Introduction to Aircraft Flight Mechanics,
Second Edition
Thomas R. Yechout; Steven L. Morris; David E. Bossert; Wayne F. Hallgren; James K. Hall
print ISBN: 978-1-62410-254-7
DOI: 10.2514/4.102547
2014
Forthcoming during Spring 2014!
Based on 25 Years of Aircraft Flight Mechanics Teaching at the U.S. Air Force Academy
About the Book
Introduction to Aircraft Flight Mechanics, Second Edition revises and expands this acclaimed, widely
adopted textbook. Outstanding for use in undergraduate aeronautical engineering curricula, it is written
for those first encountering the topic by clearly explaining the concepts and derivations of equations
involved in aircraft flight mechanics. It begins with a review of basic aerodynamics and propulsion and
continues through aircraft performance, equations of motion, static stability, linearizing equations of
motion, dynamic stability, classical feedback control, stability and control augmentation, Bode, state
space, and special topics. The second edition also features insights about the A-10 based upon the
author’s career experience with this aircraft.
Past winner of the AIAA Summerfield Book Award, this text contributes greatly to learning the fundamental
principles of flight mechanics that are a crucial foundation of any aeronautical engineering curricula. It
contains both real world applications and problems. A solutions manual is available to instructors by
contacting AIAA.
About the Author
Tom Yechout is a Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He earned his
Doctor of Engineering degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas and is an AIAA
Associate Fellow. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the NASA Outstanding Achievement
Award, Frank J. Seiler Award for Research Excellence, and the Heiser Award as the Outstanding USAFA
Senior Faculty Educator. He was also honored by the Carnegie Foundation as the 2011 Colorado Professor
of the Year. His background includes development and flight testing of the F/FB-111, A-7D, F-4E, and Lear
35 aircraft as well as extensive experience with the A-10. In addition, he has served as the principal
investigator for numerous wind tunnel investigation programs, holds the patent for the Rakelet wing tip
modification concept, and has authored over 200 technical publications.
Modeling and Simulation of Aerospace Vehicle
Dynamics, Third Edition
Peter H. Zipfel
print ISBN: 978-1-62410-250-9
DOI: 10.2514/4.102509
2014
Forthcoming during Spring 2014!
About the Book
Modeling and Simulation of Aerospace Vehicle Dynamics, Third Edition unifies all aspects of flight
dynamics for the efficient development of aerospace vehicle simulations. It provides the reader with a
complete set of tools to build, program, and execute simulations. Unlike other books, it uses tensors for
modeling flight dynamics in a form invariant under coordinate transformations. For implementation, the
tensors are converted into matrices, resulting in compact computer code.
In this third edition, the emphasis shifts from FORTRAN to C++, in recognition of the upsurge of object
oriented programming in engineering simulations. A new appendix spotlights the C++ architecture of the
CADAC++ simulation framework. To aid this new focus, the CADAC4 software package provides—in
addition to the FORTRAN programs—eight C++ simulations, which range from UAVs, aircraft, missiles, and
boosters to hypersonic aircraft with transfer vehicles for satellite rendezvous. CADAC4, including CADAC
Studio for plotting, may be downloaded for free by entering the Supporting Materials password supplied in
the book. You need only a Windows-based PC (32 or 64 bit) and a Microsoft C++ compiler.
Amply illustrated, this text can be used for advanced undergraduate and graduate instruction or for selfstudy. Seventy eight problems and nine projects amplify the topics and develop the material further.
Qualified instructors may obtain a complimentary solutions manual from AIAA.
This book also serves as an anchor for three forthcoming, updated self-study courses which are based on
M&S courses in C++ previously taught at the University of Florida.
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•Building Aerospace Simulations in C++, Third Edition
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•Fundamentals of Six Degrees of Freedom Aerospace Simulation and Analysis in C++, Second Edition
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•Advanced Six Degrees of Freedom Aerospace Simulation and Analysis in C++, Second Edition
About the Author
Peter H. Zipfel is a graduate of the University Stuttgart, Germany, and the Catholic University of America
with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. He founded Modeling and Simulation Technologies, which advises
and instructs functional integration of aerospace systems using computer simulations. For 35 years he
taught courses in modeling and simulation, guidance and control, and flight dynamics at the University of
Florida, and over the span of 50 years he created aerospace simulations of helicopters, missiles, aircraft,
and hypersonic vehicles for the German Helicopter Institute, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Air Force. He is an
AIAA Associate Fellow and an internationally recognized short course instructor.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Innovation at
the Naval Research Laboratory
Jay Gundlach
Richard J. Foch
ISBN: 978-1-62410-259-2
List Price: $69.95
Chronicles Nearly Forty Years of Groundbreaking Unmanned Aircraft Development
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Innovation at the Naval Research Laboratory recounts the
previously untold story of unmanned aircraft research and development at the Naval Research
Laboratory (NRL) Vehicle Research Section (VRS). It features vehicles that have charted the
course of unmanned aircraft history in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A comprehensive
history of lessons-learned, the book features more than 100 unmanned aircraft covering various
missions, levels of autonomy, configurations, propulsion systems, structural materials, and more.
It includes vehicles designed for missions such as:
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chemical/biological/nuclear agent detection
reconnaissance
surveillance
antisubmarine warfare
ship electronic warfare protection
signals intelligence
scientific missions
sensor emplacement
systems integration support
payload testing
planetary exploration
Written from engineering and aircraft design perspectives familiar to industry professionals, this
text is nonetheless accessible to the nontechnical aviation enthusiast. It honors the
accomplishments of the tireless and gifted teams who made these innovative aircraft and their
technologies possible. It is a unique and unparalleled contribution to the history of aircraft design
and development.
Jay Gundlach, president of Gundlach Aerospace, is a leading UAS subject matter expert with
two decades of experience in UAS product development. Previously, he was Director of
Conceptual Design at Aurora Flight Sciences, where he developed advanced aircraft designs,
supported environmental research, and served as the Orion ultra-long endurance UAS program
manager. As Insitu’s Vice President of Advanced Development he led the development of the
runway independent RQ-21 Integrator small tactical UAS. He worked in NRL’s Vehicle
Research Section as a contractor where he helped develop 17 UASs and supported Lockheed
Martin Aeronautical Systems in advanced transport research as a consultant. He is the author of
Designing Unmanned Aircraft Systems: A Comprehensive Approach. He earned his Ph.D. and
M.S. from Virginia Tech.
Richard J. Foch has a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in aerospace engineering. In
1979, he joined NRL as an aerospace engineer for the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division’s
Offboard Countermeasures (OCM) Branch. From 1985-2005, Foch headed TEW’s Vehicle
Research Section. During this period, the Section developed over 50 expendable unmanned
aircraft for Navy applications. He was the principal investigator for the USMC Dragon Eye
Small UAV Program and a key member of technology development teams for NASA Mars
Airplane concepts. As the DoD Senior Scientist for Expendable Vehicles, he oversaw NRL
research on autonomous unmanned air, land, space, and sea vehicles. He has published
extensively on small expendable air vehicles and their technologies. Foch received the
Meritorious Civilian Service Award, NRL Special Act Award, and the Navy Distinguished
Civilian Service Award. He retired in 2013 after 33 years of service.
Analytical Mechanics of Space Systems,
Third Edition
Hanspeter Schaub and John L. Junkins
ISBN: 978-1-62410-240-0
List Price: $109.95
Recipient of the Summerfield Book Award
Analytical Mechanics of Space Systems, Third Edition provides a comprehensive treatment of dynamics
of space systems, starting with the fundamentals and covering topics from basic kinematics and dynamics
to more advanced celestial mechanics. The reader is guided through the various derivations and proofs in
a tutorial way and is led to understand the principles underlying the equations at issue, and shown how to
apply them to various dynamical systems. Part I covers analytical treatment of topics such as basic
dynamic principles up to advanced energy concepts. Special attention is paid to the use of rotating
reference frames that often occur in aerospace systems. Part II covers basic celestial mechanics, treating
the two-body problem, restricted three-body problem, gravity field modeling, perturbation methods,
spacecraft formation flying, and orbit transfers. MATLAB®, Mathematica®, Python and C-Code
toolboxes are provided for the rigid body kinematics routines discussed in chapter 3, and the basic orbital
2-body orbital mechanics routines discussed in chapter 9.
The third edition streamlines the presentation of material by adding additional examples, homework
problems, and illustrations. It includes expanded discussion on:
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Numerically integrating MRPs and using heading measurements and evaluating a threedimensional orientation
Numerically integrating the complex VSCMG differential equations of motion
The Lyapunov function and stability definitions
Implementing a rate-based attitude servo control solution, and integrating an integral feedback
component with a reaction wheel based attitude control, featuring new examples
Developing acceleration-based VSCMG steering laws for three-axis attitude control
developments
New Appendix I describes how to implement Kalman-Filter estimating MRP coordinates in a
non-singular fashion
About the Authors
Hanspeter Schaub is Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado. His
research interests include orbital mechanics, relative motion dynamics, attitude dynamics and control,
nonlinear dynamics, charged astrodynamics, and space debris mitigation. He received the University of
Colorado Dean’s Teaching Award and the Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Teaching Award in
2012. He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society. He is a
graduate of Texas A&M University.
John L. Junkins is Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and he
holds the Royce E. Wisenbaker Chair. He is Founding Director of the Texas A&M University Institute
for Advanced Study. Interests include analytical dynamics, estimation, and control. A prolific author and
academic mentor; awards and honors include AIAA’s Guidance, Navigation, and Control Award and the
ICCES Lifetime Achievement Medal. He is an Honorary Fellow of AIAA and a graduate of Auburn
University and UCLA.