Aircraft Flight Dynamics
Princeton University
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Aircraft Flight Dynamics introduces students to the performance, stability, and control of aircraft ranging from micro-uninhabited air vehicles through general aviation, jet transport, and fighter aircraft to Mars planes and re-entry vehicles. Particular attention is given to mathematical models and techniques for analysis, simulation, and evaluation of flying qualities, with brief discussion of guidance, navigation, and control. Topics include equations of motion, configuration aerodynamics, analysis of linear systems, and longitudinal/lateral/directional motions.
While the course focuses on the Science and Mathematics of flight dynamics, historical antecedents are presented as Case Studies in aircraft performance, stability, and control. The science and mathematics component is based on Flight Dynamics (2004, 2022). The case studies were initially motivated by Airplane Stability and Control: A History of the Technologies that Made Aviation Possible (2002), M. J. Abzug and E. E. Larrabee, and they are enhanced by reference to current web-based content.
SELECTED REFERENCES
- Abzug, M., and Larrabee, E., Airplane Stability and Control: A History of the Technologies that Made Aviation Possible, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- Abzug, M., Computational Flight Dynamics, AIAA Press, 1998.
- Anderson, J., Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, McGraw-Hill, 2011.
- Anderson, J., Aircraft Performance and Design, McGraw-Hill, 1999.
- Anderson, J., A History of Aerodynamics, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
- Ashley, H., Engineering Analysis of Flight Vehicles, Addison-Wesley, 1974.
- Asselin, M., An Introduction to Aircraft Performance, AIAA Press, 1997.
- Babister, A., Aircraft Dynamic Stability and Response, Pergamon Press, 1980.
- Beard, R., and McLain, T., , Small Unmanned Aircraft, Princeton University Press, 2012.
- Blakelock, J., Automatic Control of Aircraft and Missiles, J. Wiley & Sons, 1991.
- Cook, M., Flight Dynamics Principles, Elsevier, 2007.
- Etkin, B., and Reid, L., Dynamics of Atmospheric Flight, J. Wiley & Sons, 1972.
- Gibson, J., The Definition, Understanding and Design of Aircraft Handling Qualities, Delft University Press, 1997.
- Hodgkinson, Aircraft Handling Qualities, AIAA Press, 1999.
- Howard, F., and Gunston, B., The Conquest of the Air, Random House, 1972.
- Mair, W., and Birdsall, D., Aircraft Performance, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Klein, V. and Morelli, E.A., Aircraft System Identification - Theory and Practice, AIAA Education Series, 2006.
- Lowry, J., Performance of Light Aircraft, AIAA Education Series, 1999.
- McClamroch, N. H., Steady Aircraft Flight and Performance, Princeton University Press, 2011.
- McCormick, B., Aerodynamics, Aeronautics, and Flight Mechanics, J. Wiley & Sons, 1994.
- McRuer, D., Ashkenas, I., and Graham, D, Aircraft Dynamics and Automatic Control, Princeton University Press, 1973.
- Miele, A., Flight Mechanics: Theory of Flight Paths, Addison-Wesley, 1962.
- Napolitano, M., Aircraft Dynamics: From Modeling to Simulation, J. Wiley & Sons, 2011.
- Nelson, R., Flight Stability and Automatic Control, McGraw Hill, 1998.
- Nicolai, L., Fundamentals of Aircraft Design, School of Engineering, University of Dayton, 1975.
- Ojha, S., Flight Performance of Aircraft, AIAA Press, 1995.
- Pamadi, B., Performance, Stability, Dynamics, and Control of Airplanes, AIAA Press, 2004.
- Perkins, C., and Hage, R., Airplane Performance Stability and Control, J. Wiley & Sons, 1949.
- Phillips, W. F., Mechanics of Flight, J. Wiley & Sons, 2004.
- Pratt, R. W., ed, Flight Control Systems, AIAA Press, 2000.
- Raymer, D., Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, AIAA Press, 1989.
- Rolfe, J., and Staples, K., Flight Simulation, Cambridge University Press, 1986.
- Schlichting, H., and Truckenbrodt, E., Aerodynamics of the Airplane, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1979.
- Schmidt, D., Modern Flight Dynamics, McGraw-Hill, 2012.
- Schmidt, L., Introduction to Aircraft Flight Dynamics, AIAA Press, 1998.
- Seckel, E., Stability and Control of Airplanes and Helicopters, Academic Press, 1964.
- Stengel, R., Optimal Control and Estimation, Dover Publications, 1994. (originally published as Stochastic Optimal Control, J. Wiley & Sons, 1986.)
- Stengel, R., Flight Dynamics, Princeton University Press, 2004.
- Stevens, B., and Lewis, F., Aircraft Control and Simulation, J. Wiley & Sons, 2004.
- Stinton, D., Flying Qualities and Flight Testing of the Airplane, AIAA Press, 1996.
- Stinton, D.,The Anatomy of the Airplane, AIAA Press, 1998.
- Taylor, J., Aircraft, Aircraft, Paul Hamlyn, undated.
- Tischler, M. B., Advances in Aircraft Flight Control, Taylor & Francis, 1996.
- Torenbeek, E., Synthesis of Subsonic Aircraft Design, Academic Press, 1982.
- Valasek, J., ed.,, Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures, J. Wiley & Sons, 2012.
- van der Linden, C., DASMAT-Delft University Aircraft Simulation Model and Analysis Tool, Delft University Press, 1998.
- Vincenti, W., What Engineers Know and How They Know It: Analytical Studies from Aeronautical History, Johns Hopkins Press, 1990.
- Vinh, N., Flight Mechanics of High-Performance Aircraft, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
SELECTED WEB LINKS
Software
Flight Simulation
Aerodynamics
Aircraft Design and Flight Testing
References, Data, and Images
Aviation History and Museums
Publications and Reports
Aeronautical and Technical Organizations
Aircraft Manufacturers
key words: aircraft flight dynamics, flight mechanics, stability and control, flying qualities, handling qualities, configuration aerodynamics, short period, phugoid, Dutch roll, roll, spiral, aeronautical case histories, aircraft performance, longitudinal dynamics, lateral-directional dynamics, coupled motions, inertial coupling, high angle of attack, aeroelasticity, nonlinear equations of motion, flight simulation, flight vehicles, earth's atmosphere.
last updated October 8, 2022, stengel at princeton.edu
Copyright 2022 by Robert F. Stengel. All rights reserved.
