Wolfgang Langewiesche, Stick and Rudder, McGraw-Hill
(1944) ISBN 07 036240 8.
Level:
Non-technical, easy to read.
Intended Readership:
Pilots.
Remarks:
This is a classic. It should be required reading for all
pilots.
Contents:
Wings, Some Air Sense, The Controls, The Basic Maneuvers,
Getting Down, The Dangers of the Air, Some More Air Sense.
Strengths:
Emphasizes the importance of energy management (although
by a different name). Emphasizes the role of the stick in controlling
airspeed.
Weaknesses:
Some sections are a bit dated, such as the (1944) plea
to switch from taildraggers to tricycle gear. Also: page 34
reiterates the common misconception that a stalled wing cannot produce
lift.
Robert Coram, BOYD – The Fighter Pilot who Changed
the Art of War (2002) ISBN 0-316-88146-5.
Level:
Completely non-technical, easy to read.
Intended Readership:
General public, military buffs.
Remarks:
John Boyd originated the
Energy-Maneuverability (“EM”) theory. This book is mostly
about the person and won’t teach you much about
pilot technique. Note that Boyd published very little; most of his
work was presented in classified briefings.
William K. Kershner, The Advanced Pilot’s Flight Manual,
Iowa State University (fifth edition, 1985) ISBN 0 8138 1300 X.
Level:
Non-technical.
Intended Readership:
Aspiring commercial pilots.
Remarks:
Fun to read. Recommended even for student pilots.
Contents:
Airplane Performance and Stability for Pilots; Checking
Out in Advanced Models and Types; Emergencies and
Unusual Situations;
Advanced Navigation; High-Altitude Operations; Preparing for the
Commercial Written and Flight Tests.
Strengths:
Covers a lot of good pilot-oriented material
not covered elsewhere. Escapes many of the standard misconceptions.
Trevor Thom, The Pilot’s Manual — The Airplane, Center
for Aviation Theory (1991). Available through AOPA.
Remarks:
Part of a three-volume set: Flight Training, The Airplane,
Flight Operations.
Level:
Non-technical.
Intended Readership:
Pilots (private and commercial).
Strengths:
Covers a lot of topics not covered elsewhere. Escapes
many of the standard misconceptions. Correctly emphasizes the
role of angle of attack (not camber) in creating lift.
Weaknesses:
Falls prey to some of the standard misconceptions about
separation vs. turbulence, P-factor, et cetera. Chapter 3
opens with a novel incorrect derivation of Bernoulli’s principle.
H. H. Hurt, Jr., Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators,
U.S. Navy (1960, revised 1965) “NAVWEPS 00-80T-80”.
Level:
Moderately technical. Uses equations.
Intended Readership:
Originally, Navy pilots.
Strengths:
The discussion of wings and lift is the best
I’ve seen in pilot-oriented books, and is illustrated with data on
real airfoils.
Weaknesses:
Later sections concentrate on high-speed flight and turbine engines — not of primary importance to most general aviation pilots.
The discussion of pitch stability is a disappointment: there is a huge
discussion of secondary issues like bobweights and wing/tail
interference, but not even a single mention of decalage.
Naturally, the discussion of canards runs into trouble.
Peter P. Wegener,
What Makes Airplanes Fly?, Springer-Verlag (1991) ISBN 0 387
97513 6.
Level:
Non-technical. A few simple equations here and there.
Intended Readership:
Liberal arts students.
Remarks:
Lots of historical background. Discusses the aerodynamics
of everything from birds to automobiles to supersonic airliners.
Discusses the economic impact of aviation.
Strengths:
Easy to read. Good discussion of circulation,
Kutta condition, bound & trailing
vortices. Nice table of form drag for various shapes.
W. N. Hubin, The Science of Flight : Pilot-oriented
Aerodynamics, Iowa State University Press (1992) ISBN 0 8138 0398 5.
Level:
Technical. Hundreds of equations; algebra but no calculus.
Intended Readership:
Pilots.
Contents:
Some Reasons and Some Terminology; Distances, Velocities,
and Times; Force, Mass, and Moments; Static Properties of the
Atmosphere; Subsonic Fluid Flow; Transonic and Supersonic Fluid Flow;
Airspeeds; Determining Airfoil Properties; Airfoil Coefficients; A
short History of Airfoils; Airfoils Compared; Properties of Wings;
Lift, Drag, and Power for the Complete Aircraft; Aircraft Performance;
Stalls, Dives, and Turns; Winds, Loops, Rolls, and Spins; Stability,
Trim and Control; Aerodynamic Simulation: Tunnels and Computers;
Aircraft Design Considerations.
Strengths:
A broader range of topics and a deeper level of detail
than available in typical pilot-oriented books. Hundreds of annotated
bibliographic citations. Clearly states that stability does not
require a download on the tail.
Weaknesses:
On several graphs, the power curve is shown continuing
below the stall speed. Although the concept of circulation is
introduced, the crucial connection is lost, namely the connection
between circulation, air parcel arrival times, camber, and Bernoulli’s
principle. Also falls prey to P-factor misconceptions.
Remarks:
Despite the “pilot-oriented” subtitle,
much of the material seems more oriented to designers than pilots.
Recommended for readers who would like more mathematical detail beyond
See How It Flies but don’t quite need a Ph.D. in aerodynamics.
FAA Advisory Circular AC 61-23C, Pilot’s Handbook of
Aeronautical Knowledge (revised 1997). Available through
the Government Printing Office; reprints available from pilot-oriented
bookstores and supply shops.
FAA Advisory Circular AC 61-27C, Instrument Flying
Handbook (revised 2001). Available through
the Government Printing Office; reprints available from pilot-oriented
bookstores and supply shops.
Level:
Non-technical.
Intended Readership:
All pilots, including students.
Weaknesses:
Many, including erroneous discussion of spiral dives.
Sanger M. Burk, Jr., James S. Bowman, Jr., and William L.
White, “Spin-Tunnel Investigation of the Spinning Characteristics of
Typical Single-Engine General Aviation Airplane Designs”, NASA report
(1977).
Peter Bradshaw, “Effects of Streamline Curvature on
Turbulent Flow”, NATO Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and
Development AGARDograph No. 169 (1973).
Level:
Technical.
Intended Readership:
Aerodynamicists.
Remarks:
Contains an authoritative discussion of the physics behind
the Coandǎ effect.
Thermodynamics is celebrated for its power, generality,
and elegance. However, all too often, students are taught some sort
of pseudo-thermodynamics that is infamously confusing, limited, and
ugly. This is an attempt to do better.
Robert T. Jones, Wing Theory, Princeton U. Press (1990)
ISBN 0 691 08536 6.
Level:
Technical. Uses calculus of complex variables.
Intended Readership:
Aerodynamicists.
Strengths:
Suggests extending Zhukovsky theory by using
compositions of Zhukovsky-like transformations, which is
definitely an advance over the product forms (with non-intuitive side
conditions) used since the days of the pioneers (von Kàrmàn &
Trefftz, von Mises). Advocates playing with airfoil sections on your
PC.
Weaknesses:
Disorganized. Spotty selection of topics. Programs
are buggy and inelegant.
Remarks:
Contains some interesting wrinkles, such as the lift-to-drag
curves for the forward wing of the Voyager aircraft that flew
around the world without refueling. The author clearly is a
worker in the field, not just a spectator.
Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, and
Matthew Sands, The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Addison-Wesley
(1970) ISBN: 0201 021153.
Level:
Progresses from introductory to technical.
Intended readership: Undergraduate physics and engineering majors.
Also read, re-read, and revered by Nobel prizewinners.
Strengths:
A classic. Brilliant, incisive, elegant. It will teach
you how to think like a physicist.
Weaknesses:
It’s like an SR-71, not like a C-152. Some people find
it too demanding.
Remarks:
A physicist’s physics book.
Contents:
Volume I: Laws of motion, thermodynamics, et cetera.
Volume II: Electricity, magnetism, fluid flow, et cetera. Volume
III: Quantum mechanics.
