Capabilities and limitations of an aircraft’s climbing flight

The subject of the analysis is the trajectory of a jet aircraft in climbing flight in a symmetrical configuration. The steepest climb, the fastest climb, and gliding flight (climb without engine operation) were analyzed. A mathematical and computer model was developed using MATLAB-Simulink, and simulations were conducted for various flight speeds and pitch angles.1. INTRODUCTION
The time to reach a specific altitude is an important parameter characterizing a given aircraft. The rate of climb will be greater the lower the aircraft’s mass and the greater the excess thrust of the jet engine. Sometimes in literature, the term unit thrust of an aircraft is encountered, which is the ratio of the propulsion system’s thrust to the mass (weight) of the aircraft. An aircraft with a higher unit thrust has an advantage in vertical and oblique planes during air combat.
Modern aircraft, when operating the engine at maximum afterburner range, have a unit thrust greater than unity. The aircraft considered in the article has a unit thrust at the maximum engine operating range for a mass of
3800 kg ≈ 0.29, while for a mass of 3000 kg ≈ 0.36. In some situations, it is required to gain a specific altitude at the expense of losing speed. Such situations occur during low-level flights. In the event of an engine failure, an altitude of 250 m must be reached.
The possibilities of gaining altitude for an aircraft mass of 3300 kg were analyzed, which corresponds to the mass of the aircraft with 1 pilot, without external stores, and with approximately 800 liters of fuel remaining in the tanks. (…)

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