Product Description

Most pilots and flight students wince at the mention of the term "aerodynamics" because most courses and books dealing with the subject do so using complicated scientific theory and intricate mathematical formulas. And yet, an understanding of aerodynamics is essential to the people who operate and maintain airplanes. This unique introductory guide, which sold more than 20,000 copies in its first edition, proves that the principles of flight can be easy to understand, even fascinating, to pilots and technicians who want to know how and why an aircraft behaves as it does. Avoiding technical jargon and complex calculations, Hubert "Skip" Smith demonstrates how aerodynamic factors affect all aircraft in terms of lift, thrust, drag, in-air performance, stability, and control. Readers also get an inside look at how modern aircraft are designed-including all the steps in the design process, from concept to test flight and the reasoning behind them. This edition features expanded coverage of aircraft turning and accelerated climb performance, takeoff velocities, load and velocity-load-factors, area rules, and hypersonic flight, as well as the latest advances in laminar flow airfoils, wing and fuselage design, and high-performance lightplanes. Question and answer sections are added for classroom use.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126120 in Books
• Published on: 1991-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 337 pages

About the Author
Hubert C. "Skip" Smith (University Park, PA) is Associate Professor Emeritus, Aerospace Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of McGraw-Hill's The illustrated Guide to Aerodynamics, Second Edition.

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive, simple and comprehensible
Unless one has considerable experience interpreting mathematical formulae, it may be worth their while to consider a book such as this before reading a university level aerodynamics textbook. The textbook will be made somewhat more comprehensible knowing the basic principlew which a more descriptive book, such as this one, can teach simply. Most textbooks in the subject, even those meant as introductory, give a painfully mathematical and theoretical treatment with insufficient verbal explanation. They are meant for complete school courses, where a teacher can qualitatively describe the physical principles.

Without the benefit of professors, a book like Smith's isrequired to provide the intuitive capacity which then makes the textbooks useful. The Illustrated Guide to Aerodynamics was not prepared as a university textbook, hence its semi-quantitative, largely practical, explanation of aerodynamics principles, but students will still find it valuable in reducing the effort needed when they turn to their textbooks. The important concepts are all covered and explained well, along with aerodynamics terms and design considerations. Use this book to help you understand, the others to help your grade point average. Smith's book would also be understandable to those who are not students, but do want to know about the physical principles involved in aircraft flight. Many diagrams and graphs explain the subject matter in pictures. A knowledge of basic mechanics and basic fluid mechanics is required, however.

My only complaint is the author's use of English units on an SI continent. English units are somewhat forgiveable however, since aerodynamics and fluid mechanics are areas which continue to resist complete conversion to SI. In any case, the formulae in the book are meant mainly to illustrate cause and effect relationships. Though the book was for the topic of flight, some basics in materials and structures would have been welcome too.

Thank you, "Skip", for writing a comprehensive book on aerodynamics which is enjoyable and comprehensible. You have taught us to read aerodynamics.

An excellent reference for pilots and aircraft homebuilders
I found Skip Smith's book to be an excellent layman's introduction to aerodynamics. Fluid mechanics does not usually make for interesting, easily comprehensible reading, but Dr. Smith's book is clearly the exception. I'm constantly irritated by the very inaccurate descriptions of aerodynamics given in many flying magazines and instructional books. This book has none of those common errors. Reading this book should greatly increase the average pilot's knowledge of how his plane flies and what huge design constraints aeronatical engineers have to live with. Highly recommended reading for all those who are interested in learning more about the principles of flight.

Really Useful Reference
I read this book for research that I am doing at school. In this book the author carefully and slowly explains the principles of aerodynamics. His approach is perfect for those of us who are new to the subject.

The layout of the book makes sense. The book includes many examples along with thorough explanations of these examples. (He also gives many interesting anecdotal comments.) Additionally, the author's handling of the material is simple, but not so basic that one cannot get a full understanding of aerodynamic forces acting on an airplane and on the structures than comprise the vehicle.

This book is a very useful reference for understanding aerodynamic forces and how these forces can be determined and predicted.