Introduction to Aircraft Performance, Selection, and Design

A self-contained in-depth treatment of aircraft performance, designed for a first course in aeronautical or aerospace engineering for undergraduate engineers. Provides an understanding of why conventional aircraft look and fly the way they do. This well written text covers turbofan and turboprop propulsion, subjects often avoided in other texts. New to the text is the treatment of wind effects on aircraft. Includes illustrative examples and references to practical piloting procedures and the significance of parameters. Aircraft Forces and Subsystems.

Level Flight in the Vertical Plane: Turbojets.

Other Flight in the Vertical Plane: Turbojets.

Turning Flight in the Horizontal Plane: Turbojets.

Level Flight in the Vertical Plane: Piston-Props.

Other Flight: Piston-Props.

Turboprops, Turbofans, and Other Things.

Figures of Merit for Selection and Design.

Effects of Wind on Performance.

Stability and Control Considerations.

Some Design Examples.

Appendixes. Francis J. Hale is a Professor of Mechanical &Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University, Raleigh.He received his BS from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point,his SM in controls and instrumentation, and ScD in aeronautics andastronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology He isan Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics andAstronautics, a member of the Order of Daedalians, and holdsmemberships in many other professional and honor societies. Beforejoining North Carolina State University in 1965, Professor Hale hadan active career in the Army and Air Force where he worked inengineering, research, and development, tested aircraft weaponsystems, served as Deputy Director of the Thor and Minuteman WeaponSystems, and was a rated pilot. Here is a self-contained, comprehensive introduction to the performance and design characteristics of aircraft with conventional propulsion systems. This teaching-text for a first course in aeronautical or aerospace engineering imparts an understanding of why conventional aircraft look and fly as they do. After working through this book, students and design engineers will be able to take the physical characteristics of any existing aircraft and from them determine the aircraft’s range, flight regime, rate of climb, turning rate, and all other performance characteristics. The text gives a detailed overview of all the supporting technologies involved in aircraft design, including propulsion, aerodynamics and stability. It also provides a unique, in-depth treatment of turbofan and turboprop propulsion. Introduction to Aircraft Performance, Selection, and Design emphasizes simple analytical relationships applicable to classes of aircraft, rather than the traditional graphical techniques applicable only to individual aircraft with specified weights, wing areas and altitudes. It gives numerous illustrative examples and incorporates into the text many references to practical flying procedures. The text includes work-problems in each chapter and involves minimal mathematical skills such as the ability to solve a quadratic equation, take a first derivative, and perform a single integration. Throughout the book the author uses the English system of units, often with corresponding SI units and values shown in parentheses. The most accessible text of its kind, Introduction to Aircraft Performance, Selection, and Design will be an indispensable resource for all students in aeronautical or aerospace engineering, as well as practicing engineers who need a quick refresher or updating.