Product Description

The second edition of Flight Stability and Automatic Control presents an organized introduction to the useful and relevant topics necessary for a flight stability and controls course. Not only is this text presented at the appropriate mathematical level, it also features standard terminology and nomenclature, along with expanded coverage of classical control theory, autopilot designs, and modern control theory. Through the use of extensive examples, problems, and historical notes, author Robert Nelson develops a concise and vital text for aircraft flight stability and control or flight dynamics courses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3186316 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 456 pages

From the Publisher
Many more worked examples and end-of-chapter problems, some of which require computer solutions, are integrated throughout the text.
An expanded section on automatic control theory and its application to flight control system design is now included.
Chapters covering the topics of static stability, flight control, aircraft dynamics, and flying qualities have been improved.
Problems that require the use of a computer are now clearly identified.
Material is introduced by way of simple exercises so students can see how the design process is applied without a lot of mathematical complexity.
Interesting historical notes are presented throughout the text.
The text provides an integrated treatment of aircraft stability, flight control, and autopilot design.

Customer Reviews

A lot of info on aircraft control in a small textbook.
I found this textbook to include a large amount of concisely presented material on all aspects of aircraft stability and control and feedback control system design. It covers everything from the atmosphere, to development of forces and moments and equations of motion, to estimation of stability derivatives, analysis of dynamics and modes of motion, and handy reduced degrees of freedom. It also includes many examples of designing autopilots and stability augmentation systems. I really liked the examples which included both classical and state variable methods. Each chapter also has several interesting example problems. I would recommend this text for anyone in the field of aircraft or missile flight controls. The only dissappointing aspect of the text is what I consider an excessive number of typographical errors. I would caution anyone not to use the equations or formulas without first checking the derivation. The derivations are clear and concise enough that the reader should be able to find these errors.