerous other “Design lines of all-original
Pro” features source code
Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
RDSwin is not a product of, nor is it tested or endorsed by Microsoft.

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 2
•RDSwin allows taking an aircraft design from first conceptual layout through
functional analysis, leading to performance, range, weight, and cost results.
•By automating the “grunt work” of vehicle analysis, RDSwin makes enough time
for the student to truly learn design, and for the design professional to do a wide
range of initial trade studies before the first design concept is released to other
groups.
•All-new, all-original computer code (even the CAD module)
•True Windows* Application, with
pulldown menus, popup boxes, fonts,
graphics, dialog boxes, clipboard
read/write, Undo/Redo, and more
•RDSwin outputs analysis results and
program data to popup boxes, text files,
Windows printers, or directly to your
spreadsheet, word processor, or
internet browser.
•Powerful & flexible, with ~600 pulldown
menu commands and ~100 submenus,
plus on-screen buttons and hot keys
(*runs perfectly in 32- or 64-bit Windows)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 3
AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach
Practical Working Knowledge
of Aircraft Design
....As It Is Actually Performed

Overview of the Whole Design

Process
•Design Layout
•Systems Integration
•Aircraft Analysis, Sizing,
Performance, & Cost
•Optimization & Trade Studies
•Complete design examples

Award-winning Best Seller

60,000+ copies sold

available at http://www.aircraftdesign.com
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 4
Main Screen with Pulldown Menu & Module Buttons

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 5
 RDSwin Modules & Program Flow
DESIGN LAYOUT RDS-Pro Only

OPTIMIZATION & CARPET PLOT

AERODYNAMICS WEIGHTS PROPULSION
RDS-Pro Only

RDS-Pro Only
AIRCRAFT DATA FILE

SIZING & PERFORMANCE COST

MISSION ANALYSIS

•The main program page of RDSwin looks like this, and you can click on the boxes
to go to those modules
•Or navigate using the pulldown JumpTo menu, or use the pulldown File-Open, or
start RDS by clicking on an RDS file, or......

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 6
 RDSwin: A KEY PHILOSOPHY !
The User is in Charge - Answers do NOT flow down automatically !
•AIRCRAFT DATA FILE acts like a filing cabinet which you fill with aero,
weights, and propulsion information on your design. This information then
gets used for sizing, range, performance, trade studies, and optimization
•This permits & almost forces the user to review the analysis results
before using it for anything important
•This also allows the mixing of
data sources for calculations
 RDS analysis
 Wind tunnel
 CFD & FEM
 Other analysis
 Test data

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 7
 RDS Can Be Used For All Sorts
of Aircraft and Spacecraft

Reusable Launch
Advanced Vehicle
Fighter
Civil Transport

General
Aviation

Tactical UAV
Dynamic Lift Airship

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 8
 Ideal for Concept Alternative Design Studies

Tandem Open Rotor

Open Rotor Open Rotor Shielded Open Rotor NASAWL1c.DSN
NASAWLD1.DSN NASAWL1d.DSN NASAWL1a.DSN

Blended Wing Body

NASAWL4b.DSN
Forward Swept Joined Wing Joined/Braced Wing
NASAWLD2.DSN NASAWLD3a.DSN NASAWLD3.DSN

Oblique Wing
NASAWLD5.DSN Tandem Wing
Twin Fuselage
NASAWLD6.DSN Box Wing NASAWLD8.DSN
NASAWLD7.DSN

Tailless Tandem
Open Rotor
NASAWLD9.DSN
C-Wing
Tailless Open Rotor 3-Surface
NASAWL11.DSN
NASAWL10.DSN NASAWLD12.DSN
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 9
 RDS Design Layout Module (DLM)
>35,000 lines of all-new interactive CAD code
Numerous airplane-specific features and capabilities:
 Quickly Create New Fuselage, Wing/Tail, Wheel, Gear ShockStrut,
Streamlined Strut, External Store, Engine, Seat, and others
 Position, Scale, Stretch, Copy, Instance, & Mirror Components
 Reshape Wings & Derived Components by Revising Ref. Wing Data
 Output Formatted Geometric Data Table (TAB)
 Output DXF, VSAERO, & RhinoCAD files (Pro only)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 10
 RDSwin has its own CAD Module - Why?
•Commercial CAD systems were developed for detail part and
production design, not the fluid environment of Concept Design

•Drawbacks of commercial CAD systems:

 Too much time to develop an initial aircraft configuration
 Too much work to modify the configuration layout for each trade
study and concept iteration
 Too much focus on perfect local geometry, not enough on the
overall concept being developed
 Too generic – what’s an airplane?

•Discussions with vendors of existing CAD systems were not

rewarding – nobody wanted to make the enhancements required
to produce a tool optimized for aircraft conceptual design (“you
can already do all those things…” – sure, but it takes too long!)
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 11
Aircraft Defined as Collection of Components
•Components are parts of the airplane defined in the usual vocabulary
(wing, tail, fuselage, tire, engine, duct, spar, etc...)
•Components are generally individual closed shapes
•Components include geometric and non-geometric information
Component name
Local axis system (X, Y, Z, Roll, Pitch, Yaw)
Symmetry & mirror options
Type of geometry (point, quartic, or quartic surface)
Component pre-rotation & Viewing Code
Actual stored points (X, Y, Z) as stacked sections
Component Type Code SAWE RP8A+
Last change date
Component notes (user-input)
Installed weight, uninstalled (or empty tank) weight
Component Xcg,Ycg,Zcg
25 data items peculiar to type - reference wing parameters
- length, width, height
•“Non-real” components are possible (cg symbol, tail-down angle, etc...)
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 12
 RDS-DLM: Unique Tools For Comp Scaling:
The Unique Tasks... •X
•Y

•Create Component Create Comp: •Z

•Get Comp from File •Fuselage •YZ

•Select Comp for Edit •Wing/Tail •XYZ

•Shape Component •Wheel •X/YZ (hold volume)

•Scale Component •Gear Leg ShockStrut

•Copy Component •Streamlined Strut Wing Revision:
•Make Comp Instance •External Store •Reference Area
•Delete Component •Engine •Aspect Ratio
•Misc Comp Options •Seat •Taper Ratio
•Comp Parameters •Box •Sweep
•Cylinder •Dihedral
•Sphere •Airfoil t/c
…a small sampling •Body Of Revolution •Twist & Incidence
•New Empty Comp •Replace Airfoil
•Enter LE & TE lines
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 13
 RDSwin Design Viewing
•RDSwin DLM “knows” what an airplane is, and makes it
easy to get typical aircraft design views
Side, Top, Rear, and Front
Isometric, Orthographic, Perspective
Shaded, hidden-line renderings with
or without wireframe lines
Component relative views (side, top, or
rear in component’s axis system)
Three-Views with various orientations
Entireaircraft cross-section cut at component
cross-section location or at a defined cut-plane
Stacked cross section, waterline, and buttock-
plane cuts
•All viewing options are available in the
pulldown menu (<1 second)
•Single stroke hot-keys available for common
views (and press H for Help popup)
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 14
 DLM FlyView and FlyAssemble
•RDSwin lets you “Fly” the airplane to change views and to move or rotate
components, using the mouse as a “control stick” like a pilot flies an airplane.
•Views and component moves can also be done from pulldown menu or with
arrow keys, and common views are available as hot keys

Shift+MouseLeft
(yaw)

Shift+MouseDown
Ctrl+ (+Y)
Mouse Left
(roll)
Ctrl+MouseDown
(pitch)
MouseUp
(+Z)

Mouse Right (+X)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 15
 Joystick FlyView and FlyAssemble
•Use your flight simulator control stick to “Fly” the airplane to change views, or
to move and rotate selected components
•Single hand operation using a multifunction controller (3-axis + paddle)
•Stick motion controls translation and perspective distance (twist)
•Trigger is held for 3-axis rotations
•Paddle controls zoom (normally used for throttle)
•Buttons do instant render and cross-section cuts

Sorry, RDSwin is not a flight simulator and you

cannot actually fly your airplane. But, the joystick
controller is very handy for design and viewing!

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 16
 Three Geometry Representations
1. Cross sections defined by Surface Points

2. Cross sections defined by SuperConics

3. Surfaces defined by SuperConics (RDSwin-Pro only)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 17
SuperConic Parametric Curve (NURB family)
•Modified 4th degree Bezier polynomial such that middle point
is on the curve, not floating in space
•Visually looks like classic conic lofting but with extra powers
•Quartic defined by five control points:
 Two endpoints A & B
 Two tangent control points CA & CB (conic has single C point)
 Shoulder point S on the curve, somewhere in its middle
CA
C
A CB A
S S

Classic Conic Quartic

Maier, Robert., “Quartic Curves”,

B B Rockwell/North American Aviation TFD-

78-718, Los Angeles, CA 1978

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 18
 SuperConic Shaping
CA
CB A
S

CA
CB A
CA B
S
A
S
B

CB
B
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 19
 On-Screen SuperConic Shaping
(each from moving one point)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 20
 On-Screen SuperConic Shaping
(4 quick changes)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 21
 On-Screen SuperConic Shaping
(4 quick changes)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 22
 SuperConic Reshaping in Side & Top Views

•Moved Upper Centerline

Points by Mouse Inputs

•Slope Control Points

Automatically Moved Too

•Can move any point in

side, top, or rear view
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 23
 SuperConic Surface Components
•Modified 4th degree Bezier polynomials extended to
surface patches using second parametric variable
•As 5 points make a SuperConic Line, so 5 SuperConic
Lines make a SuperConic Surface (“patch”)
P5 P10
P4 P15 only in RDSwin-Pro
P3
P2
P20

P1 P25

P6 P23 P24
P11 P22
P16 P21 Raymer, D., “Conceptual Design Modeling in the
RDS-Professional Aircraft Design Software,”
AIAA Paper 2011-161, AIAA Aerospace Sciences
Meeting, Orlando, FL, 2011
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 24
 Single SuperConic Surface Patch
•SuperConic Cross Sections define longitudinal shape
•Sections 1 & 5 are patch beginning and end (A & B)
•Section 3 is patch middle line (S for “shoulder”)
•Sections 2 & 4 are “collars” (CA & CB) that control slopes coming
from the patch ends
1 2 3 4 5
Top view

A CA S C B
B

Side view

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 25
 SuperConic Surface Patch Is Fully Defined
•Those 5 sections fully define that patch mathematically
•Here showing 21 cross sections and 11 lines per patch

DisplayViewOptions-ChangeDisplay#Lines&Points

RDSwin Superconic surface components export to

IGES as Entity Type 128 (Rational B-Spline Surface)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 26
Cross Section Using Two SuperConic Patches
•5 cross sections, each with two SuperConic curves
•Sections 1, 3, & 5 are on the surface
•Sections 2 & 4 are collars
•This is one longitudinal “patch bay”

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 27
 Two Longitudinal SuperConic Patch Bays
•9 cross sections, each with two SuperConic curves
•Two longitudinal patch bays - ie., two SuperConic
•Sections 1, 3 , 5, 7, & 9 are on the surface
•Sections 2, 4, 6, & 8 are collars
•Sections 4 & 6 must be colinear for slope continuity

only in RDSwin-Pro
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 28
 Two Longitudinal SuperConic Patch Bays
•Sections 1, 3 , 5, 7, & 9 are on the surface
•Sections 2, 4, 6, & 8 are collars
•Sections 4 & 6 must be colinear for slope continuity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
SuperConic
Bay 2
Longitudinal Bay 1

Section
Super-
Conic 1

Section
Super-
Conic 2

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 29
 Automatic Longitudinal Smoothing
•AutoSmooth uses Method of Akima to move the slope
control “collar” sections to obtain a smooth shape with
longitudinal slope continuity
•Instantly, with no further inputs!

SuperConic
Bay 2
Longitudinal Bay 1

Section
Super-
Conic 1
Same surface cross sections as previous slide! Section
Super-
Conic 2

only in RDSwin-Pro ShapeComponent-AutosmoothSuperConicSurfaceComp

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 30
 Automatic Longitudinal Smoothing
•Automatically recognizes straight longitudinal lines,
and creates constant cross section or straight taper

•2nd derivative continuity is approximated by having

adjacent collars same distance from patch end section
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 31
 Non-Planar and Non-Parallel Sections
•Normally DLM components are built from parallel,
planar cross sections, stacked in the X direction
•For a canted inlet front face or similar geometry, cross
section X values can be canted and warped out of
perpendicular using:
 ComponentParameters-AllowNonParallelSections
 ShapeComponent-Cant Cross Section
 ShapeByLongitudinalLines
 ShapeOneCrossSection (numeric X input)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 32
 Trapezoidal Wing Shaping

Stretch
Sections

StretchSections:
•Stretch in Z only
•Stretch Proportional
•Stretch in Y only
•Stretch front/back
•Stretch top/bottom
• " to ditto last stretch

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 33
 Stretch Airfoil Sections – Three Options
1. Maintain t/c so thickness scales proportionally with chord,
resulting airfoil is “photo-scaled”
2. Maintain actual thickness so t/c reduces as chord increases,
resulting airfoil is “photo-stretched”

3. Keep thickness so t/c reduces as chord increases, but stretch

only from maximum thickness point. Result is like a “glove.”
Sweep of wing’s maximum thickness line is unchanged

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 34
 Reference Wing Redesign:
Parameter Revision

Area Sref 535 535

Aspect Ratio 3 5
Taper Ratio 0.2 0.2
Sweep (LE) 35 45
Sweep (c/4) 25.547 40.914
Airfoil NACA 64-006 NACA 64-006
Thickness t/c 6% 6%
Dihedral -2 -2
Incidence 0 0
Twist 0 0
Span 40.062 51.72
Root Chord 22.257 17.24
Tip Chord 4.451 3.448
Mean Chord 15.332 11.876
Y-bar 7.79 10.057
X loc (apex) 22.132 18.394
X loc (c/4) 31.42 31.42
Y location 0 0
Z location 0.7 0.7

…10 seconds

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 35
 Reference Wing Redesign:
LE/TE/Span Input

Area Sref 535 544.09

Aspect Ratio 3 3.329
Taper Ratio 0.2 0.197
Sweep (LE) 35 38.889
Sweep (c/4) 25.547 31.171
Airfoil NACA 64-006 NACA 64-006
Thickness t/c 6% 6%
Dihedral -2 -2
Incidence 0 0
Twist 0 0
Span 40.062 42.559
Root Chord 22.257 21.366
Tip Chord 4.451 4.203
Mean Chord 15.332 14.704
Y-bar 7.79 8.259
X loc (apex) 22.132 19.595
X loc (c/4) 31.42 29.932
Y location 0 0
Z location 0.7 0.7

…10 seconds

RDS-Pro Only

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 36
 Extended SAWE8 Group Weight
Statement Component Categories
Used to identify component types for weights analysis and geometry listings

•002-000:Ref Wing •031-000:Fuselage •080-999:MiscFltCntrl

•002-001:2nd Wing •031-001:Canopy •081-000:CockpitCntrl
•002-002:BiplaneWing2 •031-002:Fairing/Pod •082-000:AutoFltCntrl
•002-003:LEX •031-003:InletFairing •083-000:SystemCntrls
•002-004:Winglet •031-004:Tailboom •084-000:Aux Power
•002-005:Wing Strut •031-005:2nd Fuselage •085-000:Instruments
•002-006:WingStruct •031-006:Door •086-000:Hydraulics
•002-999:Wing-Other •031-007:Speed Brake •087-000:Pneumatics
•008-000:Aileron •031-008:Body Flap •088-000:Electrical
•008-001:Elevon •031-009:Payload Bay •090-000:Avionics
•009-000:Spoiler •031-010:Bay-Other •090-001:Antenna
•010-000:Flaps(TE) •031-011:PassngerComp •091-000:AvionicInstl
•011-000:Flaps(LE) •031-012:Structure •092-000:Armament
•012-000:Slats •031-999:Fuslag-Other •094-000:Accomodation
(Partial listing)
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 37
 Geometric Output File (TAB)
•Spreadsheet-formatted geometric data for reporting & analysis input
•Wing & Tail trapezoidal reference data (shown)
•Component L, W, H, Swet, Volume, Location, Centroid, SAWE8 code, …
•Component Section Perimeters and Areas vs. X-distance
•Inputs for RDS analysis Wing WingGlove HorTail VertTail
Area Sref 5833 5833 600 555
Aspect Ratio 1.82 1.82 2.5 0.9
Taper Ratio 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.1
Sweep (LE) 62.893 62.893 47.599 59.981
Sweep (c/4) 55.527 55.527 38.641 51.918
Airfoil NACA 64A-010 NACA 64A-010 NACA 64A-010 NACA 64A-010
Thickness t/c 0.099 0.099 0.099 0.099
Dihedral 2 -2 0 0
Incidence 0 0 0 0
Twist 0 0 0 0
Span 103.034 103.034 38.73 22.349
Root Chord 107.833 107.833 26.942 45.15
Tip Chord 5.392 5.392 4.041 4.515
Mean Chord 72.059 72.059 18.313 30.374
Y-bar 17.99 17.99 7.297 8.127
X loc (apex) 102.139 102.14 233.001 217.661
X loc (c/4) 155.299 155.3 245.57 239.32
…10 seconds Y location 0 0 18 18
Z location -6 -6 3.08 5.01
Tail Vol 0.129 0.078
Comp Type RefWing HorizTail VertTail
SAWE8 Code [002-000] [002-003] [020-001] [020-003]
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 38
Volume Distribution Plot
•10 seconds
•Watertight Solid Model not required
•Broomstick for capture area effects

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 39
 •CreateNew (design) •FlyAssemble
•Component-NewWing/Tail
•Component-NewComponent
•Fuselage

•ViewRelative-Front (of wing)

•ShapeComponent-MoveSections
•FlyAssemble

•FlyAssemble

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 40
 •Shape
-StretchCrossSections
20 minutes

•NewComponent-Engine •FlyAssemble
•Shape-StretchCrossSections

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 41
 •ShapeOneCrossSection
•ShapeByLongitudinalLines

•FlyAssemble

40 minutes

•ShapeOneCrossSection
•ShapeByLongitudinalLines •GetComponentFromFile
(Digital Dan)
•FlyAssemble

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 42
•NewComponent-Canopy
•Component-NewWing/Tail
•FlyAssemble
•Shape (various)

2 hours
2 hours

•ShapeOneCrossSection
•ShowSliceThroughAllComps •View-SliceViews-CrossSections

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 43
 •GetCompFromFile (cut plane)
•FlyAssemble

•GetCompFromFile (ground)
•NewComponent-wheel
•NewComponent-strut
•FlyAssemble, Scale, Stretch,…

3.5 hours

•View-SliceWithCutPlane

•View-SliceViews-ButtockPlane

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 44
 •_

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 45
 RDS ANALYTICAL METHODS

•Classical aerodynamics methods

 DATCOM lift curve & max lift
 Component buildup for parasitic drag
 Leading-edge suction (drag-due-to-lift)
 Empirical transonic estimations
•Longitudinal stability & trim
•Statistical component weights
Most methods are described in Raymer’s text
•Jet, Turboprop, and Piston-Prop “AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach”

•Full mission sizing, range, & performance analysis capabilities

•Development & procurement cost, yearly O&S costs
•“Canned” trade studies - Cdo, range-payload, cost,… RDS-Pro Only

•Carpet Plots & Multivariable Optimizer RDS-Pro Only

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 46
 RDS ANALYTICAL METHODS
•Most methods are described in Dr. Raymer’s
classic text AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual
Approach, now in its 5th edition
•With 50,000 copies sold, it is the premier
textbook in the world today for learning
aircraft conceptual design
•Well-worn copies are commonly seen in
industry and government design offices

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 47
AERODYNAMICS
RESULTS

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 48
 TYPICAL WEIGHTS RESULTS
FIGHTER/ATTACK GROUP WEIGHT STATEMENT: MKS Units
STRUCTURES GROUP 2053.1 EQUIPMENT GROUP 1391.0
Wing 662.0 Flight Controls 297.4
Horiz. Tail 127.2 Instruments 55.7
Vert. Tail 0.0 Hydraulics 77.9
Fuselage 713.9 Electrical 323.5
Main Lndg Gear 286.4 Avionics 448.9
Nose Lndg Gear 77.6 Furnishings 98.7
Engine Mounts 17.7 Air Conditioning 86.5
Firewall 26.7 Handling Gear 2.4
Engine Section 9.5 MISC EMPTY WEIGHT 453.6
Air Induction 132.0 TOTAL WEIGHT EMPTY 4965.6

PROPULSION GROUP 1067.9 USEFUL LOAD GROUP 2509.6

Engine(s) 688.1 Crew 99.8
Tailpipe 0.0 Fuel 2006.1
Engine Cooling 78.0 Oil 22.7
Oil Cooling 17.2 Payload 381.0
Engine Controls 9.1 Passengers 0.0
Starter 17.9 Misc Useful Load 0.0
Fuel System 257.6 TAKEOFF GROSS WEIGHT 7475.2

EMPTY CG= 7.2 LOADED-NO FUEL CG= 7.1 GROSS WT CG= 7.0

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 49
 PROPULSION RESULTS - JET

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 50
 PROPELLER ANALYSIS RESULTS

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 51
 Sizing and Mission Range
•Typical Sizing Missions can be selected from a list, or you can pick
mission segments from the buttons shown below. Then you are taken to
an input grid to enter required information such as range, throttle setting,
speed, and altitude. A complicated new mission can be created in 5
minutes or less.
•When Do Analysis is selected, the aircraft in your Aircraft Data File (DAT)
is sized to the mission, or the range that your aircraft can attain is
calculated. RDSwin then shows a full printout.
•In RDSwin-Pro, automatic trade studies such as range vs. SFC can be
done instantly. Students must do such trades “manually,” using RDS to
calculate the effect of changes in the parametric variable. With RDS this
only takes 5-10 minutes.

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 52
 SIZING & RANGE CALCULATION
Sample: Ohio Airship Dynalifter
MISSION SEGMENT MISSION SEGMENT WEIGHT Wi/WO FUEL BURN (lbs-m)
FRACTION SEGMENT TOTAL
1 TAKEOFF SEGMENT 0.9990 0.9990 227.2 227.2
2 TAKEOFF SEGMENT 0.9992 0.9982 177.2 404.4
3 CLIMB and/or ACCEL. 0.9935 0.9917 1453.0 1857.3
4 CRUISE SEGMENT 0.5401 0.5356 102625.5 104482.9
5 DESCENT ANALYSIS 0.9990 0.5351 125.8 104608.6
6 LOITER SEGMENT 0.9945 0.5321 667.0 105275.7
7 CLIMB and/or ACCEL. 0.9959 0.5299 493.3 105769.0
8 CRUISE SEGMENT 0.9595 0.5084 4833.8 110602.8
9 DESCENT ANALYSIS 0.9989 0.5079 123.0 110725.8
10 LOITER SEGMENT 0.9949 0.5053 587.3 111313.1
11 LANDING SEGMENT 0.9990 0.5048 113.7 111426.8
Reserve & trap : 6685.6
Total fuel :118112.4

Seg. 4 CRUISE : 100.0 kts at 10000.0 ft RANGE = 2880.5 nmi

Seg. 6 LOITER : 70.0 kts at 2000.0 ft ENDURANCE = 0.3 hrs
Seg. 8 CRUISE : 75.0 kts at 10000.0 ft RANGE = 200.0 nmi
Seg. 10 LOITER : 60.0 kts at 2000.0 ft ENDURANCE = 0.3 hrs
TOTAL RANGE = 3080.5 TOTAL LOITER TIME = 0.66
FUEL WEIGHT = 118094.3 EMPTY WEIGHT = 250637.7
USEFUL LOAD (less Wf)= 81,268.0 AIRCRAFT GROSS WEIGHT = 450000.0

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 53
 IMPACT OF RANGE ON SIZED WEIGHT

RDS-Pro Only

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 54
 RATE OF CLIMB

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 55
 RDS COST ANALYSIS: CHECK CASE F-16
RAND DAPCA IV MODEL

PROJECT FILE: F16COST

Investment Cost Factor = 1.15 15 Aircraft/month
DAPCA Fudge Factor = 1.25 ( 1994 k$)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENGINEERING HOURS : 21,093. ENGINEERING COST : $ 1,641,001.
TOOLING HOURS : 12,373. TOOLING COST : $ 988,592.
MANUFACTURING HOURS : 65,853. MANUFACTURING COST : $ 4,344,331.
QUALITY CONTROL HOURS : 10,948. QUALITY CONTROL COST : $ 798,663.
DEVEL SUPPORT COST : $ 289,498.
FLIGHT TEST COST : $ 164,698.
MFG MATERIALS COST : $ 2,049,986.
ENGINE PROD COST (ea): $ 3,300.
AVIONICS (per plane): $ 3,000.

TOTAL HOURS : 110,267.

TOTAL COST : $ 15,946,769.
COST PER AIRCRAFT : $ 17,719.
PRICE PER AIRCRAFT : $ 20,376.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wikipedia says F-16C/D price was $18.8 million in 1998 dollars

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 56
 RDS Carpet Plot & MDO
Minimum Baseline Maximum Best
T/W 0.5808 0.726 0.8712 0.6223
W/S 61.02 76.271 91.53 68.284
ASPECT 2. 2.5 3. 3.
SWEEP 38.4 48. 57.6 39.314
TAPER 0.096 0.12 0.144 0.112
t/c 0.036 0.045 0.054 0.054
Fus l/d 11.08 13.846 16.62 16.532
CL-dsgn 0.16 0.2 0.24 0.2222
Sized Wo 45004 37208
Sized We 23870 20287
Sized Wf 18004 13791

Perf: Required Baseline Best

InstTurn 20. 25.819 27.918
Ps@n=5 0.0 53.072 115.32
Ps@n=1 0.0 30.679 44.2
Accel 30. 24.257 29.709
Takeoff 2000. 1221.3 1258.
Landing 2000. 2194.2 1964.8

PRICE k$ 40547 36173

LCC k$ 93953 88241

RDS-Pro Only

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 57
 MDO Results: Transport
38 less disallowed 8 variables
210000

206000

202000
Best MOM (Wo)

198000

Roulette OSD
194000

Tourn
190000
KillerQueen
BreederPool
186000
0 RDSwin 5000 10000 15000
# Cases
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 58
 3-DOF Trajectory Simulation

“RDS Optimal AeroSpace Trajectories” or “Raymer’s POST Approximation”

Rapid simulation of aircraft flight path or rocket vertical launch
Optimal trajectories or direct user control
Time step integration of F=ma: 300000

 Gravitational weight vector

250000

 Round-Earth centrifugal force

200000
 Staging & Orbit Circularization

Altitude (ft)
150000
Vehicle data from Aircraft Data File
 Thrust & SFC or ISP 100000

 Lift and Drag (Newtonian if >M6) 50000

 Weights 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
User-input limits on q, M, naxial, nlateral Down Range Distance (nmi)

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 59
ROAST Trajectory Results - Pullup to Launch

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 60
 RDS ANALYTICAL METHODS
•Most methods are described in Dr. Raymer’s
classic text AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual
Approach, now in its 6th edition
•With 50,000 copies sold, it is the premier
textbook in the world today for learning
aircraft conceptual design
•Well-worn copies are commonly seen in
industry and government design offices

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 61
Wow, Great Program !
– where do I get it and
what does it cost?

Nice of you to say so!

 RDSwin-Student is available separately or bundled with Dr. Raymer’s
textbook. It is fairly cheap, priced as “charity” to students and is not
to be used for professional (money-making) activities. Get it at
www.aiaa.org or www.amazon.com or other retailers. Make sure the
seller sends you RDSwin, not the old DOS version!
 RDSwin-Pro is available only from Conceptual Research Corporation.
It is relatively cheap – one customer has estimated that it would take
at least $100,000 per year to develop and support a similar capability
in-house.
For more information see www.aircraftdesign.com

This document is not an offer to sell nor a promise of functionality nor a warrantee
of any sort. RDS is delivered with a “shrink-wrap” license agreement which
supersedes any other warrantees, explicit, implied, or assumed.

Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 62
 RDSwin-Stud vs. RDSwin-Pro
•RDSwin-Student is written so students don't waste time doing calculations
•RDSwin-Pro is for professionals who work in industry, government, or
academia to develop and analyze new aircraft concepts. It includes:
 SuperConic Surface Component Design (4th degree Bezier Polynomical)
 Break mission into small step sizes for better sizing, range, and climb accuracy
 Find optimal cruise, loiter, and climb during sizing and range analysis
 Do automatic sizing trade studies – drag, SFC, weight, payload, and range
 Input and use jet engine part-power tables
 Use alternative atmosphere models (ISO+10, etc.)
 Calculate effects of winds on range and sizing calculations
 Customize analysis constants and Leading Edge Suction Schedule
 Underlay images for 3D “tracing”, allowing quick modeling of existing designs
 Create standard NACA airfoils, and import airfoils data in common formats
 Automatically scale design to match sizing and MDO (wings, tails, fuselage,
tires, gear struts, engine, inlet, nacelle, tanks, etc…)
 Export design layout in DXF, RhinoCAD, and VSAERO formats
 Carpet Plots and Multidisciplinary Design Optimizer (MDO) including GA
 ROAST trajectory code (aircraft, rocket, & launch vehicle time-step
performance)
•Compiled from same source code with portions skipped by metacommand
Conceptual Research Corporation: The Science of the Possible Copyright ©2020 by D. Raymer All Rights Reserved pg. 63