Aircraft Flight: A Description of the Physical Principles of Aircraft Flight

The first edition ofAircraft Flight, published in 1989, broke new ground in the field of aviation literature by providing an accurate, rather than mathematical, description of aircraft flight. This revised second edition builds in the strengths of the first with a clear and thoroughly up-to-date description of the principles of aerodynamics, mechanics and propulsion. As well as being a 'how it works' book, the range of compromises, choices and influences that can affect design decisions are examined. Significant developments in the field have been put into their historical perspective to give the reader a complete overview of the subject. Aircraft Flight will prove invaluable to anyone working or planning a career in the aircraft industry. For students of aeronautical engineering, it contains all the descriptive material necessary for courses from technician to degree level, and is background reading to the more mathematical texts. For trainee pilots, military and commercial, it gives an understanding of the fundamental principles of flight. For new entrants to the aviation and aerospace industries, it provides a basic understanding of the technical principles of aeroplanes and for aviation enthusiasts it gives a non-mathematical treatment they can readily comprehend.

The first edition of Aircraft Flight , published in 1989 broke new ground in the field of technical aviation literature by providing accurate physical, rather than mathematical, descriptions of the principles of aircraft flight.

The book has subsequently established itself as a popular and respected introduction to the study of aeronautics, and is now on the recommended reading lists for aerospace and aeronautical engineering courses at a large number of universities and colleges around the world.

In this fourth edition, the text and illustrations have been updated, and important recent developments such as unmanned air vehicles and the low-orbit space-plane are covered.

Key features of the fourth edition:

• additional and updated references and recommendations for further reading
• updated photographs and figures
• improvements to the technical descriptions, based on a reappraisal and on readers’ comments

Aircraft Flight will prove invaluable to anyone working in or planning a career in aviation. For students of aeronautical engineering, it contains all the descriptive material necessary for courses from technician to degree level, and will provide background reading to the more mathematical texts. For trainee pilots it gives an understanding of the fundamental principles of flight. For new entrants to the aerospace and related industries it provides a basic understanding of the technical principles of flight, and for aviation enthusiasts it gives a non-mathematical treatment they can readily comprehend.

RH Barnard PhD, CEng, FRAeS; formerly Principal Lecturer in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire.

DR Philpott PhD, CEng, MRAeS; formerly Principal Aerodynamic Specialist at Raytheon Corporate Jets and Reader in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire.