Product Description

Twenty years after its first publication, this book continues to be regarded as the standard work on model aircraft, attracting worldwide interest and approval. This new edition includes new sections incorporating new research and developments in model flying practice. The book presents standard aerodynamic theory as it applies to model flight in a concise and practical form for enthusiasts wishing to better understand the behavior of their models in flight.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54932 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 350 pages

Customer Reviews

Great for understanding planes of all sizes
Even though its focus is models, this book is a great inexpensive companion to the far more costly textbooks on full-scale airplane design. A lot of its discussion is applicable to aircraft of any scale. About 1/3 of the book is devoted to airfoils, including discussions of section shape, camber, turbulent flow, laminar flow and the impact of Reynolds number. Like the other reviewer I particular like the appendixes which cover almost 130 pages of this book. The appendixes contain most of the math in the book, including the mathematical formulas for computing lift coefficient, camber, drag, static margin, etc. Mostly, though, they contain wind tunnel test results and profile shapes for many airfoils, not just the NACA ones, but also Eppler, Wortmann and Selig profiles and a few others that I had never heard of. The NACA profiles are easy to find (like in 'Theory of Wing Sections') but its nice to see such an extensive list of the harder-to-find profiles as well.

Really Solid and Easily Understood
As a professional aerospace engineer, I am often disappointed by books and articles written for amateurs and hobbyists. This book is a rare exception in that it is accurate, understandable and well laid out. The very low Reynolds number conditions that model aircraft fly in are sufficiently different from full scale that most engineers don't really understand what is going on. This book led me through unfamiliar territory and gave me a much fuller appreciation for the aerodynamics I encountered in very-high-altitude and planetary flight.

The best modeling book in my library
This is without a doubt the most useful book in my library and is a "must have" for any serious modeler. It not only gives the basics that any modeler should be able to understand but backs the concepts up with some basic math to prove the points. In addition, Martin has used the metric SI system of units which makes everything much easier to understand.