An Introduction To Aircraft Performance

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.

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.

Describes the principles and equations required for evaluating the performance of an aircraft.

Aircraft PERFORMANCE STRAIGHTFORWARD METHODS TO DESIGN AND OPERATE AIRCRAFT TO MEET PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS Aircraft Performance sets forth a group of tested and proven methods needed to determine the performance of an aircraft. The central theme of this book is the energy method, which enhances understanding of the standard methods and provides accessibility to advanced topics. As a result, readers gain a thorough understanding of the performance issues involved in operating an aircraft in an efficient and economic manner. While covering all the standard topics—level and climbing flight, range and endurance, take-off and landing, and maneuvering flight—the book focuses on the energy methods applied to path performance analysis. Throughout the text, numerous examples from both the commercial and military sectors show readers how the concepts and calculations are applied to real-life situations. Problems, ranging from basic to complex, test the readers’ understanding and provide an opportunity for essential practice. To help focus the readers’ attention on core issues, this text assumes that aerodynamics and propulsion are known inputs. Special appendices are provided to present some aerodynamic and propulsive equations and data. In general, topics are separated into horizontal and vertical plane approaches. Following an introduction and overview, basic energy concepts are employed to obtain a fundamental performance equation. This text, with its extensive use of examples and problem sets, is ideal for upper- level undergraduate and graduate students in engineering. It also serves as a reference for design engineers in both military and industrial sectors who want a set of clear and reliable methods to calculate aircraft performance.

Balancing technical material with important historical aspects of the invention and design of aeroplanes, this book develops aircraft performance techniques from first principles and applies them to real aeroplanes.

Aerodynamics and Aircraft Performance, 3rd edition is a college undergraduate-level introduction to aircraft aerodynamics and performance. This text is designed for a course in Aircraft Performance that is taught before the students have had any course in fluid mechanics, fluid dynamics, or aerodynamics. The text is meant to provide the essential information from these types of courses that is needed for teaching basic subsonic aircraft performance, and it is assumed that the students will learn the full story of aerodynamics in other, later courses. The text assumes that the students will have had a university level Physics sequence in which they will have been introduced to the most fundamental concepts of statics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, and basic conservation laws that are needed to understand the coverage that follows. It is also assumed that students will have completed first year university level calculus sequence plus a course in multi-variable calculus. Separate courses in engineering statics and dynamics are helpful but not necessary. Any student who takes a course using this text after completing courses in aerodynamics or fluid dynamics should find the chapters of this book covering those subjects an interesting review of the material. The 236-page text was created specifically for use by undergraduate students in Aerospace Engineering and was based on Professor Marchman’s many years of experience teaching related subject matter as well as his numerous wind tunnel research projects related to aircraft aerodynamics and his personal experience as the owner and pilot of a general aviation airplane. It has been used at Virginia Tech and other universities.

Textbook introducing the fundamentals of aircraft performance using industry standards and examples: bridging the gap between academia and industry Provides an extensive and detailed treatment of all segments of mission profile and overall aircraft performance Considers operating costs, safety, environmental and related systems issues Includes worked examples relating to current aircraft (Learjet 45, Tucano Turboprop Trainer, Advanced Jet Trainer and Airbus A320 types of aircraft) Suitable as a textbook for aircraft performance courses