PHAK 5-11

Thrust required Velocity Lift coefficient CL Angle of attack Out of ground effect In ground effect Out of ground effect In ground effect Figure 5-17. Ground effect changes drag and lift. 14 Figure 5-16. Ground effect changes airflow. safety that allows wake turbulence dissipation. [Figure 5-15] For more information on wake turbulence, see Advisory Circular (AC) 90-23, Aircraft Wake Turbulence. Ground Effect Ever since the beginning of manned flight, pilots realized that just before touchdown it would suddenly feel like the aircraft did not want to go lower, and it would just want to go on and on. This is due to the air that is trapped between the wing and the landing surface, as if there were an air cushion. This phenomenon is called ground effect. When an aircraft in flight comes within several feet of the surface, ground or water, a change occurs in the three- dimensional flow pattern around the aircraft because the vertical component of the airflow around the wing is restricted by the surface. This alters the wing’s upwash, downwash, and wingtip vortices. [Figure 5-16] Ground effect, then, is due to the interference of the ground (or water) surface with the airflow patterns about the aircraft in flight. While the aerodynamic characteristics of the tail surfaces and the fuselage are altered by ground effect, the principal effects due to proximity of the ground are the changes in the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing. As the wing encounters ground effect and is maintained at a constant AOA, there is consequent reduction in the upwash, downwash, and wingtip vortices. Induced drag is a result of the airfoil’s work of sustaining the aircraft, and a wing or rotor lifts the aircraft simply by accelerating a mass of air downward. It is true that reduced pressure on top of an airfoil is essential to lift, but that is only one of the things contributing to the overall effect of pushing an air mass downward. The more downwash there is, the harder the wing pushes the mass of air down. At high angles of attack, the amount of induced drag is high; since this corresponds to lower airspeeds in actual flight, it can be said that induced drag predominates at low speed. However, the reduction of the wingtip vortices due to ground effect alters the spanwise lift distribution and reduces the induced AOA and induced drag. Therefore, the wing will require a lower AOA in ground effect to produce the same CL. If a constant AOA is maintained, an increase in CL results. [Figure 5-17] Ground effect also alters the thrust required versus velocity. Since induced drag predominates at low speeds, the reduction of induced drag due to ground effect will cause a significant reduction of thrust required (parasite plus induced drag) at low speeds. Due to the change in upwash, downwash, and wingtip vortices, there may be a change in position (installation) error of the airspeed system associated with ground effect. In the majority of cases, ground effect causes an increase in the local pressure at the static source and produces a lower indication of airspeed and altitude. Thus, an aircraft may be airborne at an indicated airspeed less than that normally required. In order for ground effect to be of significant magnitude, the wing must be quite close to the ground. One of the direct results of ground effect is the variation of induced drag with wing height above the ground at a constant CL. When the wing is at a height equal to its span, the reduction in induced drag is only 1.4 percent. However, when the wing is at a height equal to one-fourth its span, the reduction in induced drag is 23.5 percent and, when the wing is at a height equal to one-tenth its span, the reduction in induced drag is 47.6 percent. Thus, a large reduction in induced drag takes place only when the wing is very close to the ground. Because of this variation, ground effect is most usually recognized during the liftoff for takeoff or just prior to touchdown when landing.