Based on a 15-year successful approach to teaching aircraft flight mechanics at the US Air Force Academy, this text explains the concepts and derivations of equations for aircraft flight mechanics. It covers aircraft performance, static stability, aircraft dynamics stability and feedback control.
This volume from The NASA History Series presents an overview of the science of hypersonics, the study of flight at speeds at which the physics of flows is dominated by aerodynamic heating. The survey begins during the years immediately following World War II, with the first steps in hypersonic research: the development of missile nose cones and the X-15; the earliest concepts of hypersonic propulsion; and the origin of the scramjet engine. Next, it addresses the re-entry problem, which came to the forefront during the mid-1950s, showing how work in this area supported the manned space program and contributed to the development of the orbital shuttle. Subsequent chapters explore the fading of scramjet studies and the rise of the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) program of 1985–95, which sought to lay groundwork for single-stage vehicles. The program's ultimate shortcomings — in terms of aerodynamics, propulsion, and materials — are discussed, and the book concludes with a look at hypersonics in the post-NASP era, including the development of the X-33 and X-34 launch vehicles, further uses for scramjets, and advances in fluid mechanics. Clearly, ongoing research in hypersonics has yet to reach its full potential, and readers with an interest in aeronautics and astronautics will find this book a fascinating exploration of the field's history and future.
This absorbing book describes the long development of the Soviet space shuttle system, its infrastructure and the space agency’s plans to follow up the first historic unmanned mission. The book includes comparisons with the American shuttle system and offers accounts of the Soviet test pilots chosen for training to fly the system, and the operational, political and engineering problems that finally sealed the fate of Buran and ultimately of NASA’s Shuttle fleet.
The purpose of this manual is to provide recovery system engineers in government and industry with tools to evaluate, analyze, select, and design parachute recovery systems. These systems range from simple, one-parachute assemblies to multiple-parachute systems, and may include equipment for impact attenuation, flotation, location, retrieval, and disposition. All system aspects are discussed, including the need for parachute recovery, the selection of the most suitable recovery system concept, concept analysis, parachute performance, force and stress analysis, material selection, parachute assembly and component design, and manufacturing. Experienced recovery system engineers will find this publication useful as a technical reference book; recent college graduates will find it useful as a textbook for learning about parachutes and parachute recovery systems; and technicians with extensive practical experience will find it useful as an engineering textbook that includes a chapter on parachute- related aerodynamics. In this manual, emphasis is placed on aiding government employees in evaluating and supervising the design and application of parachute systems. The parachute recovery system uses aerodynamic drag to decelerate people and equipment moving in air from a higher velocity to a lower velocity and to a safe landing. This lower velocity is known as rate of descent, landing velocity, or impact velocity, and is determined by the following requirements: (1) landing personnel uninjured and ready for action, (2) landing equipment and air vehicles undamaged and ready for use or refurbishment, and (3) impacting ordnance at a preselected angle and velocity.
The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics was written for pilots at all levels from private pilot to airline pilot, military pilots and students of aerodynamics as a complete reference manual to aerodynamic terminology. General aerodynamic text books for pilots are relatively limited in their scope while aerodynamic text books for engineering students involve complex calculus. The references in this book, The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics, are clearly described and only basic algebra is used in a few references but is completely devoid of any calculus - an advantage to many readers. Over 1400 references are included with alternative terms used where appropriate and cross-referenced throughout. The text is illustrated with 178 photographs and 96 diagrams. The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics is an ideal aerodynamic reference manual for any pilot's bookshelf.