Am. Inst. of Aero. & Astro.

Aircraft and rotorcraft system identification; engineering methods with flight-test examples.

The opening chapters of this textbook present the frequency-response method for system identification and comprehensive identification from frequency response (CIFER) software package as developed at the Ames Research Center. Subsequent chapters trace the steps from flight-test planning and instrumentation to data checking, appropriate choice of model structures, model identification, and checking. Flight-test results for the XV-15 tilt-rotor illustrate such methods as multi-variable spectral analysis, composite windowing, and state-space model identification. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Aircraft system identification; theory and practice.

This comprehensive overview is based on real-time applications and procedures used by NASA, and includes a wide range of examples based on actual flight-test and wind tunnel data. Klein (engineering emeritus, The George Washington U.) and Morelli, a research engineer at NASA, describe the elements of system theory, including modeling and parameter estimation, a mathematical model and the ways interconnecting and separate systems are assessed with it, estimation theory, regression methods, maximum likelihood methods, frequency domain methods, experiment design, data compatibility, data analysis, and applications of MATLAB software. Appendices give the mathematical background, information on probability and statistics as well as random variables, reference information, and material on an F-16 nonlinear simulation. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Elements of propulsion; gas turbines and rockets, 2d ed.

In an undergraduate textbook introducing the fundamentals of gas turbine engines and jet propulsion, Mattingly (emeritus, mechanical engineering, Seattle, U.) provides enough material for a two-course sequence, with examples of existing designs and typical values of design parameters. Hans von Ohain (1911-98), the German inventor of the jet engine, provides a 35-page history of jet propulsion as a foreword. No date is noted for the first edition. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Flight vehicle system identification; a time domain methodology.

Jategaonkar (Institute of Flight Systems, German Aerospace Center) offers an approach to flight vehicle system identification. He addresses the theoretical and practical aspects of various parameter estimation methods, including those in the stochastic framework, with focus on nonlinear models, cost functions, optimization methods, and residual analysis. Coverage encompasses data gathering, model validation, large-scale systems, and high-fidelity modeling. Real- world problems deal with flight vehicle applications in areas such as control derivatives from flight data, flight path reconstruction, and unstable aircraft. The book is designed to help novice engineers develop mathematical models and aerodynamic databases from experimental flight data. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Jet-induced effects; the aerodynamics of jet- and fan-powered V/STOL aircraft in hover and transition.

In V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) aircraft, jet or fan thrust is used to provide lift for hover mode and both lift and thrust for very-low speed flight. Combining experimental data, empirical correlations, and results from computational-fluid-dynamics methodologies, Kuhn (a V/STOL consultant), Margason (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company), and Curtis (McDonnell Douglas/British Aerospace) describe the aerodynamics of jet and fan-powered V/STOL aircraft in these two modes. Following the introduction, they offer chapters discussing lift loss in hover, transition out-of-ground effect, transition-in-ground effect in STOL operation, hot-gas ingestion, ground environment effects, and application of computational fluid dynamics. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Tactical missile design, 2d ed. (CD-ROM included)

Written for aerospace engineering university students, missile engineers, and missile program managers, this text is intended as an integrated handbook on missile design, covering technical and systems issues. The author uses simple, closed-form, analytical, physics- based equations in order to describe the primary driving parameters and also provides example calculations of rocket-powered and ramjet- powered baseline missiles, typical values of missile parameters, examples of the characteristics of current operational missiles, and discussion of the enabling subsystems and technologies of tactical missiles. The CD-ROM contains PowerPoint slides intended to aid in using the text in a short course, in addition to six tactical missile design case studies and a spreadsheet that models the configuration sizing methods used in the text. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)