[book]

AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach
Fourth Edition
by Daniel P. Raymer, Ph.D.
AIAA Education Series, New York, NY, 2006
ISBN 1-56347-829-3
This highly-regarded textbook presents the entire process of aircraft conceptual design, from requirements definition through initial sizing, configuration layout, analysis, sizing, and trade studies, in the same manner seen in industry aircraft design groups. Interesting and easy to read, AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach is the number one selling AIAA technical book (30,000 copies to date). It has received the Aviation/Space Writers' Association Award of Excellence and the prestigious AIAA Summerfield Book Award.

In his monthly column, Peter Garrison of Flying Magazine recommended it as the best book for learning how to design an airplane. The book is in university use throughout the world, and is also a favorite of practicing design engineers who find it a trusty reference for a wide range of design information. As one measure of its utility and acceptance - well-worn copies are commonly seen at designers' desks and in government aerospace offices.

AIAA's Editorial Echoes column did an interesting interview with Daniel Raymer about the writing of the book and the award of the AIAA Summerfield Book Award.


Says an engineering student, "...thank you for your aircraft design book. Being an aerospace engineering student it helps me a lot in my studies. Although our instructor insists on another book, which is really boring, almost 95 percent of our design class use your book." (name withheld for obvious reasons!)

"I have two copies of your book Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach. I keep one here and one at my home engineering office. I use it on every new design I work on." -August Bellanca, designer of the AviaBellanca Skyrocket and son of aviation pioneer Giuseppe Bellanca.

AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach is nearly 900 pages of design methods, illustrations, tips, explanations and equations, and has useful appendices with the key data required by designers. This fourth edition is enhanced in many areas, with improvements and reworking of the text, expanded sizing and analysis methods, and up-to-date treatments of emerging technologies and concepts. A new section provides an introduction to spaceflight and rockets including thrust analysis and vehicle sizing for launch and planetary missions. Appendices are revised and additional exam questions are provided. The updated RDS-Student aircraft design software is a valuable complement to the text, and incorporates the book methods in menu-driven, easy-to-use modules.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Author's Note
1 Design - A Separate Discipline
2 Overview Of The Design Process
3 Sizing From A Conceptual Sketch
4 Airfoil And Geometry Selection
5 Thrust-To-Weight Ratio And Wing Loading
6 Initial Sizing
7 Configuration Layout And Loft
8 Special Considerations In Configuration Layout
9 Crew Station, Payload, And Passengers
10 Propulsion And Fuel System
11 Landing Gear And Subsystems
12 Aerodynamics
13 Propulsion
14 Structures And Loads
15 Weights
16 Stability, Control, And Handling Qualities
17 Performance And Flight Mechanics
18 Cost Analysis
 19 Sizing And Trade Studies
20 Vertical Flight – Jet & Prop
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Jet VTOL
20.3 Prop VTOL And Helicopter
21 Extremes Of Flight
21.1 Introduction
21.2 Rockets, Launch Vehicles, & Spacecraft
21.3 Hypersonic Vehicles
21.4 Airships
22 Design Of Unique Aircraft Concepts
23 Conceptual Design Examples
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Single-Seat Aerobatic
23.3 Lightweight Supercruise Fighter
Appendices
Examination/Homework Questions

AMAZON.COM BOOK REVIEW
Outstanding summary of conceptual aircraft design

A reader from Austin, Texas: Mr. Raymer has managed to explain a very complicated process in a way that is both understandable and interesting. Conceptual aircraft design (i.e., starting with nothing but a set of performance criteria to be met) is a multi-variable problem in which the value of most of the variables depend on other variables. The solution of such problems require initial approximations with subsequent iterations. Mr. Raymer explains the conceptual design process, gives historic values used for first approximations and makes good use of actual examples. Two conceptual designs, one a homebuilt aerobatic aircraft and the other a supersonic fighter, are provided in the Appendix to illustrate the procedures described in the book. I found the book interesting both in subject matter and writing style. Although written as a college textbook, the use of actual aircraft to illustrate various points and the author's obvious desire to be precise about his descriptions makes the book easy to follow and fun to those interested in the subject.

"AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach" and the RDS-Student software are available from Amazon.com as follows:

Aircraft Design : A Conceptual Approach

RDS-Student : Software for Aircraft Design, Sizing and Performance

Or click here to order directly from the publisher (AIAA)

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