1 - Introduction

Abstract

From the time of our emergence as a separate species Homosapiens has been a traveler. He started firstly on foot, then used animals, and finally started developing vehicles. This book is concerned with one of mankind's most productive forms of transport and its performance, stability, and control characteristics. And this chapter provides an introduction to the book. The later sections of the chapter are intended to be an introduction to the characteristics of aircraft that determine the performance, to engine performance and to the relevant properties of the atmosphere. The book describes aircraft performance, which is the reason for its existence and the most important starting point for design. It is also concerned with the stability and control of aircraft. The safety of the occupants and of the aircraft is one basic driving force in this study. The design and operation of aircraft is highly circumscribed by government safety regulations and occasional references are made to various airworthiness requirements. The feature which characterizes all the topics, dealt in this book, is the interaction between the dynamics of the aircraft and the aerodynamic forces and moments generated on its surfaces by the motion.