Enhancement of aviation fuel efficiency for jet commercial transport aircraft based on static margin analysis

Purpose This paper aims to improve the fuel management level of jet transport aircraft based on effective means for judging the abnormal static margin (SM) and the influencing factors of fuel consumption. Design/methodology/approach The research applies flight data mining and fuzzy-logic modeling technologies to set up lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) and SM models for a four-jet transport aircraft by using its post-flight data in quick access recorder to monitor the SM movement during climbing and cruising flights. This paper will present the factors that influence the L/D, and how to monitor the deviation of the center of gravity (c.g.) for the aircraft based on the SM concept to assist airlines to cut down the budget on fuel waste. Findings During the climbing phase, the SM will be changed by the elevator angle and x ac will change with the flight Mach number. In the cruise phase of longer flight time, the obvious variation phenomenon is not caused by the x ac shift, but by the x cg shift. The predicted c.g. position of SM model with deviated abnormally, the stabilizer will be deflected by a certain angle to balance the pitch moment during cruise flight, which will generate trim drag and increase fuel consumption. Research limitations/implications This study assesses the factors that affect the aerodynamic performance of aircraft during the climb and cruise phases, and use the concept of SM to monitor the change of c.g. position to help civil aviation operators achieve the purpose of fuel saving. Practical implications This study can provide airlines with an effective way to comprehensively judge the influence factors of SM anomaly. The reduction of fuel consumption can promote the aircraft to achieve remarkable results in fuel management and energy conservation with emission reduction. Social implications The sensitivity derivative analysis has the ability to perform derivative prediction analysis on any input parameters, more flight cases can be enhanced in future research to improve flight safety and operational efficiency for airlines. Originality/value This study assesses the factors that affect the aerodynamic performance of aircraft during the climb and cruise phases, and use the concept of SM to monitor the change of c.g. position to help civil aviation operators achieve the purpose of fuel saving.