Development and Application of a Calculation Program for the Landing Distance of Civil Aircraft

The landing distance of civil aircraft is the key parameter to evaluate aircraft landing performance, which is significantly important to flight safety and flight economy of civil aircraft. The present study developed a calculation program for aircraft landing distance through the understanding and analysis of the aircraft landing process and its phenomenon. The calculation program combines kinetic and dynamic analysis models for both the aircraft landing and taxi stages. The full aircraft polar curve is utilized to predict the overall lift and drag characteristics of the wing, fuselage, and flat tail. Additionally, the kinetic and dynamic analysis models consider the effects of the aircraft landing configuration, including the landing gear trend, aircraft flaps, and spoilers, on the lift and drag characteristics of the aircraft. The calculation program was developed and verified using MATLAB language and the calculation results were compared with those of the Airbus landing performance software FlySmart. The relative error was within + 3%. Then the calculation program was employed to calculate the aircraft’s approach speed and landing distance under various conditions for one airport.