Multidisciplinary Analysis Program For Light Aircraft (Mapla)

Abstract

The proposed semi-empirical Multidisciplinary Analysis Program for Light Aircraft “MAPLA” is particularly developed for the analysis of light, general aviation, propellerdriven, airplanes with a future perspective for the design of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) air vehicles. MAPLA is developed in MATLAB and includes four primary disciplines for analysis: Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Performance and Stability and Control. Specialized for light, singleand twinengine propeller-driven airplanes, available state-of-the-art analytical procedures and design data collections have been combined and modified in a unique compatible method and automated in MAPLA. The proposed multidisciplinary aircraft analysis platform is developed to be used for several objectives and aims to enhance the light aircraft design and development, flight tests and flight plan optimization. It is also a good source for educational purposes. KeywordsLight Aircraft Design, Multidisciplinary Design Optimization, Aerodynamicsm, Semi-empirical Methods, Trajectory Optimization, Handlig Quality