Flight Physics

This book contains a synthesis of the fundamental disciplinesandapplications involved in the description and analysis ofaircraftflight. It covers introductions into the fields ofatmosphericproperties, applied aerodynamics, aircraft propulsion,flightperformance, and stability and control. Since it emphasizesthepractical side of flight physics, attention is duly paid tothehistorical development of aviation and specificaeronauticaltechnologies. The present text emphasizes the connection of allrelevantaeronautical disciplines by presenting a carefully selectedset ofinterrelated subjects. Most of these are treated bydefinitions ofelementary concepts, descriptions of the variousphysical phenomenaand mathematical derivations. Wherever possibleand useful,explanations have been further clarified by includinggraphicalillustrations, numerical examples and photographs. The main body of the text applies to aircraft operating atfairlylow speeds, where the compressibility of the atmospheric airis ofsecondary importance. A separate chapter is devoted to flightspeedsapproaching and exceeding the speed of sound. The largevariety ofexisting aircraft categories has been narrowed down to(fixed-wing)aeroplanes with conventional take-off and landingperformances.Elements of helicopter flight are reviewed in aseparatechapter.