Exploration of aerodynamics performance helps understand an aircraft’s capabilities based on the design. Each aircraft design is different depending on how it responds and resists to control pressure on its way. Different features can be designed into an aircraft to enhance the purpose of the AircraftAircraft regarding certain maneuvering requirements and certain stability (Ho, 2018). Therefore, this paper will compare and contrast the performance capabilities of AC-130 Spooky Gunship and A-10 Warthog.
AC-130 Spooky Gunship is a heavy-armed aircraft with side-firing weapons combined with navigation and fire control systems and sophisticated devices. The AircraftAircraft is ninety-seven feet, nine inches, and thirty-eight three inches tall. AC-130 model has a wingspan of one hundred and thirty-two feet seven inches and a wing area of 1,745 square feet. The high wing design makes the AircraftAircraft suitable as a gunship.
A-10 was designed for close air support, with accurate weapons delivery and long loitering. The A-10 has good maneuverability at low altitude, airspeed, and highly accurate weapons delivery. The AircraftAircraft has a wingspan of fifty-seven feet, six inches, the height of fourteen feet, eight inches, and fifty-three, four inches long. The two Aircraft serve vital roles in protecting ground forces through their performance capabilities. For instance, the A-10 can be utilized against light maritime Aircraft and different ground targets such as armored vehicles and tanks.
AC-130 spooky gunship is also used for close air support, armed reconnaissance, and air interdiction (Vivenot, 2014). It uses the pylon turn method, which allows it to fly above the target area and produce a balanced volume of fire on the target. The A-10 is smaller than the AC-130 since it’s a more personalized attack aircraft. On the other hand, the AC-130 is a huge plane with a great length that allows it to deliver a devastating punch to its targets. A-10 carries a small craw compared to AC-130, which carries around thirteen flight crew members.
The aircraft power plant is an engine with different components such as pistons, fans, and cylinders that produce the energy required to propel an aircraft. Relatively, the power plant may be a combination of an engine and propellers, which work together to produce the thrust and drive different systems of the plan that support the plan operation. The A-10 uses the TF34-GE-100A turbofan engines that can fly at maximum speed of 439 miles per hour (Green, 2016). The AC-130 uses four T56-A15 turboprop engines. The AC-130 is a large plane that requires more than two engines combined due to the large airframes.
The tail design of an aircraft is important since it controls and stabilizes the plane during the up and down movements and the side to side movements. The A-10 and AC-130 have different tail designs designed to help in theAircraft’s stability. The A-10 has a dual tail design due to the positioning of the engine towards the rear of the fuselage. The AC-130 has a more conventional tail design which increases accuracy when firing and causes the AircraftAircraft to turn at a slow rate. The conventional tail design is more efficient since it gives smoother airflow, which lowers drag.
In summation, the aircraft design affects its performance capabilities. The controllability and maneuverability of the AircraftAircraft are influenced by the size of the AircraftAircraft, the tail design, and the components of the aircraft power plant.
